The diverse Asian Music

The traditional music of Asia

The traditional music of Asia is considered for many people as therapeutic and healthy.  There are several sweet and harmonious melodies created in many countries in the southeastern part of Asia.  As examples we can mention Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand. Nevertheless, probably China and Japan are the most representative Asian nations that have developed high quality music and have created several excellent musical instruments over the centuries.  

China, a millenary country

China is a millenary country. In fact, there were almost 14 dynasties in China. However, many historians believe that according to the ruins of the Daxi civilizations situated in Sichuan, the first civilization in China appeared approximately 7,000 to 9,000 years ago approximately. Since then, Chinese musical instruments have been evolving a lot.

Musical chinese instruments

There are plenty of musical chinese instruments that are divided into three groups such as the String Instruments, Bowed string Instruments and Plucked string instruments. Here is a list of the most popular Chinese instruments in their respective group: 

Bowed string Instruments:

• Erhu
• Zhong- Hu
• Jing-Hu
• Ban-Hu

String Instruments:

• Pipa
• Liuqin
• Sanxian
• Guqin

Plucked string instruments:

• Yangzi

Japan, another interesting country

Japan is another interesting country that has singular features that attract thousands of western people each year. In fact, Japan has improved greatly in electronic devices such as TVs, computers and cell phones. 

The music in Japan

The music in Japan is quite interesting because it has mixed traditional elements with modern western style. In fact, there is a musical genre in Japan called J-pop, a short form of japanese pop culture music.  

The J-pop had entered Japan in the 1990s but had its initiations during the early 1960 when the Beatles were popular around western countries. Nowadays, this genre is extremely popular in Japan. There are several Japanese pop bands such as the 5.6.7.8’s, AKB48, Arashi Band, Kinki Kids, Pikanchi and Timez4 just to mention a few. On the other hand, the traditional and pure Japanese music are cultivated in the different music japanese schools around the country.