American Music

The music of the United States reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. Rock and roll, country, rhythm and blues, jazz, and hip hop are among the country's most internationally-renowned genres. Since the beginning of the 20th century, some forms of American popular music have gained a near global audience.
The earliest inhabitants of the United States were Native Americans who played the first music in the area. Beginning in the 17th century, immigrants from the British Isles, Spain, and France began arriving in large numbers, bringing with them new styles and instruments. African slaves brought musical traditions, and each subsequent wave of immigrants contributed to a melting pot.
Much of modern popular music can trace its roots to the emergence in the late 19th century of African American blues and the growth of gospel music in the 1920s. The African American basis for popular music used elements derived from European and indigenous musics. The United States has also seen documented folk music and recorded popular music produced in the ethnic styles of the Ukrainian, Irish, Scottish, Polish, Hispanic and Jewish communities, among others.
Many American cities and towns have vibrant music scenes which, in turn, support a number of regional musical styles. Aside from cities such as Detroit, New York, Chicago, Nashville and Los Angeles, many smaller cities have produced distinctive styles of music. The Cajun and Creole traditions in Louisiana music, the folk and popular styles of Hawaiian music, and the bluegrass and old time music of the Southeastern states are a few examples of diversity in American music.
 

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Chinese Music

The following are some of the most famous melodies from the Middle Kingdom. Each piece of the music has a story behind it, and thus forming a specific aesthetic and spiritual enjoyment. Begin this journey and immerse yourself in the unique charm of traditional Chinese music and instruments.

Ancient Chinese have left a wealth of music instruments and classic tunes. Erhu, Guzheng, Guqin, Xun, Pipa, and other traditional Chinese music instruments may alter your acquired definition of "music". The great works that have been playing for hundreds or thousands of years may also echo in you. We keep updating. Remember to bookmark us and Come back for more! Top quality CDs of traditional Chinese instrumental music are also available on Sinohits now.

Ten best-known ancient Chinese melodies Here are some of the most famous melodies from the Middle Kingdom. Each piece of the music has a story behind it, and thus forming a specific aesthetic and spiritual enjoyment. Begin this journey and immerse yourself in the unique charm of traditional Chinese music and instrument.

Suona Suona, a very expressive reed instrument with a conical metal bell, is very popular in China's vast countryside in funeral, wedding, and other celebrative occasions. Meanwhile, it is also an indispensable part of a number of local operas in Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Shandong, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Guangdong provincs.

Pipa Pipa, a four-string lute in pear shape, is an instrument that witnesses the cultural communication. The Pipa tunes have very diverse styles, and are traditionally classified as either Wen Qu (civil and mild tone) or Wu Qu (martial and fierce tone).

Erhu Erhu, a two-stringed fiddle, is one of the best-known traditional Chinese music instruments. Its music is usually very expressive and touching, especially when you feel down and blue.

Banhu Banhu is mainly an accompanying instrument for various local operas in North China. Its construction is basically the same with Erhu, and the most noticeable difference is that Banhu uses a thick wooden board to cover the soundbox instead of snakeskin.

Guzheng Zheng, or Guzheng is a kind of Chinese zither with movable bridges and 16 - 25 strings. It is one of the best-inherited ancient music instruments, and relatively more popular. What's more, Guzheng has been successfully incorporated in a lot of modern music like Chinese rock'n'roll

Guqin Guqin, literally meaning ancient ancient music instrument, is a seven-stringed zither without bridges. With a history of more than 3,000 years, Guqin music has been enlisted as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2003.

	Xun Xun, with a history of six to seven thousands years, is an earthen musical instrument, which can be categorized as a kind of ocarina. Its tamber similar to human voice, but emitting a very distant and primitive feeling, thus suitable for performing some lamenting aria.
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Japnese Music

Traditional japnese music::There are several types of traditional, Japanese music (hogaku). Some of the most important ones are listed below:

• Gagaku:
  Ancient court music from China and Korea. It is the oldest type of Japanese, traditional music.
• Biwagaku:
  Music played with the Biwa, a kind of guitar with four strings.
• Nohgaku:
  Music played during Noh performances. It basically consists of a chorus, the Hayashi flute, the Tsuzumi drum, and other instruments.
• Sokyoku:
  Music played with the Koto, a type of zither with 13 strings. Later also accompanied by Shamisen and Shakuhachi.
• Shakuhachi:
  Music played with the Shakuhachi, a bamboo flute that is about 55 cm long. The name of the flute is its length expressed in shaku an old Japanese unit of length.
• Shamisenongaku:
  Music played with the Shamisen, a kind of guitar with only three strings. Kabuki and Bunraku performances are accompanied by the shamisen.
• Minyo:
  Japanese folk songs.
• The earliest forms of music were drums and flute music accompanying the kagura shrine dances. From the 6th century on, music came from Korean and Chinese courts and monasteries and was performed at the Japanese court under the generic name gagaku (court music). The 8th-century court established a music bureau (gagakuryo) to be in charge of musical duties, both ritual and entertainment. The standard full-range gagaku ensemble has about 16 musicians on percussion, string, and reed instruments, the most distinctive being the free-reed mouth organ (sho), cyndrical oboe (hichiriki), the biwa lute, and the koto zither.
  
  Meanwhile with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century, Buddhist rites and liturgical chants gave rise to the development of a great variety of bells, gongs, wooden clappers, plaques, percussion tubes, and rattles, many of which found their way also into kabuki music of the Edo period (1600-1868).
  
  As Japan changed from a court to a military-dominated culture in the 12th century, theatrical genres of music started to develop. From this time Buddhist evangelists and chanters reciting long historical tales (notably the Heike monogatari) went around the country singing or chanting, accompanying themselves on the biwa lute, while noh became the official entertainment of the new warrior class. Its music was provided by hayashi (an ensemble of drums and flutes) plus chanters.
  
  From the 17th century, the shamisen (three-stringed plucked lute) came to the fore, providing the lively rhythm that dominated the sounds of the popular kabuki and bunraku theaters. In the bunraku puppet theater, a skilled chanter was accompanied by a shamisen, while in kabuki, shamisen solos or choruses were combined with flutes and drums and an eclectic assortment of folk and religious instruments.
  
  Japanese musical instruments are dominated by plucked string, flute and percussion instruments. Among the string instruments, special mention must be made of the koto (13-stringed zither). Formerly part of the gagaku ensemble, the koto was developed as a solo instrument from the 17th century, having its repertoire considerably enhanced by the Ikuta school in the 17th century and the Yamada school in the 18th century. Their solo and chamber music are considered by most Japanese to be the "classical" music of Japan. In percussion, the taiko nailed drum has taken off in popularity in recent years. Concerts of drum music provide popular entertainment at festivals and events, and drum groups such as Kodo have achieved spectacular success overseas. The end-blown bamboo flute, the shakuhachi, is another noteworthy solo instrument. It first developed under the influence of Zen priests, with new schools of performance growing up from the 16th to 19th centuries.
  
  In addition to religious and festival music, every region of Japan has its own folksongs - minyo - which, depending on daily activities of the traditional community, may be rice-planting songs, boatman's songs, sake-making songs, or grass-cutting songs, plus a variety of songs sung at parties. Among folk music styles, Okinawan music (from which the shamisen originally derived) is experiencing a strong revival. Enka, Japan's equivalent of American Country and Western music, commonly sung at karaoke bars, has some of its origins in older, traditional Japanese popular music