Still Waiting....

Still no answer from CCTV... 

What should I do?? 

This wait is painful!!!

Pros vs Cons of the Numbered Musical Notation (NMN)

I was sorting through my older posts and suddenly realize that I've posted detailed information about the NMN system; however, I have yet listed the good and bad things of using the NMN system, so here we go:

Pros

Cons

Easy to learn: the concept is easy enough to understand especially when it comes to the notes in a different octave Easy to sight-read: people have contact with numbers on a daily basis; and applying new meaning to a known system is easier than learning a whole new set of symbols Easy to transpose: when in doubt (don’t know the key signature) 1 = C

Complication: when there’s more than one line of music, or when there’s more than one note played at a certain moment, it can become hard for one to read the notation Theory confusion: when notating a piece in minor scale with NMN, the composer will have to put 1 = the relative Major, then start and end the piece with 6, this might lead to unexperienced players to get confused between Major and minor keys

Click HERE to review the post about NMN system.

In conclusion, the NMN system is a great way to start learning how to play music and is a great tool for leisure performers, as it reduces the time needed for "serious learning", and this shall help promote music making amongst people with no prior musical training.

Update on Chinese Harp Video Translation Project

The show was separated into two halves, and I have done the translation of the first half for now. However, I've decided it's best for me to ask for the TV broadcasting company that made this documentary for permission to use it first... That way I can avoid any possible legal issues that might occur... In the mean time, please be patient and keep your fingers crossed that they would grant me the permission and I'll upload it in no time!! And while we're waiting, let's listen to some more 箜篌KongHou (the Chinese Harp) music~~

The Phoenix of Ancient Chinese Musical Instrument - the 箜篌KongHou

Burning into Ashes:

箜篌KongHou, is an ancient Chinese harp that was exclusive to royal musicians, and was not allowed to be played among civilians, which caused the lost in the art of manufacturing, making, and performing this gorgeous instrument.

Rebirth and Rise from the Ashes:

Fortunately, the Chinese musicians and historians in the early 1980s started re-constructing this fascinating instrument by using the Western harp as a basic structure, following description and drawing of historical literature about the instrument, borrowing features of several traditional Chinese instruments that still exists.

Becomes the Phoenix:

The 箜篌KongHou has become more and more popular among Chinese musicians, and as more and more people learn about this instrument, the more they are stunned by this almost forgotten gem in the history of music in China.

Here's a video of a 箜篌KongHou performance on a Chinese talent show. Enjoy!!

Preview: the next post is going to take a while, as I will be translating a documentary of the rebirth and arise from the ashes of this fabulous instrument!! Please check back regularly for the next post!!

The Five Elements vs the Five Pitches (in the Pentatonic Scale)

           Anyone who has the slightest idea about Chinese culture might know that the Chinese emphasized a lot on the nature, elements, harmony; as a result, they assigned each note in the pentatonic scale to one of the elements, where each of the elements represents a number of different things including the five major human organs, directions, climates, basically everything a person would encounter in their daily life. The Chinese believed everything is interlinked.

Five Tone (Pentatonic Scale)	宮Gong	商Shang	角Jiao	徵Zhi	羽Yu
Scale Degree (Western Diatonic)	1	2	3	5	6
Men & Things in General	Chief, Ruler, Emperor	Minister	People, Public	Affairs of the State	Material Objects
The Five Elements	Earth	Metal	Wood	Fire	Water
Human Organs	Spleen	Lungs	Liver	Heart	Kidney
Directions	Center	West	East	South	North
Climates	Moist	Dry	Wind	Heat	Cold
Tastes	Sweet	Hot	Sour	Bitter	Salty
Mindsets	Meditate	Sad	Angry	Happy	Scared
Body Actions	Sitting	Laying Down	Walking	Looking	Standing

Table 1 Examples of things in co-relation with the 5 elements 

The Chinese believed that “金生水, 水生木, 木生火, 火生土, 土生金” which means “Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, and Earth generates Metal”. The best way to understand this logic is that the earth is full with Metal elements, and Water at some point in history all started from the earth, so Metal generates Water. Water helps the growth of tree and hence generates Wood; Wood burns to create Fire, Fire burn things to the ground create Earth, and Earth contains Metal.

The Chinese also believed that “金克木, 木克土, 土克水, 水克火, 火克金” which means “Metal damages Wood, Wood damages Earth, Earth damages Water, Water damages Fire, and Fire damages Metal”. Which could be understood as, Metal makes axes which chop down trees (Wood), the trees (Wood) drains the nutrients out of the Earth, Earth can be piled up to block Water, Water (of course) puts out Fire, and Fire can melt Metal.

Combining the two principles above, the Chinese believed that if, for example, someone had weak lungs, the lungs belongs to Metal, so the person should avoid everything that is associated with Fire, and try to acquire more things that are associated with Earth; so sit and meditate, and avoid laughing (imagine someone with asthma laughing real hard without their inhaler, that would be the reason for this). One may ask, how is this related to music? Doctors in ancient China would actually prescribe patients music they should listen to, use the previous example, a doctor would tell a patient with weak lungs to listen to music in the Gong key (Earth), and avoid music in the Zhi key (Fire).

My First Composition - A Short Little Experimental String Quintet

Just having fun, not Xun related, but it is, after all, my work!!

Interview of the Xun tuner, Mr. Wang ShengXiang

<0:06> (Host)
DV 365, people's 365. (show slogan)

Today DV 365 is going to introduce you all to a folk instrument performer, his name is Wang ShengXiang. Wang ShengXiang knows how to play the DiZi and HuLuSi, yet his favorite instrument not either of the above. It is an instrument which is thick and round in the middle, narrow and pointy on either end, shaped like an olive seed, and there's a hole going through it. When you blow air into it, it creates sound. And even more mysteriously, the place where they first discovered this instrument is Xi'An YangShaoGu Cultural Anthropological Site, other words, that is almost the oldest instrument in China! Therefore, Wang ShengXiang is exceptionally fond of this old antique.

<1:03> (Narrative)
His name is Wang ShengXiang, he is 64 this year, a huge fan of wind instruments. Six years ago, he saw some Xun merchants playing the Xun on the streets, which triggered his strong interest to the instrument. Later on, he discovered that most of the Xuns on the market were not suitable for performing, so he tried to improve it. In 2004, Wang ShengXiang started working with his friends to develop musical Xuns, and succeeded shortly after they had started, they named it the Feng's Xun. In the past 4 years, Wang ShengXiang had been busy moving back and forth from his house in urban Xi'An and the kiln in Zao Yuan Village, town of XieKou. Wang ShengXiang and his friends worked day and night for their career.


<2:13> (W=Wang ShengXiang)
W: Because the Xun is the oldest instrument in China, if not the entire world, so it's essentially the oldest man-made instrument. To be more precise, from the Matriarchal society, other words, before humans even started wearing clothes, this instrument (the Xun) already existed.

<2:45> (Narrative)
Musical Xun has high demand to the sound quality; therefore, during the process of developing and manufacturing the Xuns, Wang ShengXiang always tune them by himself to maintain the quality of the Xuns.

<3:02>
W: This is a kiln here, after the shape of the Xun is made, it's being baked into setting in this kiln. This kiln is already loaded with the Xuns that we have half finished, it is only after when it's baked that it becomes a finished product.

<3:23> (Narrative)
The Feng's Xun that Wang ShengXiang and his partners make also got approved exclusive production patent, got the approval of the market.

<3:45>
W: these are a few Xuns my friends gave me as keepsake. These two are only half finished.
(Narrative)
Wang ShengXiang not only love playing, and making the Xun, he also likes to collect Xuns. He has a lot of Xuns of unique styles at home. In his leisure, he'll even take them out and play a tune or two!!

<4:15> (Host)
This ancient Chinese instrument being performed by Wang ShengXiang seemed extra musical. Actually when the Xun was first invented, it was used to call for animal. It only become an instrument after some people modify it and improved it. The reason why the tunes Wang ShengXiang played was so beautiful was because he developed and improved the instrument. In our culture, there is actually so many more fascinating things awaits us to promote and pass on.

DV everyday, wonderful everyday!! (show slogan)

======================================

This one is a lot shorter and a lot easier to translate; however, it also doesn't have as much information as the other video, still pretty cool though.

Clarification

Just heard back from the manufacturer, the founder's birth name is 馮寶慶Feng BaoQing, 馮柄中Feng BingZhong is his "art name"

This post refers back to the previous post Interviews of the Manufacturer and the Tuner

Interviews of the Manufacturer and the Tuner

This is the longer one, about 15 mins, lots of reading for you non-Chinese speaking people, but trust me, it will worth every single minute!!

<0:02>
(Feng's Xun) ← [The Manufacturer I got my Xun from]

(The Memory of Xun)
(Premiere: 4 Jan 2008)
(Replay: 5, 8, 9 Jan 2008)

(ChangAn Art Gallery of Clay)

<0:15> (Feng's Xun)
(ChangAn Art Gallery of Clay)
Art & Artist
(The People)
XI'AN TV
channel 6

<0:22> This is 棗園村ZaoYuan Village located at 臨潼斜口LinTongXieKo, 西安Xi'An, 陝西ShaanXi Province.
It's not a big village, every household is now making clay Xuns for a living.
This is where 王盛祥Wang ShengXiang (Xun Tuner) is currently doing a job that he's passionate about.
After he retired from the Food Bureau, he started to experiment and develop clay Xun.
The Xun that him, his investor Feng BaoQing, and clay artist Ji QingFeng developed and patented now has a significant respect and importance in the Chinese folk music community.

And every year, over 10,000 completely hand-made fine tuned Xun became a unique cultural brand of ShaanXi (the Province where my grandparents were from).

<0:57> (R=Reporter, W=Wang ShengXiang)
R: What do you find to be the most interesting thing about this job (making and tuning Xuns)
W: The Xun we make here is for performing, it's an instrument. It has about 7,000 years of history by now; therefore, when held by any person who loves the Xun, they can feel the historical bitterness in it. And I as the maker of this Xun, I feel really proud!!
R: All the tools you have here I'm guessing should be considered very professional grade, right? For tuning the instrument.
W: Ya, sort of, I use a digital tuner.

<1:44> (Narrative)
Since 2004, Wang ShengXiang has been experimenting and developing methods to tune the clay Xun before it's being baked, which in turn significantly improved both the quantity and quality of the Xuns produced by the Feng's Xun. Although Wang ShengXiang never had any formal musical training, but he was born with great sensitivity to pitch, along with his experimental personality, he managed to start his second career at the age of 60.

<2:33> W: Nowadays, in all of China, there aren't many companys that make performable Xuns. On average, there is about several hundred thousand Xuns made in China every year, but only less than 20,000 out of 7-800,000 of these Xun are performable, the rest of them are mostly decorative Xuns, those are basically novelty items, just for show. The Xuns we make here are specifically for performing.
R: Can be used as an instrument.
W: Yes, and it can be played along side other, all sorts of musical instruments.

<3:15> 
W: This kiln is where the clay artists got married.
R: Awww~
W: Back in those days we got him married here in this kiln.

<3:29> (shows the oven where they bake the Xuns till they set their shapes)
W: (For) Baking the Xuns...
R: Seems like quite a primitive approach, eh~ a very traditional method (that you guys are using).
W: This is a traditional kiln...
R: The fire and temperature has to be...?
W: From low to high, it is a very skilful step (of the Xun making process) is to control the temperature of the fire.
R: So if you didn't get it right it would all be destroyed?
W: Ya
R: Is that another kiln over there?
W: Ya, there's another one over there. It's also in use, these 2 kilns, because there's a lot of Xun makers in this village; even though we said this is just one workshop, we are actually just one big family, and that we have a lot of people working together.

<4:08>(J=姬慶豐Ji QingFeng, the clay artist at the Feng's Xun)
R: That bigger kiln back there had 30 years of history you said? (W: Uhuh) And you said it was originally for making flower pots?
J: At the very beginning we did clay pots and barrels, big flour tanks we use in the village, that's what we baked at the very beginning, but now, that [the making of pots and barrel] has been eliminated.
R: Does that also uses the red clay?
J: Ah ya! First made flower pots, made flower pots for a while and then started making Xuns.
W: What we do here is a craft of art on its own. After I came here, I heard them say, "in the past, a girl would rather marry a clay mason than a gold or silversmith" why is that? To become goldsmiths and silversmiths you need a lot of overhead costs, you have to fork out the money to get the gold or silver before you can work on it and make jewellery out of it. But for clay, it's everywhere, you can just dig it up from the ground, so the cost (to get started) is really low. So that's why they had that saying.
R: So the next saying would probably become "a girl would rather marry a Xun maker than a gold or silver smith. Haha...
Everyone: Hahaha...

<5:12>
W: There's actually a difference between baking (making Xun) and red clay (making regular red clay flower pots). Red clay requires strong, high temperature baking the entire way through, at about 1200°C. This thing (the Xun) only needs up to 6-700°C, at most not more than 800°C, and then there's this process called "smoking black"

"Smoking black" is when we use asphalt, there's a specific "smoking black" craft, when you do that, you need to close the kiln door and seal it tight, plug the two chimneys on top of the kiln, block the front of the kiln completely with mud, at this point there's nowhere for the smoke to go, it can only go into the Xuns that are being baked inside the kiln. The longer the Xuns are in there, the "deeper" the smoke goes. Therefore, the Xuns we make here are also called "Dark Skinned Clay", that is there's only a surface layer of the clay that's black, so that when we're engraving or carving patterns, flowers and such, there's more layering and texture (to the piece).
R: Because the red from inside would show...
W: Right!! But if you smoked the Xuns completely black, then the flowers (or any other engravings) would not have any texture and would not look nice. To Feng's Xun, we demand (our products) to be baked till slightly harder than those regular decorative Xuns; because the Xuns we make here are for performing, especially for when it's very cold or hot out, or during rapid climate changes, if the Xun is not hard enough, or if it wasn't baked enough, it's not tough enough, when you play it in the cold, it might crack.
R: What are the differences between the Feng's Xun and some other conventional Xuns? I heard you guys have applied for a patent (for your Xun).
W: Ah yes. Because what we make here are Xuns specifically for professional performance purpose; therefore, when we make the shell for the Xuns, we have to take into consideration the comfortableness of the hand-held position. Decorative Xuns usually just sit there for people to look at so they don't need to be comfortable for holding in the hands. Uh...
R: So they are fine as long as they look like the shape of a Xun.
W: Ah ya, therefore when we pick this shape, we called it a bullet shaped, for say, (bends down to get the Xun) this Xun, it just looks quite similar to a bullet, this kind of Xun, you hold it up, and your fingers would naturally sit flat on its surface, it's very convenient for each finger lift up and put down, so the transitions is a lot smoother when performing on it.

Another thing is that the Feng's Xun, structural-wise, it's classified into single-chamber Xun, dual-chamber Xun (mine), and triple-chamber Xun, the best Xun we make here is the triple-chambered one. From the outside they all look the same as one piece, but there are variations on the structure inside. It is divided into three chamber, the air flow inside a triple-chamber is different from the air flow in a single-chambered one. This affects the range and the tone quality of the Xun a lot.

Starting from last year (2007), the Feng's Xun had developed Xuns that can perform up to two octaves. This Xun can go up to "re" (I think he meant the Xun can play a 12th)
R: So just a regular, average one.
W: It can also play overtones, let me try it. (Plays Xun) This is its basic tones, it can play one overtone. (Plays Xun)
R: Dealing with Xuns since 2000, your 60 some odd years old now, doing what you do at this age, what are you working for?
W: Ever since I fell in love with the Xun, it's like I'm being possessed, I became obsessive. I originally played the 笛子DiZi (the Chinese Flute), after I started playing the Xun for two months, I didn't wanna do anything else, and I recently discovered that a lot of people who play the Xun have the same problem that I had.
R: So what do you think is the charm of this instrument?
W: There's no other instrument that is comparable to its (the Xun's) tone quality. And there's no other instrument that can substitute the Xun. Ever since I fell in love with it, I have a wish, I hope that for the time I'm still alive, I make 100,000 Xuns, erm, I want to let everyone in China who loves the Xun, can play on reasonably-priced, good quality Xun, that's made by me.

<10:55> (Narrative)While developing the Feng's Xun, Wang ShengXiang also started composing. 漢城謠HanChengYao (The Song of the Han City), the Xun music he composed and performed himself, caught a lot of attention at the 陝西民樂大賽ShaanXi Folk Music Competition in 2007, and won first place in the "Xun Music - Amateur" group; and got the approval of a several high level authorities including the Chief of the Cultural Bureau Liu KuanYin. To Wang ShengXiang, who had never studied a day of composing, a piece like that has to have be brewing at the bottom of his heart for quite a few years [or even decades]

<11:42> (Narrative)
To Wang ShengXiang, there's one person in this career of his, who he really admires, that is the founder of the Feng's Xun, a "young fella" who only wanted to promote the culture of the Xun, 馮柄中Feng BingZhong (this doesn't sound like the one they said in the video, the one in the video is 馮寶慶Feng BaoQing, but I believe the video was wrong, this is the name I put down is on a lot of information I found on the internet about this company. I have sent a message to the manufacturer to verify, I will update this piece of information once I hear back from them.)

<12:07> (F=馮柄中Feng BingZhong, founder of the Feng's Xun)
R: We've been chatting all morning, Master Wang (Chinese call every knowledgeable person a "Master" out of respect) told me a lot about the destiny between him and you. Can you tell us more about how you two get to meet and know each other?
F: Actually we met about 3 years ago, I was selling (my Xuns) over there, Master Wang is really passionate about music, it was the tone of the Xun that moved and inspired Master Wang, and we became friends. It is truly a friendship over the generations, he's 60 something, and I'm only 30 something, and we wanted to pursuit this career of (promoting) the culture of the Xun.

Before I was 30, I don't know music, don't know nothing about 123 (Numbered Musical Notation) or do-re-mi, I only started slowly learned how to play the Xun after I was 30. When a person has the will to learn, he can slowly learn just about anything.
R: At the beginning, how did you establish this close relationship with the Xun?
F: Back in the days when I had a store near 大雁塔DaYan Tower (a tourist destination in 西安Xi'An, 陝西ShaanXi Province), I brought several Xuns over to the 書院門College Doors (another tourist destination), at that point there were no Xun merchants at the College Doors, I brought 10 - 20 of them, for say, the cost was $1 each (Chinese dollars, at current exchange rate that is $0.18 Canadian dollars, or $0.16 US), I can sell it to a foreigner for $10, I thought the profit was alright, so that's how I slowly started to sell Xuns, and eventually learned how to play them.

I went to the 鼓樓Drum Tower (of course another tourist destination) to learn more about the Xun culture. A lot of tourists from out of town came up and mentioned the introduction about Xun music in the book 廢都FeiDu (Abandoned City), written by Master Jia PingWa, and Chief (of the Cultural Bureau) Liu KuanYin, which really promoted the Xun to everyone in China. But back then I was selling these decorative Xun (which is where I got my first one).
R: You can make a sound out of it but there's no tuning and you can't perform a song with it.
F: Yah, they can be used for performance, and they also tried to pass these decorative Xuns on as performance Xuns, which then misled the consumers. Therefore, we had a common belief, Master Wang know how to tune it, I know how to play it and sell it, so I summoned the few of us and say "why don't we popularize the Xun? And we can bring wealth to the people in the ShaanXi Province!!" Because this Xun we have in ShaanXi, came from 半坡BanPo, ShaanXi, so this is a thing with a very long history, it is also a tourist cultural brand name for ShaanXi Province.

So we figured we name this brand of Xun after my family name [Note: Chinese family names are put in front of the given name], invited Master Wang, and our clay artist, the three of us work together sincerely, hoping to promote this Xun culture as our cultural career for the rest of our lives.

<14:32> (Narrative)
They did another big thing in 2007, that is they fork out their own money and published the first DVD tutorial set in all of China (which is a gift they give to their customers, and I have a digital copy of it). Feng BaoQing, Wang ShengXiang, and the clay artist Ji QingFeng, all wish that one day Xun music can be written into the University curriculum, and become a profession, so that this ancient musical instrument can prolong its life, and they want to put in their effort in that process.

--- End of Video ---

Legend: the information in brackets - ( ) are things that are not actually said in the video but implied meanings between the lines, or are information that I know and I filled in the blanks.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Reflection:

After watching this video for no less than 100 times, accumulated over 7 hours of work, plus another hour of reviewing and revising my work, I finally finished what I now call "the translated/interpreted transcription" of this interview, meaning I did not just translate directly what was said, but I also added the implied but un-spoken words from my understanding. It was a lot of fun but really exhausting, yet at the end, it's even more rewarding!!

The thing that touched me the most about this video is that the three main characters in this lovely story are all very passionate about the Xun, and I think this passion is highly contagious, and I, fortunately understands their language and got "infected" by their enthusiast!!

I didn't exactly know how the Xun is made, but I can tell it is a very complicated and delicate process. From what the clay artist and the tuner said, it really seem like a fine art to be able to properly make and tune a Xun, I am now more fascinated by this beautiful instrument than ever!!

Please stay tuned for my next translated/interpreted transcription project, where I will translate and transcribe the interview of just the tuner Mr. Wang.

P.S.: The mandarin that the clay artist Mr. Ji, and the founder Mr. Feng was speaking had a very strong ShaanXi accent, which I am glad  that I had a lot of training from my grandparents or this translation process would have taken even longer!!

Brief Update

I have my presentation next Wednesday, so I have been working on my Power Point and handouts for the class. Also I am working on transcribing and translating the videos posted by the manufacturer I bought my Xun from, the videos are interviews of their Xun maker and their Xun tuner. 

In the videos, they talk about their philosophy towards this craft and why they love doing it and stuff like that, it's only a total of 20 minutes worth of video, but transcribing and translating really takes a long time!! Stay tuned for my next post with the video and my translated transcription~!!