Music from China’s Tang dynasty and Celtic/Irish folk music come from completely different parts of the world and reflect two unique cultures. When listening to music from either of the genres, there may not seem to be anything similar about the two, however, with further analysis, several musical links can be found between them.
The features that Chinese Tang dynasty music and contemporary Celtic music share are, musical dialogue between instruments, use of a slightly altered pentatonic scale, antecedent and consequent melodic phrasing, playing in unison, use of a repeating theme, and rhythmic ostinato.
Sharon Shannon's "The Diamond Mountain" uses a pentatonic scale, slightly altered with one additional note. The melodies use antecedent and consequent phrasing, melodic unison is found between the mandolin and fiddle, melodic dialogue occurs between the mandolin and saxophone, ornamentation- the use of grace notes is prominent throughout the piece, and there is rhythmic ostinato that occurs occasionally with a tapping sound. The theme is repeated throughout.
In "Britches Full of Stitches", the melody also follows a simple call and reply structure, the instruments play in unison, there is melodic dialogue between the voices and instruments, rhythmic ostinato with shoe tapping. The melody also repeats throughout.
In the "Tang Dynasty Show in Xi'an", a pentatonic scale with one additional note is used, there is musical dialogue between instruments, and melodies are structured with antecedent and consequent phrasing. Grace notes and trills are used as ornamentation, and at moments the instruments play in unison.
In the "Tang Dynasty Dance", there is a dominant repeating theme, ornamentation in the form of trills, a pentatonic scale with the exception of one note, antecedent and consequent phrasing played by the flute, instruments playing in unison, and rhythmic ostinato created by a temple block. The pipes and bells also have exchanges of musical dialogue.
The "Diamond Mountain" and the "Tang Dynasty Dance" were the two extracts showed a polyphonic texture at some points with interweaving melodies.
Differences between the two cultures are of course also plenty. Sharon Shannon's "Diamond Mountain" for example, is considered Irish folk music despite its other flavors and influences. There is a specificity to what can be considered music from the Tang dynasty in China. A feature specific to Chinese Tang dynasty music would be the use of octave harmonies. The "Tang Dynasty Show in Xi'an" did not make much use of a repeating theme while Irish extracts both did, and the keys and chord progressions of all the extracts were different. Though both cultures use similar stringed instruments - the mandolin and pipa, and means of percussion, the tapping, and even similar flutes and pipes, there were also instruments unique to each culture, for example the Chinese bianzhong (bells).
After completing this investigation I have found that now when I listen to songs from either of the musical cultures, I find myself searching for the links between them, realizing that at times they do in fact sound quite similar, and recognizing when and what elements are being used at any given moment in a song. It was most interesting to me, the common use between the two cultures, of a pentatonic scale with an additional note. It may not be obvious at first listen, but even two seemingly completely different musical cultures can be linked together!
Overall MLI Word Count: 1922 (excluding tables)
The features that Chinese Tang dynasty music and contemporary Celtic music share are, musical dialogue between instruments, use of a slightly altered pentatonic scale, antecedent and consequent melodic phrasing, playing in unison, use of a repeating theme, and rhythmic ostinato.
Sharon Shannon's "The Diamond Mountain" uses a pentatonic scale, slightly altered with one additional note. The melodies use antecedent and consequent phrasing, melodic unison is found between the mandolin and fiddle, melodic dialogue occurs between the mandolin and saxophone, ornamentation- the use of grace notes is prominent throughout the piece, and there is rhythmic ostinato that occurs occasionally with a tapping sound. The theme is repeated throughout.
In "Britches Full of Stitches", the melody also follows a simple call and reply structure, the instruments play in unison, there is melodic dialogue between the voices and instruments, rhythmic ostinato with shoe tapping. The melody also repeats throughout.
In the "Tang Dynasty Show in Xi'an", a pentatonic scale with one additional note is used, there is musical dialogue between instruments, and melodies are structured with antecedent and consequent phrasing. Grace notes and trills are used as ornamentation, and at moments the instruments play in unison.
In the "Tang Dynasty Dance", there is a dominant repeating theme, ornamentation in the form of trills, a pentatonic scale with the exception of one note, antecedent and consequent phrasing played by the flute, instruments playing in unison, and rhythmic ostinato created by a temple block. The pipes and bells also have exchanges of musical dialogue.
The "Diamond Mountain" and the "Tang Dynasty Dance" were the two extracts showed a polyphonic texture at some points with interweaving melodies.
Differences between the two cultures are of course also plenty. Sharon Shannon's "Diamond Mountain" for example, is considered Irish folk music despite its other flavors and influences. There is a specificity to what can be considered music from the Tang dynasty in China. A feature specific to Chinese Tang dynasty music would be the use of octave harmonies. The "Tang Dynasty Show in Xi'an" did not make much use of a repeating theme while Irish extracts both did, and the keys and chord progressions of all the extracts were different. Though both cultures use similar stringed instruments - the mandolin and pipa, and means of percussion, the tapping, and even similar flutes and pipes, there were also instruments unique to each culture, for example the Chinese bianzhong (bells).
After completing this investigation I have found that now when I listen to songs from either of the musical cultures, I find myself searching for the links between them, realizing that at times they do in fact sound quite similar, and recognizing when and what elements are being used at any given moment in a song. It was most interesting to me, the common use between the two cultures, of a pentatonic scale with an additional note. It may not be obvious at first listen, but even two seemingly completely different musical cultures can be linked together!
Overall MLI Word Count: 1922 (excluding tables)
Bibliography:
Primary sources:
"Xi'an Tang Dynasty : About Us." Xi'an Tang Dynasty. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.xiantangdynasty.com/Column.aspx?ColId=37>.
Secondary sources:
Celtic Design. Digital image. Joanannlansberry. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015
<http://www.joanannlansberry.com/other/celtdsgn.jpg>
Celtic Music. Digital image. Sacred fire. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015 <http://www.sacredfire.net/images/misc/celtic_music.gif>
“Celtic Instruments” Ceolas. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/>.
"Contemporary Celtic Music." All Music. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.allmusic.com/style/contemporary-celtic-ma0000011819>.
"Profile: Sharon Shannon." Ceolas. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://ceolas.org/artists/Sharon_Shannon.html>.
"The Diamond Mountain Sessions by Sharon Shannon." Compass Records. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2015. <http://compassrecords.com/album.php?id=326>.
"Britches Full of Stitches." Nigel Gatherer. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tab/tab11/brtch.html>.
"Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show." China Spring Tour. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.chinaspringtour.com/guide/foodentertainment/880.htm>.
"Traditional Chinese Music." ChinaHighlights. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/traditional-music.htm>.
"Tang Dynasty." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty>.
"Xi'an Tang Dynasty : About Us." Xi'an Tang Dynasty. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.xiantangdynasty.com/Column.aspx?ColId=37>.
Secondary sources:
Celtic Design. Digital image. Joanannlansberry. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015
<http://www.joanannlansberry.com/other/celtdsgn.jpg>
Celtic Music. Digital image. Sacred fire. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015 <http://www.sacredfire.net/images/misc/celtic_music.gif>
“Celtic Instruments” Ceolas. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/>.
"Contemporary Celtic Music." All Music. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.allmusic.com/style/contemporary-celtic-ma0000011819>.
"Profile: Sharon Shannon." Ceolas. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://ceolas.org/artists/Sharon_Shannon.html>.
"The Diamond Mountain Sessions by Sharon Shannon." Compass Records. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2015. <http://compassrecords.com/album.php?id=326>.
"Britches Full of Stitches." Nigel Gatherer. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tab/tab11/brtch.html>.
"Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show." China Spring Tour. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.chinaspringtour.com/guide/foodentertainment/880.htm>.
"Traditional Chinese Music." ChinaHighlights. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/traditional-music.htm>.
"Tang Dynasty." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty>.
Discography:
Shannon, Sharon, Carlos Núñez, Steve Earle, John Hoban, Jackson Browne, Dessie O'Halloran, John Prine, Mary Staunton, Liz Kane, and Yvonne Kane. The Diamond Mountain Sessions. Compass Records, 2001. MP3.
Britches Full of Stitches - Session. Dir. Jennikel Andersson. Perf. Jennikel Andersson's Traditional Irish Music Class. Youtube. N.p., 3 Jan. 2014. Web.
Xi'an - Tang Dynasty Music. Perf. Performers from Xi'an. Youtube. N.p., 16 Sept. 2007. Web. Mar. 2015.
Chinese Ancient Dance & Music (Tang Dynasty ) 中國唐代伎樂舞-瑞鷓鴣. Perf. Chinese Musicians and Dancer. Youtube. N.p., 6 Apr. 2010. Web. Mar. 2015.
Britches Full of Stitches - Session. Dir. Jennikel Andersson. Perf. Jennikel Andersson's Traditional Irish Music Class. Youtube. N.p., 3 Jan. 2014. Web.
Xi'an - Tang Dynasty Music. Perf. Performers from Xi'an. Youtube. N.p., 16 Sept. 2007. Web. Mar. 2015.
Chinese Ancient Dance & Music (Tang Dynasty ) 中國唐代伎樂舞-瑞鷓鴣. Perf. Chinese Musicians and Dancer. Youtube. N.p., 6 Apr. 2010. Web. Mar. 2015.