Traditional Music Genres Research Articles

НАРОДНОЕ ПЕНИЕ СОАН (ХАТ СОАН) ПРОВИНЦИИ ФУ ТХО И ЕГО РОЛЬ В МУЗЫКАЛЬНОМ ОБРАЗОВАНИИ УЧАЩИХСЯ НАЧАЛЬНОЙ ШКОЛЫ

Hat Xoan is one of the genres in the treasure trove of traditional Vietnamese folk music, a popular product of the folk culture of Phu Tho province, the ancestral land of King Hung, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011. Xoan chant is often performed during traditional festivals, especially the major festivals at Hung Temple. Xoan combines song, dance and drama inspired by ancient stories and legends about the history and traditions of the Vietnamese people. This traditional music genre is not only a performing art, but also a way to express the spirit, soul and patriotism of the people of the Phu Tho region. Intangible assets need urgent protection, and in 2017 Xoan singing was registered as a representative of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The Northern Foothills is a region strongly influenced by the ancestral culture of King Hung. Teaching Xoan singing to students, including primary school students in the Northern Foothills, is considered one of the measures to preserve local cultural heritage, Vietnamese cultural traditions and to raise the spirit of patriotism in the younger generation from school, which meets the current need for educational innovation.

Identifying Irish Traditional Music Genres Using Latent Audio Representations

Identifying Irish Traditional Music Genres Using Latent Audio Representations

Wu Man, the Pipa and Chinese Tradition in a Contemporary Global Context?

In contrast to the idea that the modernization of playing styles has unleashed the expressive potential of the pipa, this article suggests, through the individual case study of Wu Man, that traditional styles are essential to the numerous successful premieres of pipa concertos globally. It offers the experiences of diasporic pipa player Wu Man as an insider’s viewpoint, arguing that the demonstration and emphasis of traditional pipa playing techniques and styles are important to a successful contemporary performance. This article is the first to disclose Wu Man’s experience in how she applies traditional pipa music to the numerous successful premieres of pipa concertos, framing the pipa concerto as just one example of a much wider trend in the musical worldthat of the commissioning and performance of new music for cross-cultural instrumental groups. There are two essential elements to the upkeep of traditional pipa playing: one lies with the composer’s understanding of pipa music in their newly composed pieces and the other lies with the pipa player’s abilities (their mastery of playing techniques, broader experience in various traditional music genres, creativity, and taking on a leading role in playing). Thus, in this article, I will analyze these elements to reveal how a globally successful pipa musician has interpreted and translated the traditional aspects of pipa music in a global world.

Music Genre Identification Using SVM and MFCC Feature Extraction

Indonesia is a very diverse country because it has a vast territory and is occupied by millions of people from various tribe. Therefore, traditional music in Indonesia is also diverse because each region has its own culture and art. In this study, the author used the Support Vector Machine(SVM) pattern recognition to identify the Indonesian traditional music genre. This genre identification system is able to produce an accuracy of 83% using MFCC.Keywords : traditional music identification, Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient, Support Vector Machine.

Rejuvenating and preserving Ibibio cultural ethos in children's moonlight play songs through the mass media

The Ibibios, like people in other cultures, are endowed with a set of norms and moral principles that act as a guiding philosophy in social, political, economic and religious domains. The value of moonlight songs and tales in traditional society cannot be overemphasised. This important traditional musical genre plays a significant role in conveying educational, traditional, cultural, religious and social principles to children. This paper examines the means of observable shift from the oral medium of transmission of moonlight play songs to radio and television. Despite the immense qualities of moonlight play songs, they are more or less becoming endangered species in the present-day society. The reasons for this development could be partly owing to incessant killings in the society, violence, hatred, and rancour. This has barred children from engaging in communal activities, thereby rendering the main essence of moonlight plays defeated. There is a need for a paradigm shift from the traditional/indigenous setting to modern through the mass media such as television, radio and the internet. The qualitative approach was adopted as the methodology. This method included fieldwork, interviews, recording, transcription of selected moonlight songs. It is thus suggested Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Company, IFM105.9, Comfort FM, FM 94.5 Passion FM could serve as veritable media to propagate valuable lessons embedded in this traditional music genre to promote good morals and ethos. Similarly, curriculum planners at the early education level should integrate moonlight play songs into the curriculum.

MUSIC GENRE CLASSIFICATION USING NEURAL NETWORKS

In recent years, the complexity of making music has lessened, resulting in many individuals making music and submitting it to streaming media. Because of the huge music streaming media, people are spending a lot of time seeking for certain songs. As a result, the capacity to swiftly categorise music genres has become increasingly important. As machine learning and deep learning technologies progress, convolutional neural networks (CNN) are being employed in several fields, and several CNN-based versions have emerged one after the other. Traditional music genre classification necessitates professional abilities to manually extract features from time series data. We developed a music genre categorization model using CNN's audio advantages and features to save users time while searching for different types of music. During the pre-processing, Librosa is used to convert the original audio files into Mel spectrums. The Mel spectrum is transformed and supplied into the suggested CNN model for training. On the GTZAN dataset, the 10 classifiers' decisions are subjected to a majority vote, with an average accuracy of 84 percent. Music genre categorization using neural networks (NNs) has seen some modest success in recent years. The success of song libraries, machine learning techniques, input formats, and the types of NNs utilised has all been mixed. This article looks at some of the machine learning approaches utilised in this sector. It also involves research on musical genre classification. Images of spectrograms produced from time slices of songs are fed into a neural network (NN) to classify the songs into different musical genres.

음악축제의 만족도 평가 비교분석 : 2017~2019 영동난계국악축제를 중심으로

This study compared the demographic satisfaction of visitors who visited the festival over the past three years to establish the sustainable development direction and strategy of the Yeongdong Nangye Korea Traditional Music Festival, and the results were as follows. First, although there were no differences in satisfaction depending on gender, occupation, or companion type, the Yeongdong Nangye Korea Traditional Music Festival is still considered to be operated as a resident harmony festival, not a foreign (tourist) festival. Second, the difference in satisfaction depending on whether to revisit or not, it is believed that the re-visit effect is being shown that the Korean traditional music festival is well understood and the pre-promotion of the festival was good. Third, the difference in visit satisfaction depending on the viewing period showed that the more viewing periods and staying hours at the festival hall during the festival, the more attractive and satisfied the festival's various programs were. Therefore, it is believed that various marketing strategies are needed to increase the viewing period and stay time of festival visitors. Fourth, the difference in visiting satisfaction depending on the purpose of the visit is high in the satisfaction of visitors for the purpose of the festival, so it is necessary to prepare strategies to secure festival enthusiasts such as majors and artists related to Korea Traditional Music. The implications of this study are that the research systematically analyzes the characteristics of visitors to the Yeongdong Nangye Korea Traditional Music Festival, which is currently losing manners and popularity, and draws out improvement directions to improve the satisfaction of visitors to the Yeongdong Nangye Korea Traditional Music Festival. However, the limitations of the study are that visitors to traditional music festivals have not been compared and analyzed in various ways. Therefore, future research will need to compare the satisfaction of visitors to other festivals held in the traditional music genre in Korea to establish a systematic improvement direction for the traditional Korean traditional music festival.

Patriotic Songs in the Creativity of Azerbaijanianan Composers

The study involves the genre features of historical and patriotic songs in traditional music and composer’s work. The purpose of the studing of this topic is related to the study of the impact of traditional music genres on composers’ songwriting and, in this connection, to the discovery of interesting aspects in the field of genre and musical language in works by composers. In this regard, it is important to conduct research, highlighting the use of traditional music genres in the work of composers, the main features of the musical language. The study examines the characteristics and main genre features of folk historical-heroic songs and ashug tunes in traditional music. The stages of development of the song creation of Azerbaijanian composers and the role of traditional music genres in the formation of composer’s songs were highlighted. The range of themes and genres of songs by Azerbaijanian composers was reviewed.

Introducing China's traditional music genres to the world

The purpose of the article is to study the presentation of traditional Chinese music genres in the world. The methodology of the study is to use historical and biographical methods in the study of this topic. The scientific novelty of the article is to explore the expediency of presenting traditional Chinese music genres in the world. After all, this question reflects both the traditions and customs of the country and raises the names of scholars of Chinese culture. The presentation of Chinese art is due to the holding of opera festivals that influence the culture of the whole country. The emergence of new theatrical acts and performances also influenced China's outlook. Conclusions. The introduction of traditional Chinese music genres in the world is due to the development of culture and education in the country. The system of thinking of Chinese culture is based on the ancient philosophy of the country. Musical art is in constant search: the nature of sound, timbre palette, forms, combining national motives. Through the combination of national traits, country philosophy, religious tendencies, elements of vocal and instrumental folklore, theater and composition, and piano culture, China's musical piano culture has become well-known in the world. It was the Suetan School and Yuege's educational system that formed the basis for the development of Chinese musical culture. Speaking about the nature of Chinese music, it should be emphasized that it has its intonation-melodic nature, which is different from European music samples. Chinese people became acquainted with the performance of European works through touring. In the early ’70s began to reform the conservatories into musical institutes. For example, music institutions such as the conservatories in Wuhan (Hubei), Shenyang (Liaoning), Xi'an (Shaanxi), and Chengdu (Sichuan) have undergone these changes. During this period (the ’70s), the flowering of Chinese music education began, orchestras, amateur bands appeared, research aroused curiosity, and music magazines began to be published. Teachers such as Zhou Xiaoyan, Lan Yushu, Yu Yixuan, Shen Xiang, Xi Ggui, Wen Quecheng, Li Zhishui, Wei Chixian, Man Jiangxi, Sung Xin, Hu Yan, Gao Zhilan, Do Shinji, and others start their creative activity. The revitalization of music education is in the twentieth century, which causes the development and rethinking of new turns in educational processes. The processes of formation and development of the Chinese music education system are reflected in the works of Wang Yuhe, Liu Pei, Yang Bohua, stylistic features of musical art were interested in F. Arzamanov, V. Vakulishin, Lin Hai, Liu Da-jung, Ma Gesun, Sun Tsunin, In Gen- Ira, Chang Ling, Yang Xiao Xu and more. Chinese education has interested such scholars as: Ding Yun, Yang Bohua. It should be said that much attention was paid to education, as evidenced by the work of scientists. Turning to the historical facts, it becomes known that music education began to develop during the Tang era (VII-X centuries). This led to the emergence of performing schools and the establishment of educational institutions, which allowed to expand the representation of traditional genres of the world.

The impact of the fostering of European industry and Victorian national feeling on African music knowledge systems: Considering possible positive implications

The European (Victorian) missionary influence on traditional African music in South Africa is largely seen in a negative light and not much focus is placed on possible positive implications. This article therefore serves to explore how external European influences, harnessed by some African musicians, partially aided in preserving and generating conceivably ‘new’ Euro-African hybrid traditional music genres – while at the same time preserving some fragmented forms of indigenous music knowledge for future generations. In general, the ultimate aim for the European missionaries was to allow Africans to, in effect, colonize ‘themselves’ by using their influence of Victorian (British nationalist) religion, education, technology, music and language as a means to socially ‘improve’ and ‘tame’ the ‘wild’ Africans. However, specifically with reference to music, African composers and arrangers – despite this colonizing influence – occasionally retained a musical ‘uniqueness’. John Knox Bokwe, an important figure in what can be termed the ‘Black Intellect’ movement, displays this sense of African musical uniqueness. His arrangement of ‘Ntsikana’s Bell’, preserved for future generations in the Victorian style of notation (or a version thereof), best illustrates the remnants of a popular cultural African indigenous musical quality that has been combined with the European cultural tonic sol-fa influence. Furthermore, the establishment of the popular cultural ‘Cape coloured voices’ also serves to illustrate one dimension of the positive implications that the fostering of European industry (industrialized developments) and Victorian national feeling/nationalism left behind. This is largely because this choral genre can be termed as a distinctly ‘new’ African style that contains missionary influence but that still retains an exclusive African quality.

How did son jarocho become a music for the immigrant rights movement?

ABSTRACTChicana/o activists and artists in Greater Los Angeles have turned son jarocho, a traditional music genre from southeastern Mexico, into an organizing resource and a means to express the plight of immigrants. Building on a movement that started in Mexico to reestablish the communal celebration of the fandango as the centre of the son jarocho tradition, these Chicana/o activists have reinterpreted fandangos as the enactment of community. They have also repurposed son jarocho and its lyrical content to articulate demands for the rights of undocumented immigrants and other social justice causes. These endeavours take place in community and cultural centres founded and led by a mix of immigrant generations: veterans of the Chicana/o civil rights movement of the 1970s, first generation immigrants and their adult children and grandchildren. These actors embrace fandangos as a metaphor and blueprint for community participation as they write new lyrics to demand justice for immigrants.

Korean Traditional Music Genre Classification Using Sample and MIDI Phrases

Korean Traditional Music Genre Classification Using Sample and MIDI Phrases

Music of Azerbaijan: From Mugham to Opera by Aida Huseynova

Reviewed by: Music of Azerbaijan: From Mugham to Opera by Aida Huseynova Jeremy W. Foutz Music of Azerbaijan: From Mugham to Opera. By Aida Huseynova. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2016. [xxix, 326 p. ISBN 9780253019370 (cloth), $80; ISBN 9780253019455 (paperback), $30; ISBN 9780253019493 (e-book), $29.99.] Illustrations, photographs, bibliography, index. Though it has several important areas of weakness, Aida Huseynova’s book Music of Azerbaijan: From Mugham to Opera offers a rare resource for the exploration of Azerbaijani art music of the twentieth century. This study uses recently available documents from the Soviet Union’s Komitet gosudarstvennoĭ bezopasnosti (KGB), Communist Party archives, and ethno-graphic interviews. There is tremendous [End Page 253] value in the thorough examination of central Azerbaijani art music composers of this time period. Their works, influences, varied responses to Russification and Socialist Realism, and their place in the musical heart of their country are all very compelling. Huseynova has higher aims, however: Hence, ethnomusicology and musicology become one in the present research, while I also take into account viewpoints from within the culture itself. . . . My research does more than bring to light notable accomplishments of Azerbaijani musicians in the field of East–West synthesis: I do hope that my study is not just another chapter in the history of Western music, but one that calls for a reevaluation of what the history of music should be. (pp. 26–27) Unfortunately, these and similar claims are not so compelling and often reach too far, distracting the reader from the otherwise productive areas of inquiry that the author presents. Three topics explored by Huseynova are worth reviewing for their merits and limitations: (1) East–West synthesis in Azerbaijani art music, (2) art music as the national music of Azerbaijan in the twentieth century, and (3) the influence of the Azerbaijani traditional music genre mugham (also emicly perceived as a form and/or harmonic mode) upon the Azerbaijani articulation of many Western art music forms. One valuable avenue of investigation is the exploration of East–West synthesis in the Azerbaijani context of Soviet cultural policy. From a theoretical standpoint, Huseynova is grounded in Bruno Nettl’s descriptive frameworks of syncretism, Westernization, and modernization: “Syncretism results when the two musical systems in a state of confrontation have compatible central traits; westernization, when a non-Western music incorporates central, non-compatible Western traits; modernization, when it incorporates non-central but compatible Western traits” (Bruno Nettl, “Some Aspects of the History of World Music in the Twentieth Century: Questions, Problems, Concepts,” Ethnomusicology 22, no. 1 [1978]: 134). The East–West dichotomy of “cultural distinction” presented here leans upon the work of Terry Martin in that the categories “east” and “west” can be used in the post-colonial context of Azerbaijan (Terry Martin, The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923–1939 [Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001], 125). In a problematic formulation, Huseynova perceives that “the East is traditionally associated with extensive improvisation, the prevalence of oral forms, and modality, whereas the West is associated with composed music, its forms and genres, notation, and tonal or atonal rules” (p. 6). The music in question and the source of this (overly) broad association is not clear, and numerous conflicting examples readily spring to mind. Some additional clarity is found in the author’s use of the distinction between Europeanization and Westernization, as read in the work of Theodore Levin (“The Reterritorialization of the Culture in the New Central Asian States: A Report from Uzbekistan,” Yearbook for Traditional Music 25 [1993]: 52). This is productive because of the conflicting ideological approach of the Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States with regard to the thematic and cultural content of lyrics, librettos, and programmatic elements. In many similar cases, the cultural dance of influence and affinity over who is “the West”—Europe or the United States—goes back and forth. Yet here Huseynova views this as a perpetually mutually-exclusive choice: “However, in Azerbaijan, the paradigm of Europeanization is not germane, since Westernization and modernization began in the late nineteenth century and continued into the Soviet era” (p. 19). Though the author leaves it to the reader to connect the...

Erhu Pedagogy: A Comparison of Qinfeng and Jiangnan Chunse

This paper examines the area of erhu pedagogy, looking at the two different styles of Northern and Southern China: Qin pai and Jiangnan pai. The development of Qin pai erhu since the 1950s has resulted in a regional style that reflects a strong Shaanxi local folk and traditional music genre. On the other hand, Jiangnan music is widely developed in Shanghai, Jiangsu province, and Zhejiang province in the area of folk music. The musical style of Jiangnan is melodious, with simplicity as its main character. Past literatures reveals some insights into the different styles of erhu playing, however, a detailed performance practice of two major repertoires Qinfeng and Jiangnan Chunse is absent. This paper discusses the unique playing style and techniques of Qin pai and Jiangnan pai. The differences between the two are analysed based on two representative repertoires, Qinfeng and Jiangnan Chunse. Methodology includes observation, score analysis, transcription and a discussion that includes a self-reflexive account on the performance of the two pieces. The outcome highlights various pedagogical concerns regarding playing techniques, stylistic features and interpretation that provide a reference for future scholars and erhu players. Keywords: Erhu, Qin Pai, Jiangnan Pai, music;

Learning and teaching traditional music in Cambodia: Challenges and incentives

Substantial efforts have been made since the Khmer Rouge regime to revitalize traditional Cambodian music genres. While they have met with some success, local circumstances still present many difficulties for the transmission of traditional music to the younger generations. This study explores the challenges in learning and teaching traditional Cambodian music, as well as incentives, from the viewpoint of a group of students, teachers, and master-artists involved in the transmission activities of one non-governmental organization (NGO). Better understanding the challenges may help policy-makers, NGOs, and artists themselves to overcome them; better understanding the factors that encourage young people to learn (and older people to teach) may help safeguarding efforts at a critical juncture in the future of these art forms. Based primarily on interview and observational data from fieldwork in 2013 and 2014, the findings of this study underscore three challenges in particular to the transmission of traditional music genres in contemporary Cambodia: musical and technical difficulties, the changing social function of the genres, and economic pressures. In addition to intrinsic motivation, participants identified economic gain as a key incentive for young people to learn these genres. The author makes suggestions for overcoming the challenges and further motivating young people to learn traditional Cambodian music.

Music: an exception to Creole exceptionalism? Cape Verdean national identity and creativity post-independence

This article focuses on the interrelationship between the Cape Verdean Creole (CVC) language and music as it has developed over time in literature, composition and performance experience. The written record demonstrates that, over time, a blend of scholar-practitioners, trained academics who often engaged in both the study and composition of lyrics and music, blurred the lines of the oral and written hierarchy in CVC, ultimately co-fashioning the relationship between language and music as essential to identity alongside the many existing creative practitioners working exclusively in the oral realm. Since independence, too, a major intellectual project of Cape Verdean writers has been to celebrate the work of practitioners in a scholarly fashion. Simultaneously, many practitioners have worked to reclaim and reinvigorate traditional music genres. This has contributed immensely to both the understanding and creative expression of Cape Verdean national identity, or caboverdianidade. This article also takes on an ethnographic inquiry into the creative process and aesthetic preferences that bring together CVC and Cape Verdean music. It becomes clear that CVC is widely considered by Cape Verdean songwriters to be the best language for composition and performance on a number of grounds – sonic, aesthetic, linguistic and sociopolitical reasons among them.

The Intermediate Sphere in North Indian Music Culture: Between and Beyond “Folk” and “Classical”

Abstract Abstract. If in discourse about traditional music in North India, the notions of “folk” and “classical” continue to be widely used, in this essay I posit the existence of an “intermediate sphere,” comprising a heterogeneous set of traditional music genres that, in different ways, shares features with both folk and classical realms. I suggest five categories in this socio-musical stratum and provide brief glimpses of some of their constituents and distinguishing features, including the distinctive sorts of theory they embody and elite patronage that sustains them. I conclude with observations about historical changes in the status of this sphere in general.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression among Norwegian musicians compared to the general workforce

In order to investigate mental health problems among professional musicians, we estimate the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression (psychological distress) among musicians compared to the general workforce. A total sample of 1,607 musicians from the Norwegian Musicians Union answered an online questionnaire about demographic characteristics, lifestyle and symptoms of anxiety and depression. They were compared to a sample of the Norwegian workforce ( n = 2,550) drawn from the Norwegian survey of level of living 2012. Based on logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, education level, smoking status, alcohol usage, use of drugs, physical exercise and financial status, we compared anxiety and depression symptom levels in musicians to a variety of professions. Psychological distress was more prevalent among musicians than in the total workforce sample. Solo/lead performers, vocalists, keyboard instrument players and musicians playing within the traditional music genre reported the highest prevalence. Further research needs to map the psychosocial and personal factors contributing to the higher degree of depression and anxiety symptoms among musicians, as well as establishing evidence-based preventative measures.

Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China: Ethos, Theory and Practice by Alan R. Thrasher (review)

Reviewed by: Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China: Ethos, Theory and Practice by Alan R. Thrasher Yu Hui (bio) Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China: Ethos, Theory and Practice. Alan R. Thrasher. Leiden: Brill, 2008. 218 pp., photos, figures, music examples, appendices, glossary, bibliography, index. ISSN: 0169-9563. ISBN: 978-90-04-16500-7, $121.02. Indigenous Chinese instrumental ensemble traditions of different regions feature various instrumental combinations, repertoires, intonations, folk ethos, and performance aesthetics nurtured by local native subcultures. With much attention paid to those traditions, modern Chinese music scholars and Western ethnomusicologists have for the past three decades, conducted extensive fieldwork research and musical analyses on some of the best known genres, including Jangnan Sizhu and Chaozhou Xianshiyue. Thrasher’s investigation of parallel ensemble traditions in adjacent provinces of South China exemplifies a new comparative and categorical approach in this area of research. The book is very well organized in structure, and informative in its subject matter. Thrasher offers many new insights into the sizhu (silk and bamboo) ensemble traditions of Hakka, Chaozhou, Minnan, and Cantonese music primarily in the South Chinese provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, extending potential readership in the fields of Chinese music theory, Chinese culture and history studies, and Western ethnomusicology. Thrasher discusses both shared features of each tradition and the uniqueness of individual genres, tracing the musical, cultural, and aesthetic roots back to the ancient court and folk music of the Confucius era. He presents a clear picture of what these traditions are, their origins, and how they function and survive in contemporary China. Slightly different from the ethnographic approaches in Western mainstream ethnomusicology evident in previous research on individual Chinese ensemble traditions, Thrasher’s narrative takes on both emic and etic interpretations, using broad geographical, historical, and cultural perspectives. Comparing the commonalities and uniqueness of each ensemble tradition, Thrasher demonstrates a new approach for the study of traditional Chinese musical culture, known for its thousands of years of history and abundant philosophical perspectives, which is not always within the scope of Western ethnomusicological methodology. Thrasher also provides the most updated bibliographic information on sizhu traditions in both Chinese and Western studies. Most of the author’s viewpoints are clearly presented, supplemented with cross-references to his informants’ interview notes, modern Chinese scholars’ research findings, ancient classical Chinese music literature, and Western ethnomusicologists’ insights. Sizhu is both a categorical term for a type of string and wind instrument chamber music ensemble and a name for a regional instrumental music [End Page 139] tradition in Eastern China’s Yangzi Delta area known as Jiangnan sizhu. In recognizing the commonly shared crucial musical features and cultural aesthetics, Thrasher borrows this terminology and categorizes four ensemble traditions in Fujian and Guangdong provinces with generalized analysis. The first chapter, “Sizhu Music in South China,” introduces Chinese music categories in Chinese music scholarship, within which sizhu is a distinguished domain of instrumental music, comprising several local music traditions throughout China. The background information in relation to music cultures of South China and social perspectives of this category are discussed in great detail. Categorizing traditional music genres has been a subject of modern Chinese music research prior to the People’s Republic, when Lu Ji published his well-known thesis Outline of National Folk Music Research in 1942, where he summarized traditional Chinese music into eight types. One of them, according to Lu Ji, is folk instrumental music consisting of two subtypes of solo and ensemble traditions. In the later twentieth century, Chinese musicologists Li Minxiong and Ye Dong divided Chinese instrumental ensembles into two categories: sizhu and chuida, while Gao Houyang and Yuan Jingfang divided them into five categories, with sizhu as a category domain. Thrasher adopts the former concept toward what he sees as two basic instrumental ensemble domains—“the relatively soft chamber and the louder ceremonial music.” He emphasizes the shared music aesthetics of the four traditions, underlining the influences of Confucian social values. In chapter 2, “Yuelun: The Confucius Foundation,” Thrasher provides a penetrating examination of Confucian theory, the ancient corpus of behavioral doctrine, which promoted music as a means of achieving social harmony. Through his analyses of musical forms and styles, such as the...

Modeling the tendency for music to induce movement in humans: First correlations with low-level audio descriptors across music genres.

Groove is often described as the experience of music that makes people tap their feet and want to dance. A high degree of consistency in ratings of groove across listeners indicates that physical properties of the sound signal contribute to groove (Madison, 2006). Here, correlations were assessed between listeners' ratings and a number of quantitative descriptors of rhythmic properties for one hundred music examples from five distinct traditional music genres. Groove was related to several different rhythmic properties, some of which were genre-specific and some of which were general across genres. Two descriptors corresponding to the density of events between beats and the salience of the beat, respectively, were strongly correlated with groove across domains. In contrast, systematic deviations from strict positions on the metrical grid, so-called microtiming, did not play any significant role. The results are discussed from a functional perspective of rhythmic music to enable and facilitate entrainment and precise synchronization among individuals.