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"I believe composers must forge forms out of the many influences that play upon them and never close their ears to any part of the world of sound." —HENRY COWELL

Key Points

  • Composer John Cage invented the prepared piano to simulate the sound of the Javanese gamelan orchestra.
  • The gamelan is an ensemble of metallic percussion instruments played in Indonesia (on the islands of Java and Bali, in particular).
  • Inspired by the complexity of African drumming and of gamelan music, the Hungarian composer György Ligeti experimented with rhythm (additive meters and polyrhythm) in his piano études.
  • The royal court music of Uganda featured tuned drums that played pentatonic melodies within a dense polyrhythmic framework.
  • The music of Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng merges Eastern and Western sound material and concepts.
  • The Moon Reflected on the Second Springs is a traditional Chinese piece for the two-string fiddle (erhu).
  • Improvisation, where the performer takes a role in the compositional process, is common not only in jazz but also in the solo genres of various Asian countries, including China, India, and Iran (CP 22).

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