(Vocal/instrumental group, 1974–82, 1991) This South-East London band led by singer David Sylvian (real name Batt) traced an odd career trajectory. Starting out playing guitar-based glam, they tried to fit in with punk, but found their forte in the new romantic era. Mick Karn (bass, saxophone), Rob Dean (guitar), Richard Barbieri (synthesizers), and Steve Jansen (b. ...
funerals and weddings. Bells are used to mark out the timetable of our daily lives – appearing as alarm bells, warning signals and in mechanized chimes in clocks. In Japan, bonsho temple bells are rung 108 times at the end of the old year to banish worldly cares and sin. Public buildings also are decorated with hanging bells like ...
performed on the first days of the Chinese New Year. Japanese Drums Japanese daiko or taiko drums are a family of barrel-shaped, double-headed drums played with sticks. In feudal Japan, daiko were used for military music and to give signals in battles. Today they are used for temple services and for traditional dancing. Within the family of daiko drums ...
played with an unusually long bow. Regional Variations Other countries of East and Southeast Asia and Indonesia have spike-fiddles closely related to the huqin family. Korea has the haegum, Japan the kokin, Tibet the piwang, Tuva the four-stringed byzaanchy. Vietnam’s equivalents are the dan nhi or dan co and the deeper-pitched dan gao or dan ho, and ...
The birthplace of free reeds seems to have been eastern Asia. There, it is typical to place a small free reed, made of metal or bamboo, into a bamboo tube cut to the appropriate length so that its air column resonates at the reed’s frequency, increasing the volume and allowing the player to allow it to sound ...
Southeast Asian gongs that have a rising tone once struck. These include the Chinese jingluo, which is used in Chinese opera, and the Korean ching. Temple Bells In Japan and Tibet another form of gong is used in Buddhist ceremonies. These are called temple bells (dobachi), resting bells or singing bowls. These gongs are a basin of hammered bronze ...
The word ‘lute’ is the collective term for a category of instruments defined as ‘any chordophone having a neck that serves as string bearer, with the plane of the strings running parallel to that of the soundboard’. In other words, the lute is a soundbox with a neck sticking out. The strings of some are plucked, some are ...
of composers grew fond of the instrument and began to incorporate it into their own style. The 1940s saw a strong growth in its popularity and by the 1990s the Japan Mandolin Union boasted over 10,000 members. Despite its popularity in folk music, particularly in bluegrass, the mandolin has yet to develop a serious body of solo work. ...
horn, acrylic or other durable material. There are four finger holes on the front and one on the back. Xiao The notch flute is said to have arrived in Japan, in antiquity, from China, via Korea, where a similar instrument is called a tanso. The Chinese notch flute is called a xiao or dongxiao and is ...
In 1853 three major piano manufacturers were founded: Bechstein (Berlin), Blüthner (Leipzig) and Steinway (New York). Alongside Bösendorfer, founded in Austria in 1828, and Yamaha, founded in Japan at the turn of the century, they were to dominate the piano market for a century and more. The Solo Pianoforte Just as the violin was the prince of ...
The saxophone occupies an unusual position in that it is a bespoke instrument that has barely changed since its creation. Although it does not occupy the position in the orchestra its creator had envisaged, Adolphe Sax’s invention has played a central part in music ever since it burst on to the scene in the 1840s. Sax’s father, Charles, ...
often sited outside temples in the Far East and used to call the faithful to prayer. The temple block is a smaller slit drum, widely used in China, Japan and Korea. It was originally played to accompany Buddhist chants, but is now also used in folk instrumental ensembles. Temple blocks are bulbous in shape and often appear in ...
To most people, the word ‘zither’ evokes The Third Man film theme and an image of a flat box with a lot of strings. But in organological classification it is a term covering a substantial proportion of the world’s stringed instruments. The technical definition is a little convoluted, but in effect a zither is one or more stretched strings ...
1884–85 Premiered: 1885, London Libretto by W. S. Gilbert Act I The Mikado’s son, Nanki-Poo, has fled from court to avoid marrying Katisha and is now wandering Japan as a second trombone. He has returned to Titipu on hearing that Ko-Ko, his rival for Yum-Yum, has been condemned to death for flirting. Ko-Ko, however, ...
Alex Skolnick (b. 1968) is best known as a metal guitarist with thrash pioneers Testament, but metal is just one facet of the talented guitarist’s abilities. Skolnick was born in Berkeley, California. At the age of nine, he discovered Kiss and subsequently decided to learn guitar. He was later inspired by the highly technical work of Eddie Van ...
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