By Ai Suda

Dance has a long history in Japan and there are many types of traditional dances.
One of these is the dance performed during the Bon Festival that we hold to honor the spirits of our ancestors. The Bon Festival dance comes in many varieties and almost everyone in Japan is familiar with one or another of them. The most famous is the Awa odori (Awa dance).
The Awa dance originated in Tokushima Prefecture and has a history that goes back some 400 years. In the summer season, people perform the Awa dance at Bon Festivals held in cities, towns, and villages throughout Tokushima Prefecture.
When Hachisuka Yoshishige, the feudal military commander of Awa (the former name of Tokushima), built Tokushima Castle in 1586 during the Warring States period, people got together in the castle to celebrate its completion. After many toasts were made and much alcohol was consumed, they all started dancing, chanting "Me-de-ta-ya, me-de-ta-ya" (con-gra-tu-la-tions). Being drunk, their dancing was, of course, unsteady and erratic. This is said to be how the Awa dance began. Today, the women dance gracefully, clad in a summer kimono, a peaked hat of woven rush grass, and wooden clogs. The men also wear a summer kimono and many of them hold a round paper fan or hand towel, and move their arms and legs in exaggerated posturing that is sometimes valiant and daring and sometimes comical.

The Awa dance is performed to the music of traditional Japanese instruments. These musical instruments are collectively called narimono, literally "things that make sound," and they are indispensable for showing the dancers to best advantage. Basically, the musical accompaniment to the Awa dance is provided by musicians performing on six instruments: a bamboo flute, a shamisen, three types of Japanese drums—a small shime-daiko, a large bass oo-daiko, and an hourglass-shaped tsuzumi—and a gong. The dancers parade in rows through the street, dancing to music in two-part time. The rows of musicians are led by the shamisen players in the front row. The shamisen is a traditional three-stringed instrument of Japan. The body of a shamisen is a square hollow wood frame that has skin stretched flat and taut on the front and back. The long neck extends through the hollow body and protrudes slightly from the bottom. The strings are plucked with a large plectrum called a bachi. Wood is the principal material used to construct the parts of a shamisen. The strings are usually made of silk.

Recently, the shamisen is used in a wide range of non-traditional musical genres such as art music, pop songs, and regional folk songs. The shamisen continues to evolve as new materials and methods are used in its construction, and is a representative Japanese stringed instrument that has become known all over the world.

It is believed that Muslim missionaries of Middle East namely Persia and Arabia introduced the dance to Malaysia during the 15th century.

The dance was originally performed by males only, however it is also performed by female dancers these days.

The simple version of the Zapin is performed to rhythm & 1234 and the foot is extended out to the side on the last count. It can be done on the spot, travelling forwards and backwards or diagonally in the basic form. The carriage of the dancers is quite erect and dignified.

The music of Zapin comes from an ensemble of traditional instruments which include the lute (gambus), gypsy-type bongos (marwas) and the violin.

There are no hard-and-fast rules as to the number of dancers. However because of the very interactive nature of this dance, it is usually performed in pairs. The dancers can play with teasing, challenging and enjoying each other. It is most popular in Johor.

There are numerous forms of Zapin Dance and it varies from state to state. One of the most popular forms and certainly more evolved and intricate is the Zapin Tenglu from the town of Mersing. Said to be inspired by the ebb and flow of the tide and the lives of fishermen, the dance has many unexpected movements like a rotation of the body from the waist followed by a sudden accented, sharp and held movement of the arms and shoulders. It is said that these movements are derived from the feeling of being tossed around in a fishing boat and having to catch yourself before you are thrown overboard.

The Bulbul Tarang meaning "waves of nightingales" is alternatively Indian banjo, which is a string instrument from India and Pakistan which evolved from the Japanese taishõgoto, which likely arrived in South Asia in the 1930s.

The instrument has two sets of strings, one set for drone, and another one for melody. The strings run over a plate or fretboard, while above there are keys resembling typewriter keys, which are to raise their pitch when the fret is depressed or the strings are shorten.

When one speaks of traditional dances in connection with Chinese culture, most people today think of the quaint folk dances of ethnic minorities, forgetting that the forefathers of the "tribe" that would later be referred to as the Han Chinese were perhaps the first Chinese people to make use of ritual dancing. The early Chinese traditional dances, like other forms of primitive art, were essentially ritual enactments of superstitious beliefs performed in the hope of a good harvest, or – in the case of the earliest Chinese folk dances – in the hope of a good hunt, since the earliest Chinese folk dances were performed by hunter-gatherer folk. Today, I would like to introduce Lion dances.

Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. Lion dance is often mistakenly referred to as Dragon dance. An easy way to tell the difference is that a lion is operated by two people, while a dragon needs many people. Also, in Lion dance, the performers' faces are covered, since they are inside the lion. In Dragon dance, the performers can be seen since the dragon is held upon poles. Basic Lion dance fundamental movements can be found in most Chinese martial arts.

In Hong Kong, you will offen see Lion dance in Chinese New Year or any shops opening ceremony. Symbolizing good luck, prosperity and away from the evil matters!

China's music goes back a long way, farther back than you can imagine. Along with the music are naturally a bunch of the most wonderful musical inventions: traditional Chinese Instruments. Take a look and explore them!

Erhu
The Erhu has a small body and a long neck. There are two strings, with the bow inserted between them. With a range of around three octaves, its sound is rather like the violin, but with a thinner tone due to the smaller resonating chamber. In the orchestra they are usually divided into 1st and 2nd parts.

Banhu
This instrument is a variety of the huqin. This is because it uses a wooden sounding board in the sound box. Also known as the bonghu (clapper huqin), it was heard in the Bangzi or "clapper operas" of the 17th century.

Gaohu and Zhonghu
These are common doubles for Erhu players. The Gaohu is higher-pitched, while the Zhonghu is the alto version. The Zhonghu has a beautiful tone, similar to the cello.

Gehu
This is a mixture of the cello and the hu, using four strings, and similar playing technique. As the instrument uses a banjo-like membrane as the sounding board, the resulting sound is unlike the cello, however.

Bass Gehu
Very similar in technique and usage as the double bass, with a different sound due to the variance in construction.

by Guan-Jung Ting of Production 1 Department

When I was 18 years old, back in 2003 I think, I was listening campus folk song that was really popular at the time. What an emotional experience! After I heard that, I wanted to take an acoustic guitar, and produce that kind of magic through the instrument. Also, after hearing The Eagles - Hotel California and Tom Chang - duplicity, I realized that I must learn the greatest instrument of all time, the guitar!

I purchased my first guitar at the YAMAHA. At the time, I had no idea how to tune it or even hold it properly. Yet the thrill of being able to learn, to one day perhaps become a musical legend, led me to spend my entire savings on the guitar, although only a few thousand. The first couple months were tricky, when I learned how to fret the basic notes and hold chords. I often winced in pain as my soft, inexperienced fingers were cut by the thick steel strings. However when I saw a video of my favorite campus folk guitarist, Tom Chang, playing his heart out on much thicker strings than mine, I told myself to persevere. I practiced my lesson book diligently every day until I learned my first three chords, A, C, and E.

The next couple of months were filled with hours of eagerly carrying my guitar around everywhere, strumming notes and chords whenever I could fit time. After three months that my fingers had grown calluses, fingering notes no longer caused pain. Instead I was filled with delight at the clean, crisp notes emanating from my guitar. By my first year, I could play one of my favorite songs, "Hotel California" by The Eagles. But my progress and willpower to learn didn't stop there. In subsequent years, I moved on to more advanced songs.

Khon is a traditional most sophisticated form of Thai masked drama which combines gracefulness with masculinity in its dancing and singing. It is believed to have been performed since the Ayutthaya Period (1350-1767). Most Khon performances feature episodes from the Ramakien, the Thai version of an Indian epic Ramayana. The Khon roles are male humans, female humans, monkeys and demons. The latter two are dominant ones. Traditionally, all its performers wore masks and all the speaking and singing were done by the reciters and the singers sitting at one side of the stage with the Thai orchestra.

The stories played in Khon performances are invariably those of "Rama", a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu who is the hero in the Hindu epic Ramayana and its Thai version Ramakian. A greater part of the epic is concerned with the protracted war between Rama the righteous king and Thotsakan the king of demons, which is touched off by the abduction of Rama's beloved consort by the Demon King. The drama is therefore full of love, magic and war scenes.

There are 5 types of Khon, the details as follows;

1. Khon Klang Plaeng is the open-air mask play. Assuming one side of the area to be the city of Lonka, whereas the other side as Phra Rams royal quarter fenced as an imitative camp. Khon Klang Plaeng is proceeded by recitation and dialogues only.
   
   
2. Khon Nung Rao is performed on the stage at the height of eyesight. The floor is in rectangle shape. The stage is divided by 3 curtains painted a swell scene of mountain and forests. Forms of dancing are perfectly performed as innovated in the traditional Master of the dance. The performers have to adapt their steps and poses to the recitations and songs of the chorus. The orchestras (gamelan) alternately perform the music from the beginning (Hom rong) to the end of the performance.
   
   
3. Khon Rong Nai is a mixture of Khon and Lakhon Nai. They are both indoor performance. A single curtain is used as a scene. There are two exits. The performance is proceeded by recitation, dialogues and songs, which are performed by recitations, dialogue man (Cheracha man) and choruses.
   
   
4. Khon Na Chor (mask-play before the scene) is a performance that is identical to Khon Rong Nai. It has only a variety in which the presentation takes place.
   
   
5. Khon Chak is the mask play on the stage. The screen changes as the story proceeds. The method of performance is the same as Khon Rong Nai.

Nowadays, the arts of Thai Khon Masks are appealing. However, with less Khon performances, number of Khon Mask production have been declined in Thailand.

Among the many traditional musical instruments of China, the most popular ones nowadays include the stringed instruments called the erhu, guzheng, pipa, and the dizi flutes.
The stringed instruments originated in foreign regions and were modified. When tourists think of their experiences in China, the poignant sounds of these Chinese instruments often color their memories.

Erhu
The erhu will probably be the traditional instrument that you'll be most likely to see in a trip to China. You might see it played non-professionally for entertainment in public parks, and it is also played by street musicians.
Peasants like it since it is comparatively inexpensive and portable, and it is also now popular in Chinese opera performances and traditional orchestras. It was once mainly used in operatic performances, but now it is popular as a solo instrument.

Guzheng
Pronounced gûzhêng (goo-jung) in Mandarin, it is a large 18–23-or-more stringed instrument. It is said that it is an ancestor of the Japanese koto.
It isn't commonly played in parks or on the streets. It is meant for Chinese opera and concert performances, and it is often played in traditional music ensembles. It is usually played by female musicians.

Pipa
The pipa (pípá, pee-pah) is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument. The instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with frets like those on a guitar. It sounds like a banjo.
The pipa became popular as Silk Road trade and travel brought Buddhism and great change to the region. It is thought that the instrument originated somewhere in western or southern Asia. Nowadays, pipa musicians will mainly be seen on the stage or perhaps as entertainers at special parties or restaurants. Modern pipas have been re-engineered to fit better with Western-style music. Steel strings are now used, so players wear special finger plectra.

Dizi
Dizis are generally made of bamboo, and they generally have six or more finger holes. One hole is covered with paper so that the flute has a peculiar buzzing sound that people like.
Modern dizis may have a range of about two and a half octaves. You may see these being played in the cities and countryside for fun.