A Complete History of Music: for Schools, Clubs, and Private ReadingBaltzell, W. J. (Winton James)
History
A Complete History of Music: for Schools, Clubs, and Private Reading
Baltzell, W. J. (Winton James)
Music -- History and criticism
=Chinese Scales=.—The vocal and the instrumental music have different
scales, the former _diatonic_—with two notes of the seven omitted,
forming a _pentatonic_ (five-tone scale), the letters of which, since
F is a favorite tonic, may be represented by F, G, A, C, D. The
instrumental scales are _chromatic_ in character. When the voice is
accompanied by instruments, the vocal scale is used. Singing is in
unison, modified by fourths, occasionally. The singing tone is a sort
of nasal sing-song, the favorite method a nasal falsetto, the mouth
being nearly closed.
[Music]
This represents the concluding strophes of the Hymn to Confucius. The
time is very slow; each measure represents a line of four syllables;
between the lines one of the instruments gives a sort of interlude.
So much space has been taken with Chinese music because the
conservatism of that race has preserved instruments and music that date
back to the early history of our race.
[Illustration: KOTO.]
=Japanese Music=.—In the Japanese system we find a _pentatonic_ scale
and a _semitonal_ division of the octave. Japanese music does not
proceed in semitones, the chromatic scale being demanded by the custom
of transposing a melody from one starting point to another, not more
than fourteen sounds for a melody. A favorite Japanese instrument is of
the clarinet type; it is called the _Hichi-riki_; in length it varies
from a little less than nine inches to a little more. The scale as set
forth by the Institute of Tokio is from G, second line, treble staff to
the A above, F, fifth line, being sharped. This instrument is played
by _drawing_ in the breath. The Japanese have an instrument called
the _Sho_, similar to the Chinese _Sheng_. The national instrument
is the _Koto_, which has thirteen strings, tuned thus: the first,
middle C sharp, the second, F sharp a fifth lower; subsequent strings
ascend in order, G sharp, A, C sharp, D, F sharp, G sharp, A, C sharp,
D, F sharp, G sharp; between the fourth and fifth sounds is a third,
which interval, in practice, was filled by pressing the string behind
the bridge, thus increasing the tension; each string can be raised
a semitone or even a tone by increasing the pressure. By this means
additional notes can be secured, giving a scale identical with the
Greek Dorian or ecclesiastical Aeolian. Much of the popular Japanese
music is written without the extra notes, and the series of tones can
be characterized as a pentatonic scale based on the natural minor. Thus:
[Music]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account