Guangdong music, also known as Cantonese music (广东音乐 Guǎngdōng yīnyuè) is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from Guangzhou and surrounding areas. The name of the music is not an accurate description because the Guangdong music is not the the music of the Guangdong area. In Guangdong, there are numerous genres like Chaozhou Music and Hakka Music (Hakka Hanyue). The name of the music is originated in the 1920-30s when the music was popular in Shanghai's ballroom in the form of "Spiritual Music" (精神音樂 Jīnshěn Yīnyuè). As the performers were almost entirely from Guangdong, the Shanghai people generalized the form of music as Guangdong Music. It is based on Yueju (Cantonese opera) music, together with new compositions from the 1920s onwards. Many pieces have influences from jazz and western music, using syncopation and triple time. Cantonese music or Guangdong Music is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from Guangzhou and surrounding areas. ... Guangzhou is the capital and the sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern Chinas Cantonese culture. ... In music, syncopation is the stressing of a normally unstressed beat in a bar or the failure to sound a tone on an accented beat. ...
The gaohu is the most common lead instrument used in performing Cantonese music. It was invented by the maestro Lü Wencheng in the 1920s. The gaohu (é«è¡) is a Chinese bowed string instrument used in playing traditional Guangdong Cantonese music and operas. ...
Audio Samples
Ping Hu Qiu Yue (file info) — play in browser (beta)
Sample of "Ping Hu Qiu Yue" (平湖秋月, Autumn Moon On Calm Lake). Composed by Lu Wencheng. Gaohu solo played by Yu Qiwei, with guzheng accompaniment.)
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Jiao shi ming qin (file info) — play in browser (beta)
Sample of "Jiao shi ming qin" (蕉石鸣琴 Playing the qin by banana rock). Composed by Lu Wencheng, played by a small ensemble of five instruments, gaohu played by Yu Qiwei.