Chinese Music
Chinese music goes as far back as Chinese civilization and is highly distinctive from their western counterparts.
1. stringed instruments (these are made of wood with a piece of snakeskin stretched over the sound box) 2. plucked instruments – dulcimers, lutes and harps (harps are made of wood or bamboo with either steel or silk strings) 3. 4. percussion section – drums, timpani, gongs and cymbals (sometimes bells, xylophones, tuned gongs and the triangle)
There are 317 types of Chinese opera, dating 2, 000 years. Performers must be in top physical shape and wear extensive make-up for it indicates if a character is good or evil.
Understanding the colour of the costumes is very important in operas.
Red - righteousness; Black – gallantry and heroism; Blue and green – brawn; Yellow and white - negative colours (cunningness, suspiciousness); Gold – deities; Silver – demons and bad spirits.
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Chinese musical instruments can be divided into four basic categories based on method by which they are played.
woodwind section - flutes, pipes, trumpets
