Beyond the Classroom: Asia and the Middle East

 I have always been fascinated in Eastern music and how the tonality of their music is much different from ours. Many of their instruments are made to sound similar to vocal tones or somewhat like sounds of nature. Much of Eastern Asian art is related to nature and our connection, as humans, to nature. Before writing this, I already had interests in three particular areas of music in Asia: the shamisen, the erhu, and mongolian throat singing or tuvan throat singing. I decided that this was a good opportunity to learn more about these things.

First off, we have the shamisen. It can also be called sangen or samisen, which all translate to "three strings". The shamisen is three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument. It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. Think of the bachi as a large pick, like what's used with guitars.

I became interested in this instrument after seeing it in shows like One Piece and Demon Slayer. Most of the time when you see it in any kind of media, the instrument is played by a geisha in a brothel or entertainment district. This is not where it came from, or was usually played at. It is derivative of the Chinese instrument called the sanxian. Some of its earliest uses and most popular use was for accompanying puppet-theatre. Puppet-theatre was very popular in traditional Japan, and the shamisen player had to especially skilled to keep up with the story. It is a very virtuosic instrument that can easily create dramatic moments enhance any experience. Another cool fact about the shamisen is that they come in various different sizes and they have always been played by both men and women. Today's usage of the shamisen ranges as far as playing for traditional Japanese plays to rock and even metal music.

Next, I chose the erhu to look into. The erhu is a Chinese two-stringed, bowed instrument. It is also known as the spike fiddle or the Chinese violin. You have probably heard an erhu before in movie soundtracks and not known that it was an erhu. I first became fascinated with the instrument after seeing a cover of a song from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was drawn to the emotional tone of the instrument and the variety of expression it had. The erhu was made to sound like a human voice, which is why it sounds so passionate and emotional to listeners. 

The erhu is often compared to the violin, but they are different in one major way. The body of a violin is all wood, whereas the erhu has a python skin stretched across the top. This python skin is what gives it its characteristic sound. The erhu is also bowed between the two strings, but the violin is bowed on top of the strings. The erhu is traditionally a solo instrument, but it has been used in many other settings now. It did not gain popularity around the world until several famous rock bands used it in their songs. After hearing this instrument, I thought that it was one of the most beautiful instruments that I had heard, and it still remains one of my favorites to listen to.

The last thing that I wanted to look into was Mongolian throat singing, or Tuvan throat singing. The story behind this one is interesting because I can actually do it, but I don't know a lot about its history. One day I heard somebody I know doing it and I thought it sounded cool, so I taught myself how to do it by ear. Now, I kind of just use it as a gag because it is somewhat loud, unexpected, and people usually can't replicate it. While writing this blog, I decided to look more into the history of this form of singing. 

Throat singing is a form of overtone singing where the singer produces and fundamental pitch and one or more pitches over that. It is meant to reflect nature and sound like something from nature, possibly a waterfall or a cave or wind. That's why there are many different forms of throat singing. It became popular in this part of the world because of the geography. It sounds really good up in the mountains, so you can just find a good spot in nature and become connected with it. Throat singing is not always low and growly though, it can sometimes be high pitched and trilled to mimic birds or small animals. Also, many people think that it will damage your voice because of the way it sounds, but it actually does not harm you. 

By the way, if you ask me to throat sing in person, I will probably do it because it sounds cool. 

“Erhu.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhu#:~:text=The%20erhu%20(Chinese%3A%20%E4%BA%8C%E8%83%A1%3B,or%20a%20Chinese%20two%2Dstringed.

“Shamisen.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamisen#:~:text=The%20shamisen%20(%E4%B8%89%E5%91%B3%E7%B7%9A)%2C%20also,a%20plectrum%20called%20a%20bachi.

“Tuvan Throat Singing.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvan_throat_singing.