User Manual
32 A User’s Guide to Garritan World Instruments
Traditional Chinese music can be played on solo instruments or collectively in small ensembles or
larger orchestras. ere was no use of musical scores as music was orally transmitted and memorized
by the musicians. Typically, there is no conductor in traditional Chinese music, although in modern
times a conductor and scores are used.
Classical Chinese musical instruments comprise a wide variety of string, wind, and percussion instru-
ments, and are classied by the “eight sounds,” according to the materials used in their construction.
• Silk: Guqin, Guzheng, Choazhou Guzheng, Pipa, Yueqin, Erhu, and other plucked or bowed
instruments
• Bamboo: Dizi, Xiao, Suona, Bawu
• Wood: Temple Blocks and Pan Clappers
• Stone: stone mallet instruments
• Metal: Tam-tam, gongs, cymbals (bo), (Bianzhong and Temple Bells)
• Clay: Xun and other ocarina-like instruments
• Gourd: Sheng, Hulusi
• Hide: Datangu Lion Drum and other drums
Unlike Western music, most instruments are melodic and not supported by chords, which is why
Oriental music does not contain the thicker, denser textures of Western music. Emphasis is given to
the proper articulation and nuance of each tone.
Chinese music is largely based on a pentatonic or ve-tone scale, though in some cases, the penta-
tonic scale is expanded to a seven-tone scale (notably in Northern Chinese folk music).
Chinese instruments often accompany a form of musical drama known as the Chinese Opera. Chi-
nese Operas are stories with music about history and folk legends. Today there are several hundred
dierent styles of opera in China, such as the Beijing Opera style.
While retaining its classical musical traditions, the development of Chinese music was also inuenced
by other cultures. As the destination of the Silk Road, a major trade route, China had extensive
Middle Eastern and European contact and absorbed many of the concepts of these cultures into its
own traditions.
In modern China, musicians are trained in both traditional Chinese and Western styles. Many of the
foremost performers of Western classical music are Chinese. Today, China also manufactures more
musical instruments, both Western and Chinese, than any other country.