China is one of the major countries in the world in both terms of political and military power but also culturally. Music is one of the rich cultural traditions which is present in China. Music in China can vary greatly both due to the many cultures within the country but also the influences of other cultures. In Chinese music culture, there are their own categories for musical instruments which are called the eight sounds. These categories are stone, earth, bamboo, metal, silk, skin, wood, and gourd. These categories describe the materials of the instrument but also the timbre of the instrument. One chordophone is the pipa. Below is an example of the pipa being played and how it is played . Traditionally most stringed instruments in China used silk for their strings, but in modern times you may see nylon or metal strings more often. An instrument similar to the pipa is the liuqin . The liuqin is very much li ke a small er version of the pipa. The Ruan is another s...
1. The Indigenous people of the Andes Mountains have many types of instruments, in class we talked about the drums and harps of the people of the area. I was interested in the flutes that were shown in one of the videos, so I started researching into the types of flutes they use. One that I found was called a quena. The quena is high pitched but has a strong timbre, and is a aerophone. They are typically made of wood and are played from the front similarly to an instrument like a recorder. Below are some videos showing examples of the instrument and here is a website with more information 2. After learning about the Native American Powwows I wanted to learn more about the origins of the event. The powwow is known as a celebration of traditions of the indigenous people of North America. The term and the events origins are in the meetings of native spiritual leaders. It is debated where the first Powwow was held, but before there were organized Powwows, there public dances and gathe...