EAST ASIA MUSIC

Pipa

A four-stringed lute with a pear-shaped body, known for its wide dynamic range and expressive power.

Erhu

A two-stringed fiddle, one of the most popular Chinese instruments.

Sheng

Also known as the Chinese mouth organ, it resembles ser panpipes with bamboo pipes and has 12 to 36 pipes.

Dizi

The traditional Chinese flute.

Zheng

An ancient Chinese instrument with an arched surface and elongated-trapezoid shape, featuring 13 to 21 strings stretched over individual bridges.

Pengling

Two small bells made of high-tin bronze, shaped like hemispheric or bottomless gourds, and without internal clappers.

Chong-ak

Literally meaning "right (or correct) music," it refers to the music for the noble classes in Korea.

Sog-ak or minsogak

A category of vibrant and energetic Korean music traditionally associated with the lower classes or the general public, including genres like pansori and minyo.

Pansori

A type of Korean music performed by skilled vocal singers and drummers, often sung by both skilled and unskilled individuals during various life circumstances.

Kayagum (gayageum)

A traditional Korean zither-like string instrument with 12 strings, known as one of the most well-known Korean musical instruments.

Geomungo

A six-string plucked zither, part of the zither family of instruments, with both bridge frets.

Haegum

A two-string vertical fiddle with a rod-like neck, hollow wooden soundbox, and played with a bow.

Piri

A bamboo wind instrument used in both folk and classical Korean music.

Changgo

The most widely used drum in traditional Korean music, consisting of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin.

Arirang

A Korean folk song symbolizing Korea and its culture, often associated with sad stories and partings.

Biwa

A Japanese short-necked fretted lute used in narrative storytelling.

Hichiriki

A double reed Japanese flute used in Japanese gagaku music.

Shakuhachi

The most famous Japanese flute made from bamboo, with four or five finger holes on the front face.

Shamisen

A two-string vertical fiddle with a rod-like neck, hollow wooden soundbox, and played with a bow.

Shō

A Japanese free-reed musical instrument with 17 slender bamboo pipes and a metal free reed, introduced from China during the Nara period.

Sog-ak or minsogak

A category of vibrant and energetic Korean music traditionally associated with the lower classes or the general public.

Strophic

The simplest and most durable musical form, elaborating a piece of music by repeating a single formal section.

Ching

a huge gong played by means of a padded stick

Komunggo

a zither that is similar to the koto of japan

Koto

a 13-string zither, about two meters long and made of Pa wood.

Lute

a stringed instrument having a body shaped like a pear lengthwise and a neck with a fretted fingerboard that is usually be below the tuning pegs

Nokan

a parallel, bamboo flute (fue) which is the only melodic instrument used in noh

Shinobue

a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound

Odaiko