8

MUSIC
Quarter 4 – Module 4a
Traditional Asian Theater Music
Music – Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 – Module 4a: Traditional Asian Theater Music
First Edition, 2021

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any
work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the
government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for
exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things,
impose as a condition the payment of royalties.

Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand

names, trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective
copyright holders. Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to
use these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and
authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them.

Published by the Department of Education

Secretary: Leonor Magtolis Briones
Undersecretary: Diosdado M. San Antonio

Development Team of the

Module
Writer: Yassef Ann S. Tuayon
Editors: Blanche C. Banot, Mary Rose G. Acupanda
Reviewer: Abner D. Cabanting
Illustrator: Bethel- Anne S.
Parco Layout Artist:
Management Team: Senen Priscillo P. Paulin, CESO V Jenith C.
Cabajon Joelyza M. Arcilla, Ed.D Rosela R. Abiera
Marcelo K. Palispis, Ed.D Elmar L. Cabrera
Nilita L. Ragay, Ed. D. Maricel S. Rasid

Printed in the Philippines by

Department of Education –Region VII Schools Division of Negros Oriental

Office Address: Kagawasan, Ave., Daro, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental

Tele #: (035) 225 2376 / 541 1117
E-mail Address: negros.oriental@deped.gov.ph
Have you experienced watching a stage play or a theater play? How was it? Did you enjoy watchin
Theater arts is one of the ancient traditions of the people in Asia particularly in Japan, Indonesia, a

LEARNING COMPETENCY:

1. Identifies musical characteristics of selected Asian musical theater

through video films or live performances. MU8THIVa-g-1
2. Describes the instruments that accompany Kabuki, Wayang Kulit, Peking
Opera. MU8THIVa-g-2
3. Describes how a specific idea or story is communicated through music in a
particular Asian musical theater. MU8THIVb-h-3

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

Describe the instruments that accompany Kabuki and Peking Opera.
Listen to the music or accompaniment of the Kabuki and Peking Opera.
Appreciate diversity in music and culture of East Asia (Japan & China) by describing how a story is
 What I Know

Direction: Identify whether the following characteristics describe a Kabuki or

Peking Opera.

_1. Combination of song, dance, and skill.

_2. Founded in 1603 by Okuni.
_3. Also called Beijing Opera.
_4. Combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance,
and acrobatics.
_5. Dances and movements are accompanied by shamisen
music.
_6. Arose in the late 18th century.
_7. Stress meaning rather than precise actions.
_8. Melodies are rhythmic and graceful.
_9. It has a vocal pattern or technique called Ipponchōshi or
the continuous pattern.
_10. The first category is aria.

What’s In

Identification. As a review of our previous lessons, identify the following instruments

according to the Hornbostel-Sachs Classification of Instruments.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.
 What’s New

Say something about the pictures below. Write your comments in your MAPEH
notebook.
 What is It

JAPANESE THEATER (KABUKI)

The traditional form of

popular theater began at the end
of the 16th century and soon
became the most successful
theater entertainment in the red-
light districts of the great cities.

Kabuki is a Japanese
traditional theatre art that is
performed in a stylized manner
which combines acting, singing,
and dancing. This rich blend of
music, mime, dance, costume,
and props has been in existence
for almost four centuries. The term Kabuki in modern Japanese means: ka, “song”;
bu, “dance”; and ki, “skill.” It is a highly play that actors show their wide range of
skills in visual and vocal performance. Kabuki was founded in 1603 by Okuni, a
Shinto priestess. She and her troupe of mostly women performed dances and comic
sketches on a temporary stage set up in the dry riverbed of the Komagawa River in
Kyoto. Her troupe gained national recognition and their plays evolved into kabuki
that would later become one of the three major classical theater of Japan.

There are Japanese musical instruments that accompany the Kabuki. These
instruments were already discussed in the 2 nd quarter. Some of the instruments are:
shamisen, tsuzumi, and odaiko.

Shamisen- The most common of kabuki instruments. It is a

plucked stringed instrument.
Source: (DEPED: Music and Arts Learner’s Material 8)

Tsuzumi- An hourglass-shaped drum.

Source: (DEPED: Music and Arts Learner’s Material 8)
 Odaiko- A big drum.
Source: (DEPED: Music and Arts Learner’s Material 8)

Vocal Pattern and Techniques:

1) Ipponchōshi or the continuous pattern – used in speeches building up to an

explosive climax in the aragoto (oversize, supernatural, rough hero) style; it
requires an extraordinary breath control that only few experts succeed in
achieving.
2) Nori technique – adapted from the chanting of jōruri, implies a very
sensitive capacity of riding the rhythms of the shamisen (string instrument),
declaiming each accompaniment.
3) Yakuharai technique - the subtle delivery of poetical text written in the
Japanese metrical form of alternating seven and five syllables.

Vocal and Instrumental Features

Dances and movements are accompanied by shamisen music which

collected and popularized a number of aspects from all previous forms of Japanese
music, from gagaku (classic court music imported from China during the 18th
century), kagura (performed in Shinto shrines), nō (chant derives from shōmyō, the
sophisticated and rich tradition of Buddhist chanting), down to the folk songs and
fashionable songs of the day. The most popular shamisen music was called nagauta
(long song) which reached a golden age in the first half of the 19th century as dance
music for the henge mono or quick change pieces. Nagauta music is very flexible,
can be performed by one shamisen or by an entire orchestra of twenty musicians, of
which ten are shamisen players, while other play flutes (fue taken from the nō) and
drums (small drum-kotsuzumi; waist drum-ōtsuzumi; stick drum-taiko).

If you have a smartphone, check out the link below to hear an example of a
Kabuki Performance from Japan.

 Track 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9QHX0LTL0w
 CHINESE THEATER (PEKING OPERA)
Peking opera is a form of
traditional Chinese theater which
combines music, vocal performance,
mime, dance, and acrobatics. It arose
in the late 18th century and became
fully developed and recognized by the
mid- 19th century. The form was
extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty
court and has come to be regarded as
one of the cultural treasures of China.

Peking opera, also known as the

Beijing opera, still follows traditional Chinese arts in stressing meaning, rather than
precise actions. The opera artists’ goal is to make every performance exceptionally
beautiful in every movement they will make.

Performances are accompanied by music - usually played on three types of

instruments: wind instruments (aerophone), string instruments (chordophone), and
percussion instruments (membranophone or idiophone).

The main instruments are Chinese in origin:

1) Jinghu - a two-stringed instrument played with a bow
2) Yueqin - a four-stringed instrument that is plucked
3) Sanxian - a three-stringed instrument that is also plucked
4) Variety of gongs and cymbals – creates rhythmic and graceful melodies

1. Jinghu 2. Yueqin

3. Sanxian
Vocal and Instrumental Features

The main instruments are Chinese in origin: the jinghu, a two-stringed

instrument played with a bow, the yueqin, a four-stringed instrument that is plucked,
a sanxian, a three-stringed instrument which is also plucked, the suona horn,
Chinese flutes, and a variety of gongs and cymbals. The melodies are rhythmic and
graceful.

The melodies played by the accompaniment mainly fall into three broad
categories. The first is the aria. The arias of Beijing opera can be further divided into
those of the Erhuang and Xipi varieties. An example of an aria is wawadiao, an aria
in the Xipi style that is sung by a young Sheng to indicate heightened emotion. The
second type of melody heard in Beijing opera is the fixed-tune melody, or qupai.
These are instrumental tunes that serve a wider range of purposes than arias.
Examples include the "Water Dragon Tune" (shui long yin), which generally denotes
the arrival of an important person, and "Triple Thrust" (ji san qiang), which may
signal a feast or banquet. The final type of musical accompaniment is the percussion
pattern. Such patterns provide context to the music in ways similar to the fixed-tune
melodies.

For example, there are as many as 48 different percussion patterns that

accompany stage entrances. Each one identifies the entering character by his or her
individual rank and personality.

If you have a smartphone, check out the link below to hear an example of
Peking Opera Performance of China.

 Track 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73_9UvNX920

What’s More

1. In your own words, describe how a specific idea or story is communicated

through music in a Kabuki and Peking Opera.

a. Kabuki
_
_.

b. Peking Opera
_
_.
 What I Have Learned

Congratulations on completing this module. Before we proceed, what are your

thoughts about this lesson? Share your insights by completing the following sentence
prompts. Do this neatly and creatively in your MAPEH notebook.

I have learned that _ .

I have realized that .

I will apply _ _.

What I Can Do

Direction: On a short bondpaper, draw at least two accompanying instruments of

Kabuki and two accompanying instruments of Peking Opera.
 Assessment

Direction: Multiple Choice. Read and answer each question. Write the letter of the
correct answers in your MAPEH notebook.

1. This is also called Beijing Opera.

A. Kabuki B. Noh C. Peking D. Wayang Kulit
2. What do you call the Japanese traditional theatre art that is performed in a
stylized manner which combines acting, singing, and dancing?
A. Kabuki B. Noh C. Peking D. Wayang Kulit
3. In kabuki, “ka” means _.
A. dance B. skill C. song D. speak
4. In kabuki, “ki” means .
A. dance B. skill C. song D. speak
5. Kabuki was founded in _ by Okuni, a Shinto priestess.
A. 1603 B. 1703 C. 1803 D. 1903
6. A four-plucked stringed instrument that is used to accompany Peking Opera.
A. Jinghu B. Odaiko C. Sanxian D. Yueqin
7. A three- plucked stringed instrument used to accompany Peking Opera.
A. Jinghu B. Odaiko C. Sanxian D. Yueqin
8. A two-bowed stringed instrument that is used to accompany Peking Opera.
A. Jinghu B. Odaiko C. Sanxian D. Yueqin
9. An hourglass-shaped drum used to accompany Kabuki.
A. Odaiko B. Shamisen C. Taiko D. Tsuzumi
10. What do you call the subtle delivery of poetical text written in the Japanese
metrical form of alternating seven and five syllables?
A. Ipponchōshi B. Ka C. Nori D. Yakuharai
 Additional Activities

Share your insight by completing the phrase. Do this in your Music notebook.
For me, music of an Asian musical theater is _ .

Answer Key
References

References:
Music and Arts of Asia 8 Learner’s Module (Department of Education)

Internet Sources:
www.japan-experience.com/to-know/understanding-japan/kabuki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9QHX0LTL0w
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2016-04/29/content_24949692.htm
https://www.pinterest.ie/pin/350928995942966709/
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/188377196893512846/
https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/yueqin-chinese-string-musical-
instrument-vector-21256628 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=73_9UvNX920
For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Schools Division of Negros Oriental Kagawasan, Avenue, Daro

Tel #: (035) 225 2376 / 541 1117
Email Address: Website: lrmds.depednodis.net