When was the last time you thanked your lucky stars for the conventions of Western music?
The following clip might help you appreciate this forgotten bit of folk knowledge you've been learning since the cradle:
That excerpt, taken from the Red Maid Opera, illustrates some differences between Western and Chinese music. How did the music from this famous opera make you feel? If your reaction was anything like mine, the clip made you feel at least a little uncomfortable. As I studied more about the music of China, I realized that what sounds right or correct to our Western-tuned ears is a result of years and years of learning-- learning we did without even realizing it.
The development of musical theory in China followed a much different route than in the West. Even their system for the tuning of their instruments is peculiar! As a result, the two cultures developed different standards and languages of what sounds right. China developed a different system entirely, one that sounds quite foreign and which makes our ears almost prickly because we have not learned to appreciate the style and sounds unique to their culture. What sounds discordant, harsh, and unnatural to us sounds beautiful to those who know what to listen for.
This song, played on the yangqin, illustrates the pentatonic scale used in Chinese music.
Contrast the emphasis on melody in that video clip with the general tonic-sub dominant- dominant (I-IV-V) chord progression with emphasis on harmony found in most popular Western music. To see a clip that illustrates this click here (Warning: he uses a few swears. If that bugs you, click here instead.)
Perhaps the best part of these two distinct musical systems is seeing the way they interact as newer generations receive exposure from both systems. This Cantopop song is based on a mixture between Cantonese Opera and Western pop music. Here's a Piano Concerto, based on a mixture of classical Chinese and Western Instruments.
As cultures interact, the folk knowledge each passes on intermingles and creates a new standard to pass on to each succeeding generation. We have been conditioned to accept and appreciate things that our parents and grandparents can't understand.Yet in our lifetimes conventions that we take for granted will be shattered in alarming ways. It's a beautiful cycle, isn't it?
I had to write the first part of my comment right after reading your first paragraph because my thoughts were thus: "Ohmygoshyes!" (Translation: I am SO grateful for Western music conventions!) I think I know where you're going with this post, so I think I won't ruin for myself by continuing to write my stream of consciousnes...
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Okay, I finished it. :) Samuel, you play piano, right? Or do you just happen to know this music nerd jargon offhand? Either way, I love it.
I went to China earlier this summer. Chinese opera singing is much worse I MEAN more intense and piercing in person, lemme tell ya.
This idea of a "comfort zone" in music reminded me of a piece my high school choir did.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L9KBN1yp0Y&feature=player_detailpage
(I'm thinking about the part from 1:14 to 1:55 and 2:29. If you want to hear the original piece, start at the beginning)
Instead of singing through the structured chords, we sand all the notes of our part in the right order, but everyone sang in different time signatures and held to whatever notes they felt like holding onto for as long as they liked to. This created a LOT of dissonance and made most of the audience uncomfortable; they were prepared for lovely harmonizing, and we gave then something much different.
Being in the acoustics research group on BYU I've seen my share of interesting instruments. Africa has also shared many interesting musical traditions with more emphasis on beat and tempo than pitch. The African Udu is another great instrument you've never heard. It just shows that western music isn't comprehensive.
ReplyDeleteI really liked when you pointed out that music "sounds right or correct to our Western-tuned ears is a result of years and years of learning-- learning we did without even realizing it." Not only does this apply to music, but I think that this applies to many concepts in our world. The first that comes to mind is beauty and how our society defines it. I feel that to many people, without even knowing that they are learning it, start to value things that our society values, such as tanning and being thin (for girls). Like you said in your closing paragraph, to each generation their own.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing about this post is the part where you mention how these different styles of music, though unique to each culture can also be combined. It's such a beautiful thing when different cultures take the best of this and the best of that and combine them in one spectacular display of creativity. That's what makes knowledge so magnificent: when we build off the knowledge of others, when we build off the art of others.
ReplyDeleteMusic is so universal and yet so localized. Yet somehow, amidsdt the strange sounds of the Chinese Opera, I feel like I understand them just a little better. When we share like that, share knowledge like that, it connects us. That's awesome!