Critical & Historical Essays - Lectures delivered at Columbia University by Edward MacDowell
page 59 of 285 (20%)
page 59 of 285 (20%)
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through the holes cut below the reeds, making no sound, but
if the finger stops one or more of these holes, the air is forced up through the reeds, thus giving a musical sound, the pitch of which will be dependent on the length of the pipes and the force with which the air passes through the reed. Other instruments of the Chinese are gongs of all sizes, trumpets, and several stringed instruments somewhat akin to our guitars and mandolins. Neither the Chinese nor the Japanese have ever seemed to consider the voice as partaking of the nature of music. This is strange, for the language of the Chinese depends on flexibility of the voice to make it even intelligible. As a matter of fact, singing, in our sense of the word, is unknown to them. V THE MUSIC OF THE CHINESE (Continued) Having described the musical instruments in use in China we still have for consideration the music itself, and the conditions which led up to it. Among the Chinese instruments mentioned in the preceding chapter, the preponderance of instruments of percussion, such as drums, gongs, bells, etc., has probably been noticed. In |
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