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Tibetan Music

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Tibetan Music

 

  1. Background
    1. History
    2. Culture
  2. Music
    1. Religious Influences
    2. Instrumentation
    3. Structure
    4. IB Music Rubric
  3. Miscellaneous
    1. Influences on Western Music
    2. Influences from Western Music
    3. Audio File:
  4. Group members
  5. Works Cited
  6. Pictures Works Cited

 

 

 

Background

History

 

The region of Tibet is located in the southern region of China, right above Nepal. The Tibetan kingdom was created in the 6th century A.D. The Tibetan dynasty collapsed in 877 A.D. and was then conquered by the Mongolians in the 13th and 14th centuries. It later came under Chinese rule after the fall of the Mongolian and Ming dynasties, and China inherited Tibet. Tibet was ruled mainly by the Chinese Qing Dynasty which lasted from 1644-1911. The Qing dynasty recognized the Tibetan religious leaders, Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas, giving them political power until China came under Communist rule and this power was taken away. Under the Communist-ruled People's Republic of China, the Tibetan Autonomous Region was created covering Tibet in its entirety.

 

Culture

 

 

Their language comes from Tibeto-Burman or the Sino-Tibetan family. There are three different dialects, and has roots in ancient Chinese, modern Daic, and Burmese. Tibetan writing style was not based on Chinese characters but from the Sanskrit alphabet and grammar was used mainly to translate directly the Buddhist literature of India. The dominant indigenous religion of Tibet is Bon, which evolved from northern and Inner Indian shamanism. In combination with North Indian Tantric Buddhism which was introduced to Tibet in the late 7th century. Combined, Bon and Tantric Buddhism created Tibetan Buddhism. They call this relgion Lamaism.

 

Tibet is a "fringe" region between many different cultures, and has roots in a number of different cultures due in part to their being conquered and controlled by a variety of major Asian dynasties. India and China have had great influence over Tibetan culture, and many Eurasian nations have roots that lie in Tibet. Also, Kham, India, Bhutan and Nepal have been greatly influenced by Tibetan culture as well. Finally, during the Mongolian reign in Tibet during the 13th and 14th centuries, cultures assimilated and Mongolian traditions were adopted by Tibetans and vice versa. From this, we get this "fringe" culture known in Tibet. However, Tibet has had the biggest influence on the Turko-Mongolian, the Chinese and the Indian cultures.

 

 

 

Music

Religious Influences

 

Tibetan music is religious, and reflects the morals and beliefs in Tibetan Buddhist lifestyles. Bon chants are organized in strophic form, often repeating similar concepts drawn from Buddhist principles. Chanting in Tibetan or Sanskrit is pivotal in Tibetan music. Often times, the chants are of sacred texts in celebration of important festivals in the Buddhist religion. According to Tibetan legend, when Bon priests play drums, he is thought to be "mounting a flying steed to heaven to communicate with the gods" (Wong 2005). Many sounds are thought to represent the gods or that the gods use the voice as a medium to send a message to the masses. In Tibetan Buddhist, or Bon culture, music (vocal as well as instrumental) is employed in the monastic routines that focus on five daily assemblies held in the monastery shrine hall between sunrise and sunset. The daily services consist of mainly vocal chants without instruments, yet the interludes between separate chants are instrumental interludes. Much of their music also consists of thanksgiving hymns, and hymns of praise to the Buddha. Lamaism "is a unique form of Buddhism that focuses on putting the Buddhist teachings into practice by following the precept of one's personal teacher, or lama...which means "unexcelled," and is the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit guru" (Lamaism).

 

Instrumentation

 

Bon uses many indigenous instruments such as the phyedrna (single-headed drum) and the gshan (“flute bell”). Flutes and trumpets made of animal bones are also used. Much of the indigenous instruments are used in Bon ritualistic services and performances. In addition, a "variety of vocal techniques are used, such as gliding before and after a given note, whistling, shouting, or masking the voice" (Wong 2005). Percussion instruments are vital in Tibetan music because often times vocal chants are only accompanied by a percussion instrument in order to maintain the rhythm of the chant. The Tingsha is a small hand cymbals attached with a string. They are played in pairs by striking them together, which is thoguht to create a "clear sustaining sound which calms the mind and can be helpful during meditation" (***instrument site***). The are "traditionally used by Tibetan Lamas and lay practitioners as an offering of compassion and generosity to "hungry ghosts" suffering from desire" (instrument site). Many more modernized instruments include:

 

This is a Drilbu, a hand-bell, held in the left hand, and played with the hand-drum by the same player. Its pitch may be definite, but is not functional as such. This is classified as a Tibetan percussion instrument with an indefinite pitch.

 

This is a Damaru, which is a hand-drum shaped like an hour-glass, and played by rotation of the right hand, so it makes the clappers strike the membranes. It is played with the hand-bell by the same player. It is modernly made from wood, but it used to be made from human half-crania.

 

This is a Rolmo, which arecymbals with broad central bosses, and the are played by holding one above the other and striking with a vertical movement.

 

This is a Silnyen, which are cymbals with small or no central bosses, played by striking with horizontal movement.

 

Gong Ting Ting-this instrument is used in many Bon rituals as a way of signaling the time for calling to the gods.

 

Shawms-This is the immediate ancestor of the oboe. There is a range in which the instrument can be produced according the range of pitches that can be played by different shawms. There is the sopranino which plays in C, the alto in F or G, the tenor, the basset, great bass, and the bass. They coincide with early Renaissance instruments and are double-reed instruments having a conical bore, lacking a hole for the left thumb.

 

 

Cymbals-which coincide with modern day cymbals and were used as another percussive instrument.

 

Tibetan stringed instruments were used during ceremonies especially during soft chants as music played for the gods.

 

Structure

 

"Tibetan Buddhist chants are divided into 'don, recitation chants; rta, melodic chants; and dbyans, tone contour chants. The general designation for the monastic chant repertoire is 'don cha. The recitation chants are stylized recitations that employ reiterating pitch and rhythmic patterns according to the words in the sentences.

 

Rta are melodic chants with distinctly patterned melodies. Unlike 'don, they are relatively independent of their texts and are considered melodic and musical. However, their performance is called "speaking." They are similar to melodies in Western and non-Tibetan performance traditions.

 

Dbyans are tone contour chants and are considered the most beautiful chants used in Tibetan music. They are very slow, low-pitched, and most complex. In contradistinction to 'don and rta, which are "spoken," the dbyans are "intoned." They include changes in intonation, pitch, loudness, and (most remarkably) overtone mixtures, which are perceived as two or more pitches produced simultaneously by one singer" (Chanting)

 

IB Music Rubric

 

Miscellaneous

 

Influences on Western Music

 

Tibetan music has had a profound effect on the modern music of the western world. Artists first began to popularize Tibetan music in the 80’s, and since then Tibet has had a lot of commercial exposure, and this has helped raise money for poverty-stricken Tibet. Monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery have given performances all over the world in order to raise money for charitable organizations (Asia Africa Intelligence Line). American musicians such as minimalist Phillip Glass and country singer Sheryl Crow have combined performances with the Drepung Monks to raise money for research to be done in Tibet (Eldredge). Phillip Glass holds an especially close relationship to Tibet, embodied in his Oscar-nominated music score for the film “Kundun”, which was inspired by the Dalai Lama’s expulsion from Tibet. He has performed at multiple fundraisers to raise awareness for Tibet as well.

 

Influences from Western Music

 

While Tibetan music is distinctly non-western, Tibetans have integrated themselves into the western-sounding pop music industry. More and more songs are being written about Tibet, and it has sparked interest in the country of origin. Aspiring artists from Tibet have gone through China to achieve fame in this genre of music. For example, Han Hong, a pop singer from Tibet, “trained at the Central Conservatory of Music and the Art Institute of the PLA” (China Tibet Information Center). She sings and writes songs about her experiences in Tibet, combining classical Tibetan folk music with the modern pop style. Han Hong is only one example of the pop music wave in Tibet and China. Tibetans have evolved from the traditional chanting and folk tunes to the western style of music. However Tibet is best remembered for the distinct, traditional styles that have been part of their society for thousands of years.

 

 

Audio File:

http://0-internal.btpl2.classical.com.catalog.btpl.org:80/permalink/recording/3221297128/

 

Group members

  • Emily Nine
  • Kristen Jackson

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

 

 

 

Pictures Works Cited

 

Draft 1

Draft 2

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