Chinese Art
Teacher's Resource
Lesson Plan: Chinese Folktales, Poetry & Music
Lessons submitted by: Patti Burkhardt

Musical Instrument Hunt
Grades 6-8
Sunshine State Standards: VAB121, VAC131, VAC132

Activity:
The guqin or qini, di, and xiao are Chinese instruments with examples held in the Gow Collection. There are actually four instruments which are represented within the art of this collection. Can you locate the piece of art and identify the instrument using only the descriptions given below?

Background on Traditional Chinese Music:
According to the traditional Chinese view, music has an educational purpose. Confucius is recorded as saying, "For bringing serenity to superiors and order to the citizens, nothing is better than ritual. For transforming moral practices and improving customs, nothing is better than music." (

Chinese music can be traced far back into history. Around 3,000 years ago, when European music was just experiencing its first breath of life, a complete musical theory and sophisticated musical instruments began appearing in China. The orthodox ritual music advocated by Confucius was largely responsible for this Chinese interest in and mastery of music. By the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), the imperial court had set up a Music Bureau, which was in charge of collecting and editing ancient melodies and folk songs. Because of commercial contacts with Central Asia, foreign music entered China and modified as well as improved Chinese music. By the time of Emperor Hsuan Tsung (r. 713-755 A.D.) of the T'ang Dynasty, the court organized the Pear Garden Academy song and dance troupe which cultivated a large number of musicians and laid a firm foundation for Chinese music.

As with anything the rich Chinese culture has done, traditional Chinese music had many different variations depending on the time period, region, and individual. Each imperial court had its own specialty. Each dynasty focused on different aspects of the music. And within each dynasty, different regions and localities possessed their own style of music. As with Western music, solo performances of musical instruments also existed. Some musical pieces were performed slowly to create a relaxing ambience while others were performed very quickly to mark an atmosphere of excitement and festivity.

The variations of rhythm, beat, tone quality, and embellishments in traditional Chinese music are highly distinctive and unlike their Western counterparts. This is mainly due to the unique sounds and playing styles of traditional Chinese musical instruments. Chinese musical instruments can be divided into four basic categories based on the method by which they are played: blown, bowed, plucked, and struck (i.e. percussion) instruments.

In traditional Chinese orchestras, the combination of all the different instruments served to create a harmonious and beautiful auditory atmosphere. Wonderfully beautiful music was made and is still made. Many Chinese instruments can produce purely unique and amazing sounds. (

The five major Chinese music categories are: Ya yue (Ritual Music), Yan xiang yue
(Banquet Music), Su yue (Folk Music), Religious Music (Daoist and Buddhist), and Gu chi (Military music). (

Traditional Chinese Instruments

Beginning at least from the Zhou dynasty (ca. 1100-256 B.C.), extensive work was done in the classification of instruments and the systematizing of music theory. Traditional Chinese musical instruments were categorized by their material: metal (the various types of bells), stone (chimes), silk (qin and se zithers), bamboo (the various flutes), gourd (sheng mouth organ), clay (xun ocarina), leather (the various drums), and wood (yu blocks). These are the so-called ba yin (Eight Sounds). This period also saw the development of five-tone and twelve-tone systems of equal temperament. (

The instruments listed below are grouped in the four sections found in a classic Chinese Orchestra: the bowed strings, the plucked strings, the blown wind instruments, and the struck percussion instruments.

BOWED STRING INSTRUMENTS

Erhu

Banhu
This instrument is a variety of the huqin. This is so because it uses a wooden sounding board in the sound box. Also known as the bonghu (clapper huqin) because it was heard in the Bangzi or "clapper operas" of the 17th century.

Gaohu and Zhonghu
These are common doubles for Erhu players. The Gaohu is higher-pitched, while the Zhonghu is the alto version. The Zhonghu has a beautiful tone, similar to the cello.

Gehu
This is a mixture of the cello and the hu, using four strings and a similar playing technique. As the instrument uses a banjo-like membrane as the sounding board, the resulting sound is unlike the cello, however.

Bass Gehu
Very similar in technique and usage as the double bass, but with a different sound due to the variance in construction.

PLUCKED STRING INSTRUMENTS

Pipa
The Pipa, also called the Lute, resembles the Spanish guitar in some ways, with long finger-nails being cultivated to pluck the strings. With its characteristic pear shape and four gut strings, many techniques and uses have developed, to the point where it may be considered a characteristic of Chinese music.

Guqin *,**

The Guqin or qin, a seven-stringed zither, is the
oldest Chinese string instrument with 3000 years of
history. In Imperial China, a well-educated scholar was
expected to be skilled in four arts: qin, qi, shu, and hua;
in other words, the guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Since the Guqin has historically been viewed as the symbol
of Chinese high culture, today only less than three hundred
people in China can play it. It is a rarity today.

Liuqin
This looks like a smaller version of the pipa and sounds like a mandolin.

Ruan

Also known as the moon guitar, it
comes in a variety of different sizes and
pitches and is fitted with four strings.

Yangqin
Coming in a variety of sizes, the Yangqin is a dulcimer played with bamboo mallets. The metallic tone resembles the harpsichord, and the concert model has four octaves.

Guzheng
Also known as the Zheng, this is the Chinese zither. Sizes vary fron 13 to 17 strings and has a range exceeding three octaves tuned to the pentatonic scale.