Japan

Question 1

List the 4 style traits of Japanese music.

Answer 1

1. Scales - pentatonic; includes half steps
2. Flowing Ongoingness - slow pulse; nonmetric
3. Ma - sense of space or emptiness
4. Classical Solo Repertoires - pieces handed down across generations

Question 2

Shakuhachi

Answer 2

flute; often associated with Buddhist sects; wide range of timbres

Question 3

Koto

Answer 3

plucked zither; similar to Chinese guqin; played with small tsume, or picks

Question 4

Tsume

Answer 4

small picks used to play the koto

Question 5

Gagaku

Answer 5

associated with old imperial court; heterogenous ensemble consisting of chordophones, aerophones, and percussion (i.e. koto - zither, sho - mouth organ, taiko - drum frame

Question 6

Taiko Drumming Ensemble

Answer 6

twentieth-century development; clubs and associations; ppl in neighborhood gather and play drums

Question 7

Nō

Answer 7

Japanese theatre; 14th century; for the elite (samuri)

Question 8

Kabuki

Answer 8

Japanese theatre; developed in the 17th and 18th centuries; more popular audience than Nō

Question 9

List the two different styles of Japanese theatre.

Answer 9

Nō and Kabuki