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Q: How awful is Chinese music?
I'm often subjected to Chinese popular music. People will often play me songs and ask me what I think. It's just plain ghastly. It makes The Backstreet Boys look edgy and completely credible - which is no mean feat. It's insipid, pre-chewed, flavourless, banal horse shit - and that's being nice.
Has anyone had a positive experience?
8 years 41 weeks ago in Arts & Entertainment - China
I love the Chinese opera music.
Especially when they strangle drunken cats and then my ears bleed. 
I love the Chinese opera music.
Especially when they strangle drunken cats and then my ears bleed.
like it was written by tone deaf children. perhaps they try really hard to avoid borrowing elements from foreign music, because their 'art' must remain culturally 'pure'. perhaps they try to mimic the artistry of classical music to gain the sophistication. in reality, they succeed in copying the dullness of classical music, without any of its uniqueness.
At the gym, I will actually wear ear plugs instead of ear phones, simply because the management sees fit to blare that crap at inescapable volumes.
I simply love Chinese music.
Especially, when one's phone ringer is some Chinese song.
Traveled by bus yesterday for some 4 hours, and the day started fairly good!
I remembered to take my valet, buTT....I forgot to take an I-pod
.
On my return, we boarded modern coach with teli on for the whole ride. Driver had only one short, 20' long something.
Everybody enjoyed 20' clip being repeated for 2h. Chinese don't mind repeating.
After I've returned to my flat, I had desire to enter decompression chamber, similar like after the whole day's diving expedition.
with popular music I must say NO and agree with you. Yet, I find some instrumental semi classical quite refreshing and relaxing.
I was stuck on a very crowded bus recently and was jammed up against the tv. It played 3 Beyond songs for the hour + on repeat. Oh the horror. That said, Beyond is one of the better ones. An hour of Han Hong or Angela Baby would have done me in.
The only positive experiences with Chinese music I've had is when I put in my earphones and crank up Megadeth to drown out the saccharine J/K/C/M/Whatever-Pop music, or Beijing Opera.
99% of their music I wouldn't call music, even their classical music pieces
I'm not talking about chinese opera which any sane human being can tell is screaming. Years ago I asked my secretary, a traditional chinese and a chinese opera fan what was it that she loved about chinese opera, she answered without hesitation, "the costume!" About 8 years later, I had the opportunity again, this time being invited by a kind chinese lady to attend a live chinese opera show. I asked her, and the people sitting around me (mostly oldies, and middle age upwards) the same question, exactly the same answer. #$%#$% Even to fans in their 80s who have been watching these all their life, it was an ancient costume fashion show!
The 1% that I find acceptable is the Plucked Guqin, an ancient instrument, also known as the father of chinese music, originated during Confucius era. It works and sounds like the harp. The really good ones are made from a huge block of natural wood (certain tree species) which is not easy to find. The flat, thin ones you see everywhere are cheap garbage.
Because the majority of chinese music pieces use the pentatonic tones only, perfect harmony is a guarantee (simple science). i.e. you can never go wrong, playing the wrong tones. Once you've heard the deep, natural, soothing sound of a genuine Guqin, live, if you are like me, you will never forget the richness, the naturalness of the sound it emits. You can find plenty of Guqin pieces on youtube.
This is what it looks like. This one is not thick enough, barely passing commercial grade only.
earthizen:
Hahahaha, rolling on the ground. You know, one school says those who know how to dress never bare themselves too much, in fact just a little, they wear formless costumes to entice you to imagine the actual body figure. That of course needs a really good figure. The pro level, screw your mind first? haha. 
icnif77:
'pippa' is different instrument. You can hold it in your hands, like violin.
I want to say 'no chair is required....'
earthizen:
Haha, I was wondering if that was what you meant. Pear shape 'guitar'. Doesn't sound nice. But yes, I get what you mean, hahaha, playing 'pi_pao' horizontally on your lap, is fun....ahem....divine actually.....
Their spoken language sounds ghastly... I imagine that their music would as well.
*on an unrelated note I think I have discovered something living in my current apartment... I hear neighbors in the hallway all day and they yell at their kids all the time. I think this really warps the little ones minds over time,,,, I believe that this is Han-wide behavior and has been going on for millennia. I think this is a big part of why china society is so intercoursed up.
earthizen:
Ahhhh my friend, spot on, with mainlanders. Harsh, cold, stony voice, ie the majority. The first time I was in their first modern subway, in Shenzhen, the auto-record (?) announcer's voice was loud, cold, piercing, invasive, like 'speaking' to a deadly enemy who you want dead. I was completely shocked. I also instinctively knew, right there, something was very wrong with these "people".
Then I remembered what my Mandarin teacher (in Hong Kong) said about Da Lu ren's Mandarin, "garbage, nothing like what it was like in the olden days". Let me tell you his qualifications. Genius, artist (musician), scientist, inventor, a renaissance man. In his 60s, he looked like Sean Connery, also with a whitish beard. Perfectly dressed, not suits, with class, no flabby flesh. He and his wife worked in Sichuan's top secret military base for decades. "Imprisonment" is more like it. The nice way to say is, "national treasure". Anyway, he got 'lucky', the couple escaped and emigrated to HK. The guy spoke Mandarin the way I have never heard anyone spoke it (not even to this day), melodic, the intonation perfect, the texture is soooooo rich that anyone would immediately sit up and listen, amazed at the beauty.
The closest you can find an authentic Mandarin speaker would be Taiwan. The Mandarin they speak sounds different. So much nicer. I can bet a guy from Amazon forest without an iota f what is being said can tell the difference. When spoken in authentic, traditional chinese way, many say Mandarin and French sounds beautiful.
Should ask Dr. Monkey about that, haha.
iWolf:
An interesting comment for me.
My wife's family speak a Cantonese dialect which is so different from Cantonese that it is unintelligible to anyone who isn't from this town. At family gatherings it sounds like monkeys fighting, however, her best friend from that town sounds nothing like this. When she speaks it, it is melodic and quite a beautiful language. Note that this girl has basic highschool education and can speak mandarin about as well as me. I find this interesting.
