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SingaporeMusicQuick questions
Music of Singapore and Asia
Quick questions on Chinese instruments and ensembles explained: N(A)-Level Music
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the bowed string?Show answer
The erhu is a two-string fiddle with a small sound-box, played with a bow whose hair runs between the two strings. There is no fingerboard, so the player stops the strings in the air, which allows expressive slides between notes. Its tone is sweet, singing and slightly nasal, often compared to the human voice, and it usually carries the melody.
What are the plucked strings?Show answer
The pipa is a pear-shaped lute held upright and plucked with the fingers, capable of fast, brilliant runs, rapid repeated notes (tremolo) and dramatic effects. The guzheng is a long zither with many strings stretched over movable bridges, plucked to give a rippling, cascading sound and bent notes by pressing behind the bridges. Plucked notes start with a sharp attack and fade.
What is the ensemble?Show answer
A traditional small ensemble is called silk and bamboo, after the materials of its instruments: silk for the strings of older instruments and bamboo for the flutes. It blends bowed and plucked strings with flutes in a light, intricate, interweaving texture, where instruments decorate a shared melody in their own ways (a kind of heterophony).
What is q1?Show answer
Name one bowed, one plucked and one wind instrument from Chinese music. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Describe the sound and playing technique of the erhu. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Explain what heterophony is and why it suits a silk-and-bamboo ensemble. [3 marks]
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