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HEART
OF ASIA
introduction
Welcome to the Heart of Asia CD-ROM (Volume One
& Two), the
most comprehensive library of Asian Samples yet assembled. To get
the
best results from this collection, please take the time to read
the
notes that follow concerning cultural and musical aspects of the
instruments and vocalists featured.
NOTES ON THE INSTRUMENTS (by
country)
CHINA
Authentic Dragon Drums and Cymbals, played by a master Chinese drummer,
can be found under (PRC) and (CYM) respectively. The Dragon Dance
is normally performed on Chinese New Year and at other major festivals
and auspicious occasions. Big businesses also have Dragon Drums
perform at their opening ceremonies. The Dragons are made out of
brightly-colored green and red silk and are skillfully propped up
by able-bodied men who twist and turn to the rhythm of the musicians
accompanying them. The ensemble of the Dragon Dance consists mainly
of drums and cymbals. Creating noise is the main motive. The significance
of the noise is to usher in good luck and to keep away the evil
spirits.
Chinese music makes great use of pentatonic scales and harmonies
made up of intervals of the fourth and fifth. The Er-hu, a two-stringed
Chinese violin with a snakeskin sound board, is a bowed instrument
capable of great dynamic power and powerful expression. It is an
often-featured instrument in Chinese Opera. Listen to the Er-hu
Menus 1 and 2, and the Er-hu FX Menu for some of its capabilities.
The Chinese Flutes (the Ban Di and the Qu Di) are transverse flutes,
both made of wood. Some of the other flutes we recorded gain their
unique "outdoors" sound from a paper reed located inside
the instrument.
The Guzhen is an elegant plucked instrument, slightly similar in
sound to the Japanese Koto. It is capable of beautiful glissandos,
a collection of which can be found in Guzhen Menu 1. The Yung Ching,
a hammered stringed instrument similar in tone to a dulcimer, is
another familiar Chinese classical instrument.
Less familiar are the Luan (Moon Guitar), Pipa, and San Xuan. These
are Chinese guitars, played in similar fashion, but with rather
different sound qualities. Tremolo patches are available for the
Pipa, as well as chord patches for the Luan.
In the Chinese Single Note Percussion Menu, many different Dragon
Drums, Cymbals, and Gongs can be found. Included in this menu are
the Xiao Luo and the Da Luo gongs, which change pitch when struck.
These are often used in Chinese opera, processions, and other auspicious
occasions.
INDIA
The Indian Percussion Grooves are looped and correspond exactly
to their stated BPM numbers (108:India 1A: is an Indian Percussion
Ensemble groove recorded at 108 Beats Per Minute). The instruments
used in various loops include Udu, Tabla, Dumbek, Claypot, Bells,
and Voice.
The Veena is a Southern Indian equivalent of the Sitar (it performs
a similar function in an ensemble). All phrases of the Veena have
been looped and BPM'd. Included in both the Sitar and Veena instrument
patches (found under FRT in the Volume Index) are the Tampuras,
a droning instrument with four strings, played upright by the fingers
(usually by a beautiful Indian woman) as an accompaniment to the
Sitar. A mega-large Tampuras patch is included separately on Disc
Two under the Volume listing STR.
Among the Indian flute phrases, you will find some rich examples
of the Indian Bamboo Bass Flute and the extremely small Nepalese-style
piccolo.
INDONESIA
The Angklung is a kind of bamboo rattle, generally played by medium
to large groups of people in a manner similar to European handbell
choirs. Each player holds one or two Angklungs and plays only when
his or her note in the melody occurs.
Gamelan is an Indonesian word literally meaning "orchestra".
It is made up of many different instruments, including the Gendang
(drums), various gongs (Kempur, Sewukan, and Gong Besar), Metallophones
(Saron, Bonang, Kenong) and Xylophones (Gambang). The tonal base
of the orchestra approximates C# pentatonic of the Western scale
(please read the General Notes of Instruments for more information
on Gamelan).
The Gong Besar, the largest gong in the group, to which ritual offerings
are made before every performance, is played only at the ends, or
beginnings, of different musical sections. The smaller gongs, such
as the Kempur and Sewukan are played more frequently, usually in
two or four bar phrases. The Kenong, a set of small "pot-gongs",
being slightly higher in pitch, plays a line usually composed of
half-notes or whole notes.
The Sarons (probably, with the Bonang and the Gambang, the instruments
most associated with the word "Gamelan" by Western listeners)
mostly play a quarter note melody. The Bonang and Gambang perform
improvisational and fluid functions, being the highest-pitched instruments
of the ensemble.
The Situr, not to be confused with the Indian Sitar, is a zither
with a fan-shaped box resonator.
MALAYSIA
The Wayang Kulit is a traditional shadow-puppet theatre, usually
based on Hindu mythology. The accompanying musical ensemble included
here is from Kelantan, the northern-most state of Malaysia, and
the instruments were all personally made by a "Dalang"
(puppeteer) who is one of a handful of surviving practitioners of
this art form.
Like the Indonesian Gamelan instruments, and many other instruments
represented in this collection, the instruments of the Kelantanese
Wayang Kulit ensemble are said to be inhabited by spirits. The instruments
are as follows: Kasi (Cymbals), Canang (Metallophones), Malay Gongs,
Wayang Kulit (Drums), and Pemetek (Percussion).
Ensembles of kompang and Hadrah drummers play at Malay and Indonesian
weddings, and other religious functions. The Malaysian Seruling
is an end blown flute of naive purity, conjuring up (for some) visions
of rice paddies and wide open spaces.
THAILAND
The Ranut Thun is a wood instrument played with mallets. It is a
member of the Thai orchestra. It normally plays fast, virtuostic,
pentatonic runs (similar in function to Wagnerian violins in Western
orchestral music). Included also on Disc Two are two Thai Wind instruments,
in both Traditional and Western tunings: the Bi Sua (a quadruple-reed
instrument not for the faint-hearted) and the Khlui, a wood flute.
The unique sound of the Khlui is derived from its use of a separate
mouthpiece.
The Kong Wong Lek is a circle of small, tuned gongs. The player
sits in the center of the circle. All Thai musicians, as a matter
of course, begin their training on this instrument.
The Ching is a Thai finger cymbal. The Jakay is a Thai stringed
instrument similar to a Zither, and similar in playing style to
the Chinese Guzhen. It is designed to be played vigorously, often
in fifths.
TIBET
One of the more interesting samples in our collection is that of
a manual wool-sorting machine from Eastern Tibet. The sound is made
by throwing damp wool at a tensioned bow-string. The bow emits a
muted sound when it is hit by the wool.
The Tibetan trumpet included on Disc One was recorded at a monastery
in Eastern Tibet, and is sounded as a signal to end chanting and
playing. The Tibetan singing man was a spontaneous performance by
a roadside peasant in response to our query, "Can you sing
something for us?" As you can hear, he immediately burst into
song! Several of our other Tibetan samples were recorded during
a street parade attended by frightened horses, bell-ringing monks,
and a large Tibetan parade band. Play some of our Wild Tibet loops
down an octave or two and maybe, just maybe, you'll find God.
GENERAL NOTES ON THE VOCAL SAMPLES
Forgive us, but an exhaustive list of translations isn't possible.
What we can tell you, however, are a few things to be aware of.
With the exception of the Chinese Male Speech patches (which could
possibly get you into a fight if used in the presence of someone
who speaks Hokkien), the Malay Male patches (some of which are rather
amorous), and the Tibetan Dharma patches (most of which could possibly
get you into a scrap with a Beijing politician), most of the vocal
samples are snatches of old ethnic and traditional songs, singing
of traditional themes, such as love, home and family. The first
two Tibetan sung patches are Buddhist mantras. The Daoist poetry
is exactly that, speaking of wind flowing between mountains and
other beautiful stuff. The Cantonese singing is classical Cantonese
opera. The Thai woman is singing about a waterfall. There are vocal
samples in five different subcontinent (Indian) languages. Where
possible, we have included both Male and Female examples. What the
Tibetan monks are singing, we have no earthly idea.
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