Midterm 2 Flashcards
(49 cards)
Dizi
a cross blown wooden flute (usually bamboo) that is typically played in ceremonial or festival contexts. It creates a loud buzzing sound with a vibrating membrane in the mouthpiece.
Sheng
a Chinese mouth organ that is one of very few Chinese instruments that plays multiple notes at the same time regularly.
Erhu
two stringed fiddle that is played with the bow hairs trapped between the strings. Erhu roughly translates to two stringed instrument from outside China. it is constructed out of wood and snakeskin.
Pipa
a fours stringed plucked wooden lute. this instrument is fretted. historically the strings were made out of silk, but they are now made out of metal strings. played as a solo or ensemble instrument.
Heterophony
The simultaneous statement, especially in improvised performance, of two
or more different versions of what is essentially the same melody.
ABA structure
a structure of music common in western music, and in Chinese folk orchestras
Polyphony
Music that combines two or more distinct melodic lines simultaneously.
Tablature
Musical notation using letters, numerals, or diagrams to specify pitch in terms
of the playing technique of a given instrument (e.g., which strings to stop at which fret . . . )
rather than abstractedly, as in conventional Western staff notation.
Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
Cultural heritage that is not tangible (i.e.,
cannot be touched). Includes phenomena such as music, skills, ritual traditions, etc
Qin
a Chinese seven stringed zither, played exclusively as a solo instrument, and historically played by the highly educated and elite classes. the Qin is at least 2,000 years old, but may be traced back to even before then in other forms.
Guqin
an alternate name for the qin
Unesco
a specialized agency of the united nations with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences, and culture. (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization)
Glissandi
a glide between two pitches on an instrument or voice
Harmonics
the high pitched overtones over the fundamental of a pitch. these are produced on the Qin by lightly resting fingers on the strings rather than stopping the string all the way down to the wood when playing.
Open strings
a method of playing the Qin where a string is plucked wit no alteration to the pitch
Stopped strings
a method of playing te Qin where the player presses down on a string all the way to the wood to alter the pitch and create a slightly duller sound
Peking opera
a form of musical theater originating in Beijing (peking) china that involves singing, stylized gestures, elaborate costumes , and a small musical ensemble to tell a dramatic story. these opera performances are often done by small traveling troupes
Role type
character types in peking opera that define the role of that particular character within the story
Jinghu
the lead melodic instrument in peking opera. the Jinghu is a small high pitched erhu like instrument
Blue Gown Role type
Mature/wise women who exemplify the Confucian ideals of virtuous womanhood
Painted face role type
a heroic character, often a military leader, who is identified by intricate colored patterns painted on his face
Mei Leifang
a male peking opera singer who specialized in female roles. he toured America, the Soviet Union, and Japan in 1930, where he helped to popularize peking opera internationally
Han
the dominant ethnic group of china, which makes up around 90% of its population.
Jingpo
one of Chinas 55 recognized ethnic minority groups, who live mostly in the Burma border region, and in Burma itself. These are the people who sing the rice husking song
