Gongche notation
Encyclopedia
Gongche notation or gongchepu is a traditional musical notation
method, once popular in ancient China
. It uses Chinese character
s to represent musical notes. It was named after two of the Chinese characters that were used to represent musical notes, namely "工" gōng and "尺" chě. Since the pronunciation chě for the character "尺" is uncommon, many people call it gongchi notation or gongchipu by mistake.
Sheet music
written in this notation is still used for traditional Chinese musical instruments
and Chinese opera
s. However the notation is becoming less popular, replaced by mostly jianpu (numbered musical notation
) and sometimes the standard western notation.
.
Sometimes "士" shì is used instead of "四" sì. Sometimes "一" yī is not used, or its role is exchanged with "乙" yǐ.
To represent other notes in different octave
s, traditions differ among themselves. For Kunqu
, the end strokes of "上" "尺" "工" "凡" are extended by a tiny slash downward for the lower octave, a radical
"亻" is added for one octave higher than the central. For Cantonese opera
, however, "亻" means an octave lower, while "彳" means an octave higher.
Some other variations:
The following are two examples.
. Instead, they are pronounced in an approximation of Modern Standard Chinese pronunciaton.
The following is an example from Cantonese opera.
Gongche notation does not mark the relative length of the notes. Instead, marks for the percussion, understood to be played at regular intervals, are written alongside with the notes. Gongche is written in the same format as how Chinese was traditionally written; from top to bottom and then from right to left. The rhythm marks are written to the right of the note characters.
The diagram at the left illustrates how the tune "Old McDonald Had a Farm" will look like if written in gongche notation. Here, "。" denotes the stronger beat, called "板" bǎn or "拍" pāi, and "、" denotes the weaker beat, called "眼" yǎn or "撩" liáo. In effect, there is one beat in every two notes, i.e. two notes are sung or played to each beat. These notes in solfege with markings will show a similar effect:
Using this method, only the number of notes within a beat can specified. The actual length of each note is up to tradition and the interpretation of the artist.
Notice that the actual rhythm marks used differ among various traditions.
. It became popular in the Song Dynasty
. It is believed to have begun as a tablature
of certain musical instrument, possibly using a fixed "do" system. Later it became a popular pitch notation, using usually a movable "do" system.
The notation is not accurate in modern sense. It provides a musical skeleton, allowing an artist to improvise. The details are usually passed on by oral tradition. However, once a tradition is lost, it is very difficult to reconstruct how the music was supposed to sound. Variations among different traditions increased the difficulty in learning the notation.
The system was also introduced to Korea (where it is referred to as gong jeok bo) in ancient times and many traditional musicians still learn their music from such scores (although they typically perform from memory).
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
method, once popular in ancient China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It uses Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s to represent musical notes. It was named after two of the Chinese characters that were used to represent musical notes, namely "工" gōng and "尺" chě. Since the pronunciation chě for the character "尺" is uncommon, many people call it gongchi notation or gongchipu by mistake.
Sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
written in this notation is still used for traditional Chinese musical instruments
Traditional Chinese musical instruments
-The Eight Sounds or Eight Tones :The eight categories are: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide. There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications. This is one of the first musical classifications ever.-Silk :...
and Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
s. However the notation is becoming less popular, replaced by mostly jianpu (numbered musical notation
Numbered musical notation
The numbered musical notation, better known as in Chinese, is a musical notation system widely used among the Chinese people. Some people call it the numeric notation or numerical notation, but it is not to be confused with the integer notation...
) and sometimes the standard western notation.
Basic characters
The notation usually uses a movable "do" system. There are variations of the character set used for musical notes. A commonly accepted set is shown below with its relation to jianpu and solfegeSolfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
.
| Gongche | 上 shàng |
尺 chě |
工 gōng |
凡 fán |
六 liù |
五 wǔ |
乙 yǐ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jianpu | 1 | 2 | 3 | (4) | 5 | 6 | (7) |
| Movable do solfège syllable Solfege In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable... |
do | re | mi | (between fa and fa♯) | sol | la | (between ti♭ and ti) |
| Simplified | ル | 人 | フ | り | 久 | ゐ |
Usual variations
The three notes just below the central octave are usually represented by special characters:| Gongche | 合 hé |
四 sì |
一 yī |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jianpu | 5 ‧ |
6 ‧ |
(7) ‧ |
| Solfege | sol | la | (between ti♭ and ti) |
| Simplified | ㄙ | マ | ㄧ |
Sometimes "士" shì is used instead of "四" sì. Sometimes "一" yī is not used, or its role is exchanged with "乙" yǐ.
To represent other notes in different octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, traditions differ among themselves. For Kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
, the end strokes of "上" "尺" "工" "凡" are extended by a tiny slash downward for the lower octave, a radical
Radical (Chinese character)
A Chinese radical is a component of a Chinese character. The term may variously refer to the original semantic element of a character, or to any semantic element, or, loosely, to any element whatever its origin or purpose...
"亻" is added for one octave higher than the central. For Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Cantonese culture. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing,...
, however, "亻" means an octave lower, while "彳" means an octave higher.
Some other variations:
- "尺" is replaced by "乂" in Taiwanese tradition.
- "凡" is replaced by "反" in Cantonese tradition.
- "彳上", the "do" just above the central octave, is usually replaced by "生" in Cantonese tradition.
The following are two examples.
| Gongche | 合 | 四 | 一 | 上 | 尺 | 工 | 凡 | 六 | 五 | 乙 | 仩 | 伬 | 仜 | 𠆩 | 𠆾 | 伍 | 億 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jianpu | 1 ‧ |
2 ‧ |
3 ‧ |
4 ‧ |
5 ‧ |
6 ‧ |
7 ‧ |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ‧ 1 |
‧ 2 |
‧ 3 |
‧ 4 |
‧ 5 |
‧ 6 |
‧ 7 |
| Solfege | do | re | mi | fa | sol | la | ti | do | re | mi | fa | sol | la | ti | do | re | mi | fa | sol | la | ti |
| Gongche | 佮 | 仕 | 億 | 仩 | 伬 | 仜 | 仮 | 合 | 士 | 乙 | 上 | 尺 | 工 | 反 | 六 | 五 | 𢒼 | 生 | 彳尺 | 𢓁 | 𢓉 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jianpu | 5 ： |
6 ： |
7 ： |
1 ‧ |
2 ‧ |
3 ‧ |
4 ‧ |
5 ‧ |
6 ‧ |
7 ‧ |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ‧ 1 |
‧ 2 |
‧ 3 |
‧ 4 |
| Solfege | sol | la | ti | do | re | mi | fa | sol | la | ti | do | re | mi | fa | sol | la | ti | do | re | mi | fa |
Pronunciation
When the notes are sung in different opera traditions, they do not sound as the words would be pronounced in the respective regional dialectsVarieties of Chinese
Chinese comprises many regional language varieties sometimes grouped together as the Chinese dialects, the primary ones being Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, and Min. These are not mutually intelligible, and even many of the regional varieties are themselves composed of a number of...
. Instead, they are pronounced in an approximation of Modern Standard Chinese pronunciaton.
The following is an example from Cantonese opera.
| Gongche character |
合 | 士 | 乙 | 上 | 尺 | 工 | 反 | 六 | 五 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantonese Gongche pronunciation |
hɔ̭ː | sìː | jìː | sɑ̄ːŋ | tsʰɛ́ː | kʊ́ŋ | fɑ́ːn | líːu | wúː |
| Usual Cantonese pronunciation |
hɐ̀p | sìː | jỳːt | sœ̀ːŋ | tsʰɛ̄ːk | kʊ́ŋ | fɑ̌ːn | lʊ̀k | ŋ̬̍ |
Rhythm
The diagram at the left illustrates how the tune "Old McDonald Had a Farm" will look like if written in gongche notation. Here, "。" denotes the stronger beat, called "板" bǎn or "拍" pāi, and "、" denotes the weaker beat, called "眼" yǎn or "撩" liáo. In effect, there is one beat in every two notes, i.e. two notes are sung or played to each beat. These notes in solfege with markings will show a similar effect:
- do do do sol la la sol mi mi re re do
Using this method, only the number of notes within a beat can specified. The actual length of each note is up to tradition and the interpretation of the artist.
Notice that the actual rhythm marks used differ among various traditions.
History and usage
Gongche notation was invented in the Tang DynastyTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
. It became popular in the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. It is believed to have begun as a tablature
Tablature
Tablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches....
of certain musical instrument, possibly using a fixed "do" system. Later it became a popular pitch notation, using usually a movable "do" system.
The notation is not accurate in modern sense. It provides a musical skeleton, allowing an artist to improvise. The details are usually passed on by oral tradition. However, once a tradition is lost, it is very difficult to reconstruct how the music was supposed to sound. Variations among different traditions increased the difficulty in learning the notation.
The system was also introduced to Korea (where it is referred to as gong jeok bo) in ancient times and many traditional musicians still learn their music from such scores (although they typically perform from memory).
External links
- Cantonese Opera (in Chinese) explains how the gongche notation is used in Cantonese opera. This document shows how the same piece of music is written in gongchepu, jianpu, and the standard notationMusical notationMusic notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
.