Music

Koto

is a 13-string zither, about two meters long and made of Paulownia wood. It is plucked using picks on the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand, while the left hand can be used to modify pitch and tone. Is used in an ensemble in gagaku or asa solo instrument.

Taiko

is a Japanese drum that comes in various sizes and is used to play a variety of musical genres. It has become particularly popular in recent years as the central instrument of percussion ensembles whose repertory is based on a variety of folk and festival music of the past.

Sho

is a Japanese free reed musical instrument that was introduced from China during the Nara period.

Biwa

is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, often used in narrative storytelling. The chosen instrument of Benten, the goddess of music,eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Shinto.

Piri

used in both the folk and classical (court) music of Korea. It is made of bamboo. Its large reed and cylindrical bore gives it a sound mellower than that of many other types of oboe.

Zheng

An ancient Chinese instrument that has an arched surface and an elongated-trapezoid with 13 to 21 strings stretched over individual bridges. Its playing range spans three to four octaves

Yueqin

Moon-shaped lute with shorter neck and four strings, played with a spectrum, used for accompanying local operas.

Geomungo

Six-string plucked zither is a traditional Korean stringed musical instrument of the zither family of instruments with both bridges and frets. Scholars believe that the name refers to Goguryeo and translates to "Goguryeo zither" or that it refers to the colour and translates to "black crane zither"

Haegum (two-string vertical fiddle)

It has a rodlike neck, a hollow wooden soundbox, two silk strings, and is held vertically on the knee of the performer and played with a bow.

Yunluo

Literally "cloud gongs" or "cloud of gongs", is a set of ten small tuned gongs mounted in a wooden frame.The gongs are generally of equal diameter but different thicknesses. The thicker gongs produce a higher pitch.

kotsuzumi

held on the right shoulder and the player alters the tone by squeezing the laces

Sheng

Chinese mouth organ, looks like a set of panpipes, with 12 to 36 bamboo pipes. Each pipe is of different length with a brass reed at the bottom and a hole that must be blocked in order for the note to sound. This makes it possible to sound several notes simultaneously, so chords and melody can be performed at the same time. It is one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments.

Pipa

Four-stringed lute with 30 frets and a pear-shaped body. This instrument has an extremely wide dynamic range and remarkable expressive power.

a

How is Chinese music described? a. It is gentle and lyrical. b. It is slow in tempo and is very peaceful. c. It is meditative and highly ritualized. d. It is slow and melancholy.

d

How is the "Arirang" song classified? a. welcome song b. love song c. song for spring d. parting song

Odaiko (big drum)

The physical emergy and sheer excitement of this instrument's performance is an integral part of many Japanese matsuri (festivals)

Tsuzumi (hourglass-shape)

There are two varieties, the smaller kotsuzumi and the larger otsuzumi. They are used in both noh and kabuki performances.

Pengling

These are two small bells made of high-tin bronze, without internal clappers, and hemispheric or bottomless gourd-like in shape. The instrument has a delicate, clarion and melodious tone. It is a coloring rhythmic instrument, either in ensembles or in theater music, bringing an effect of peaceful dreams.

Erhu

Two-stringed fiddle and one of the most popular Chinese instruments. It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles or large orchestra, and by various ethnic groups.

b

What melody is used in the folk song "Mo Li Hua"? a. melodic b. pentatonic c. diatonic d. harmonic

c

What meter is used in the Japanese song "Sakura"? a. Quadruple b. Triple c. Duple d. Compound

c

Which Japanese instrument is called the "dragon flute"? a. shimobue b. hichiriki c. ryuteki d. shakuhachi

a

Which Japanese instrument is the counterpart of the kayageum? a. koto b. geomungo c. shamisen d. zheng

c

Which Korean music category is traditionally associated with the lower class? a. tang-ak b. chong-ak c. sog-ak d. a-ak

d

Which of the following does not belong in the group? a. tsuzumi b. odaiko c. taiko d. changgo

b

Which of the following is one of China's most popular instruments? a. haegum b. erhu c. koto d. shamisen

d

Which of the following statements about the changgo is correct? a. It is a single headed drum whose tone is altered by squeezing its laces. b. It is a Japanese drum that has become the central instrument of percussion ensemble c. It is large hanging barrel drum d. An hour glass-shaped double headed drum made from animal skin.

Nokan

a parallel, bamboo flute (fue) is the only melodic instrument used in noh. The melody of the flute has no specific pitch relationship with the melody of the chanting.

Shinobue

also called takebue in the context of Japanese traditional arts) is a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound.

Chong-ak

also refers to ensemble music for men of high social status outside of the court. In this category, three important terms are a-ak, tang-ak, and hyang-ak.

Arirang

is a Korean folk song, sometimes considered the unofficial national anthem of Korea. It is used as a symbol of Korea and Korean culture. It is in essence a song of farewell. The origin of the word is 'the hill'. With Korea's land being mountainous, there are also many foothills throughout the country. Most Koreans had partings on a number of such hills. An emotion of deep regret is imbued in the rhythm of the song. The song evokes the feeling of the tears shed by Koreans and the remembrance of their sad stories.

Sog-ak or minsogak

is a category of Korean music traditionally associated with the lower classes or for the general public and are vibrant and energetic. It includes genres such as pansori and minyo.

Hichiriki

is a double reed Japanese fue (flute) used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku music, the other being the ryūteki.

Pansori

is a kind of music presented to audiences by skilled vocal singers and drummers. But even the unskilled could sing these songs. They sang when they worked in the rice paddy or fields, sang when they went off their lover and sang when their life was troubled and weighing them down

Shamisen

is a plucked stringed instrument. Its construction follows a model similar to that of a guitar or a banjo, employing a neck, and strings stretched across a resonating body. The neck is fretless, and is slimmer than thatof a guitar or a banjo.

Mo Li Hua

is a traditional Chinese song with a beautifully gentle and lyrical melody. The lyrics about the jasmine flower also turn it into a love song. The song describes a custom of giving Jasmine flowers, popular in the southern Yangtze Delta region of China. Another version describes the fear of plucking the flower.

Sakura

is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossoms.

Kayagum (gayageum)

is a traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, with 12 strings, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or more numbers of strings. It is probably the best-known traditional Korean musical instrument.

otsuzumi

is placed on the left thigh. Like all other traditional arts in Japan, there are several schools of tsuzumimatsuri (festivals).

Changgo

is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin. The two heads produce sounds of different pitch and timbre, which when played together are believed to represent the harmony of man and woman.

Dizi

is the traditional Chinese flute. It can have a membrane over an extra hole to give the characteristic rattle effect. The player plays the instrument by blowing across the mouthpiece and produces the different notes by stopping the six holes found in the rod.

Tsuridaiko

large hanging barrel drum

Ryūteki

literally "dragon flute" is a Japanese transverse fue made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku.

Chong-ak

means literally "right (or correct) music", and its tradition includes both instrumental and vocal music, which were cultivated mainly by the upper-class literati of the Joseon society.

Shakuhachi

the mostfamous flute made from bamboo. It has 4 or 5 finger holes on the front face and a thumbhole on the rear face. As with other instruments above, it was imported from China for gagaku.