Describe the qin (also called guqin)
What will be an ideal response?
• The qin is a seven–string zither where the strings are stretched over a convex length of wood, which is also the top of a hollow resonating chamber. (This hollow resonating chamber amplifies the instrument's tones.) The strings are now of metal with differing thicknesses and are drawn across the length of the top board before passing over a low bridge near the end of the board. From here each string passes through a drilled hole in the board and is secured to tuning pegs on the underside. Thirteen inlaid studs along the side of the instrument show the player where to stop the strings to produce various pitches. "The strings can be plucked singly or in combination, strummed one after another, and played both open and stopped. Many other subtle tonal variations can be also be created on the instrument including tapping/rubbing/striking the instrument itself. See also accompanying photos of the qin in Worlds of Music.
"Yangguan San Die" ("Three Variations on Yang Pass")
Follow the Active Listening guide as you listen to the selection.
You might also like to view...
Which of the following musicians has done a "cover" of Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus?
a) Quincy Jones b) J.S. Bach c) Elvis Presley d) The Doors
Why wasn't much of the music that marked the transition from swing to bebop documented on recordings?
a. record company executives didn't understand this newer style of jazz b. bebop musicians weren't interested in making any recordings c. there was a musician's union strike in 1942 that led to a recording ban d. wartime restrictions caused recording studios to shut down
Which of the following statements is not true?
A. Medieval music theorists favored the use of triads, the basic consonant chords of music. B. Medieval music that consists of Gregorian chant and one or more additional melodic lines is called organum. C. Perotin was among the first known composers to write music with more than two voices. D. Paris was the intellectual and artistic capital of Europe during the late medieval period.
The tone that acts as a musical home base or point of rest is the
A) theme. B) tonic. C) cadence. D) trill.