The Japanese sho is an aerophone that was introduced in the 19th century and is mainly constructed out of wood and metal. Its unique building elements play the biggest role for shaping its particular timbre, which is noticed quite easily when placed within a group setting. The sho typically consists of 15 reeds and 17 slender bamboo pipes, which are connected to the metal reeds to produce a warm and resonant timbre when played (. This specific instrument is well-known in Japan for making an appearance in gagaku (ancient Japanese imperial court music and dances). My main research objective is to explore the origins of the sho, the different materials used in its construction, and the reasoning behind the instrument’s placements in different …show more content…
It originated from the Chinese sheng, which is remarkably similar because of their looks. The key differences between the Chinese sheng and the Japanese sho, is that the sheng is significantly larger in size, typically made from a gourd and has a much more clear and metallic timbre associated to it. The sho on the other hand, is smaller, less clear and less sharp sounding and is used for its ability to play harmonic tone clusters. One of the major differences between the sheng and the sho is that the sheng has the flexibility in sound to serve as both the accompaniment to a piece as well as serve the melody, which the sho does not have the capabilities to. Gagaku originated in 703 AD and came about during the Heian Period (794-1185). Since then, it has been continued being practiced traditionally, sticking to the roots of only being performed for formal celebrations, moral or religious purposes primarily in the setting of a court. In a gagaku ensemble, performers consist of all males, even the dancers. Performers use instruments that have an ancient design such as, the sho, hichiriki (double reed flute), shoko (bronze gong), koto and biwa (lutes). These select musicians are not led by a normal conductor, but rather someone known as the concert master who guides the performers by playing a small sideways drum known as a …show more content…
This is why I have selected a piece called, “Kuniburi no Utamai” that features the sho in the context of a gagaku ensemble. Throughout this selection you can hear that it encompasses a taste of ancient Japanese songs with their traditional instruments incorporated in. These instruments serve the foundation for the sound of typical gagaku music, by having an ancient and mystical timbre to it. The tempo of the piece is very slow and controlled and is considered to be free rhythm. The free rhythm aspect is due to long extended notes that are played and led by the fast drum patterns of the concert master. The overall texture is quite bright due to the high pitched mouth organs that are paired with the sho’s extended notes. The sho’s purpose in this piece is mainly to be used as a supporting harmonic structure to the piece and serves its purpose through using multiple drones. The main reason is provided by the function of tone clusters. It uses these tone clusters to support the full orchestration and provide a solid harmonic foundation to the piece. The sho’s timbre would be considered warm because of the diversity of pitches it has available and its ability to blend accordingly to its supporting instruments. It tends to be the foundation of the overall ensemble, which is crucial because it is what everything else is centered
Beck, John. Encyclopedia of Percussion. 2nd ed. New York: Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, 2007. Accessed May 15, 2014. http://books.google.com/books?id=8U83AgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.
In Africa, music helps define its culture by expressing emotions through each song. Drums play a very important significance in African culture; they are always present in ceremonies such as births, deaths, and marriages along with a ritual dance. Ompeh is an organized system with many rules and is performed by recreational amateur ensemble of singers and percussionists. Maru-Bihag is loosely structured, performed only by experts, and is used more for entertainment. In India, the sitar instrument is taken very seriously; a student must apprentice with a master for 15-20 years before being allowed to play this
1. Wide-ranging, dynamically expressive tonal melodies are played in equal temperament and generated from logical tonal harmonic progressions. 2. A simple, isometric, and restricted rhythmic range is used. 3. The texture is homophonic, that is, a principal melody line with accompaniment. 4. Clear periodic formal structure is favored. 5. The instrumentarium is restricted and standardized.
The Tokugawa period, also known as Edo period (1603-1867), was the final period of traditional Japan that lasted for more than 250 years (britannica.com,2013). The period was a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the Shogunate founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Tokugawa Shoguns maintained strict control over the structure of society by keeping a firm control over what they were allowed to do and what they were not allowed to do.
From reading Timothy Rice’s book, I have many new outlooks on how my group project should be approached. It is important for all of the members of the group to keep an open mind to the various cultures that music can come from and how it is best to convey and give credit to their origins. This will be especially important with the Henebry wax cylinders as we must keep in mind what time frame they were created in, their purpose during their time of use, and also to give credit to those who allowed us to view them. It will also be important for us to promote the wax cylinders in an appropriate manner which will be accepted by those who have connections with the wax cylinders in UCC, aswell as those who preserve them.
Shogun "Shogun" is a book written by a famous writer James Clavell telling us about the way of life, customs and traditions existing in feudal Japan in the sixteenth century and about life and adventures of one shipwrecked English ship pilot who suddenly finds himself in medieval Japan with its rival war-lords, samurai, seppuku, geishas and other things and notions looking strange and even wild for a European man. The book's main characters are John Blackthorne, an English ship pilot of the Dutch ship "Erasmus"; a beautiful lady Toda Buntaro Mariko who falls in love with him; the most important Japanese feudal lord and warlord Yoshi Toranaga, the leader of half the country aiming at becoming Shogun (a supreme military dictator); and his rival Ishido. The novel begins with the description of the violent storm that caught a Dutch ship "Erasmus" not far from the coast of Japan.
The Great Wave or Under the Wave off Kanagawa is one of the most well known pieces of Japanese Art. It was created by Katsushika Hokusai between 1830-1832 during the Edo period. The Great Wave is a polychrome woodblock print measuring 10 ⅛ x 14 15/16 inches. In this critique, we will analyze Hokusai’s processes and use of design for The Great Wave.
Percussion instruments are by far the most dominant of the four major instrument families. There are many different types of cymbals and drums, which are ...
Denison. B. (2002, January 1). A Basic Overview of Japanese Culture . . Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.mizukan.org/articles/culture.htm
Music has shaped the lives of people throughout history. Even in its earliest forms, music has included use of instruments. One of the oldest musical instruments known is a variation of the flute; the original flute is thought to date back nearly 67,000 years ago. Tonight we are going to move throughout the eras with a history of instrumental music. This concert will begin with the Renaissance Era and continue through time until we have reached modern instrumental music.
Exton, Peter, “The Room Acoustics of the Guangzhou Opera house”, Harold Marshall Group Consultant 2010, Marshall Day Acoustics
Throughout the semester, various styles of music and the aspects of culture associated with these styles have been analyzed. Musical elements such as dynamics, texture, form, timbre, melody, instruments, etc., have been used to thoroughly explore each kind of music from different areas of the world, with an emphasis in music from Africa, India and Indonesia. These aspects of music go far beyond just music itself. Culture also plays a huge role in music and the accompanying musical elements. Each country and culture has a different style and distinctiveness that add to what makes the music of that certain culture unique. Music in Africa may differ dramatically from music in Indonesia or India not only due to those certain elements but also due to how it is interpreted by people and what it represents for those people. In addition to this, what one may consider music in one culture may not be music to another. These differences have been made apparent in the several demonstrations that we have been exposed to in class.
In this experiment, we attempt to make a musical instrument. My group decided to make a wind instrument, which is an instrument that requires a player to blow in it, in order to have sound. There are some examples of wind instrument like, trumpet, oboe, tuba, etc... In this experiment, we’re going to explain how our wind instrument was made, and how the instrument changes in frequency by blowing in it. For the materials, we used the straw to become our mouthpiece, and with a washing machine pipe to make the sound better, and to become the tube of our instrument. We will test different lengths of the instrument, and measure any difference in frequency, or pitch, between the lengths.
Kabuki started out as a style of dance in the early sixteenth century, also known as the Edo period. Kabuki is an exclusive type of theater in which only males can act on stage. For over 400 years, women have only been allowed in the audience and not on stage. But ironically, a woman named Izumo Okuni along with her female troupe originally created the theatre. Okuni, who may have come from the shrine of Izumo, set up a temporary stage in Kyoto around 1603 where she and her troupe acted out slightly suggestive dances and skits (www.artelino.com).
Mainly the West Africans used percussive instruments. These drums came in all sizes ranging from ten to twelve inches to ten to twelve feet. Their drums were made out of hollowed out logs and gourds with a tight skin over the hollow. They also used idiophones to make music. They used a variety of bells, castanets, gongs, and sometimes they made small xylophones or small pianos. Aerophones weren't as prevalent as the percussions or idiophones. Some explorers made small flutes, horns and trumpets from elephant tusks.