Gongche notation
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Gongche notation | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | gōng chě pǔ |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Jyutping | gung1 ce1 pou2 |
Gongche notation or gongchepu is a traditional
The notation usually uses a
Gongche 上
shàng尺
chě工
gōng凡
fán六
liù五
wǔ乙
yǐNumbered musical notation 1 2 3 (4) 5 6 (7) Movable do solfège syllabledo re mi (between fa and fa♯) sol la (between ti♭ and ti) Simplified Japanese notation ル 人 フ り 久 ゐ L
Usual variations
The three notes just below the central octave are usually represented by special characters:
Gongche 合
hé四
sì一
yīJianpu 5̣ 6̣ (7̣)
Solfege sol la (between ti♭ and ti) Simplified Japanese notation ム 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
Some other variations:
- "尺" is replaced by "乂" in the Taiwanese tradition.
- "凡" is replaced by "反" in the Cantonese tradition.
- "𱝫" (⿰彳上), the "do" just above the central octave, is usually replaced by "生" in the Cantonese tradition.
The following are two examples.
Gongche scale for Kunqu Gongche 𪛗 𪛘 𪛙 𪛚 𪛛 𪛜 𪛝 合 四 一 上 尺 工 凡 六 五 乙 仩 伬 仜 𠆩 𠆾 伍 亿 Jianpu 5̣̣ 6̣̣ 7̣̣ 1̣ 2̣ 3̣ 4̣ 5̣ 6̣ 7̣ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1̇ 2̇ 3̇ 4̇ 5̇ 6̇ 7̇ Solfege sol la ti do re mi fa sol la ti do re mi fa sol la ti do re mi fa sol la ti
Gongche scale for Cantonese opera Gongche 佮 仕 亿 仩 伬 仜 仮 合 士 乙 上 尺 工 反 六 五 𢒼 生 鿈 𢓁 𢓉 𢓌 鿉 Jianpu 5̣̣ 6̣̣ 7̣̣ 1̣ 2̣ 3̣ 4̣ 5̣ 6̣ 7̣ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1̇ 2̇ 3̇ 4̇ 5̇ 6̇ Solfege sol la ti do re mi fa sol la ti do re mi fa sol la ti do re mi fa sol la
Pronunciation
When the notes are sung in different opera traditions, they do not sound as the words would be pronounced in the respective
The following are two examples:
Pronunciation of Cantonese Gongche characters Gongche
character合 士 乙 上 尺 工 反 六 五 Cantonese Gongche
Jyutpingho4 si6 ji6 saang3 ce1 gung1 faan1 liu1 wu1 Cantonese Gongche
pronunciation[hɔ̏ː] [sìː] [jìː] [sɑ̄ːŋ] [tsʰɛ́ː] [kʊ́ŋ] [fɑ́ːn] [líːu] [wúː] Usual Cantonese
Jyutpinghap6 si6 jyut6 soeng6 cek3 gung1 faan2 luk6 ng5 Usual Cantonese
pronunciation[hɐ̀p] [sìː] [jỳːt] [sœ̀ːŋ] [tsʰɛ̄ːk] [kʊ́ŋ] [fɑ̌ːn] [lʊ̀k] [ŋ̬̍]
Pronunciation of Vietnamese Gongche characters Gongche
character合 士 乙 上 尺 工 凡 六 五 Sino-Vietnamese Gongche
pronunciationhò xự y xang xê cống phạn líu ú Usual Sino-Vietnamese
pronunciationhợp sĩ ất thượng xích công phàm lục ngũ
Rhythm
Gongche notation does not mark the relative length of the notes. Instead, marks for the
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 be 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 dynasty. 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, typically using 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).
Kunkunshi, a Ryukyuan musical notation still in use for sanshin, was directly influenced by Gongche.[1]
See also
- Jianpu
References
- ^ East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea (Garland Encyclopedia of World Music). 2001. page 828
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 notation.