Traditional Chinese Music

Teaching journal.

I teach the required course Chinese Music History to sophomores who major in Western musical instruments, and do not come to class already pre-disposed towards Chinese music. (One student admitted as much during course evaluation.) To help students to get involved, I alternate between chunks of lecturing and classroom activities.

1) Topic: Archaeology of music. I divided the class into half, and asked each half to conduct research on any aspect of archaeology of music in China and in Europe respectively, using the web search engine baidu.com on their phone. I asked them to provide information in point form, follow the 5 Ws (why? what? who? when? where?). From their minute-reports, we derived a few basic features of archaeology (involves archaeological sites and artefacts such as instruments, vases with images of instruments etc.), which I then used to elaborate on the purpose of archaeology (to help us to construct a historical narrative). I also pointed out broad differences between archaeological sites in China (many tombs of kings contain extensive collections of instruments), versus in Europe (smaller collections discovered).

2) Topic: Pipa (lute). Students used their phones to conduct research on recent musical activity of the pipa in Jiangsu province (where our university is located), using the news page of the search engine baidu.com. Students presented information in 5Ws format, reporting back on performances, competitions, and master musicians.

3) Topic: Guqin (zither). Students brought earphones to class so that they could use their phones to search for audio clips of guqin music that they liked. I offered extra credit to those who volunteered to play their audio excerpts and explain why they like the music.

4) Topic: Min’ge (folk song). I divided the class into half to debate the motion “Folk songs should be preserved in their most original state.” We alternated between “for” and “against" students, who were invited to speak for however long they chose; I allowed those who did not yet have fully formed opinions to excuse themselves for the moment while promising to get back to them. Students were able, without my prompting, to formulate arguments about how the hybridity of folk and rock music helps folk music to reach a broader audience—but at the expense of the sound and expression of the pre-hybridized folk song. One student argued that all music is always absorbing external influences and thus there is no “original” state (she cited the pipa as an instrument originating in Persia that became widely used in China). This activity allowed for lots of class interaction and is also an opportunity for the brightest students to shine.