Third Grade and Chinese Luogu Percussion Ensemble

This week, third grade was introduced to the Chinese musical tradition of the Luogu Percussion Ensemble. Luogu literally means "gongs and drums", Luo-gongs gu-drums. Drums, gongs and cymbals are some of  the most popular instruments in traditional Chinese music. You can find Luogu ensembles in the opera theater, festivals and religious ritual ceremonies. Depending on the venue and purpose, different types of instruments may be used. 

We began our introduction with a brief history of the music of China and an overview of just some of the instruments found in a traditional Luogu ensemble:

Daluo-Large Gong

Jingbo-Cymbal

Xing-bells

Xiaoluo-Small Gong

Musicians in a Luogu ensemble learn rhythms using mneumonic (sound/chanted) syllables. Below is a chart of the instruments, mneumonic symbols and word used when learning the rhythm:

We started by learning the chanted syllables for the piece "Shi Wu I" or Lion Dance (Shi=Lion, wu=dance)

It is important for musicians to chant the syllables out loud first while they are learning the piece. Later, they can just say the syllables in their heads. The drum is the lead instrument and foundation of the Luogu ensemble, so we started by learning the the drum part first. The drums we used are not traditional Chinese drums, but we were able to use the drumming technique and get an idea of the sound using our Tubano drums. We are excited to try this with some of our traditional drums soon!

Third grade did an amazing job!

(All images of instruments courtesy of Grinnell College's instrument collection)

You can watch a performance of young Luogu Percussion Ensemble Players here.