Research question

The shift of register in qin music and in Bach Cello Suites.

10 MOST INTRIGUING MUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS:7

7:Music Breathing and Phrasing Typology

One of the greatest contemporary Chinese erhu soloists, Min Hui-Fen, used to say to me, in a definitive manner, that 'what is special about bowed string instruments, erhu and violin alike, is that it delivers a continuous line that flows without stop--different from a sound point in time delivered by plucking a string or striking a key on the piano'. She suggested that I must follow this and play always a long, continuous musical line that hold the continuous breath and vibrato. Now Indonesian rebab player would disagree with this generalization--they are trained aesthetically to play fiddle music in a highly discontinued manner. Where they got this idea of breaking a continuous musical line into several parts and let them flow out one by one is for sure from the singing, if you've heard the Indonesian singers, whom the fiddle imitates. Where erhu master got her idea--not necessarily a traditional Chinese one--is possible to be related to the modern solo erhu aesthetics that is akin to the influence of violin music. Yes, to think about it, great violinists know how to play a long continuous line of music that can last a few minutes without apparently taking a breath, and that is for sure a very different typology than the Indonesian rebab.

10 MOST INTRIGUING MUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS:8

8: Fiddle Music Typology

Indonesian Rebab is mostly used to accompany and imitate singing by following closely the melody of the singers. Indian Sarangi has the same relationship with the singers but at the same time is not regarded as the important instruments such as sitar and tabla. Chinese huqin plays a great role in the ensembles that accompanying the Chinese opera singing, but never follow the singers that closely as it stands out. Violin in Western classical music usually do not serve as the imitation of the singers and by all means developed the most specialized techniques that requires an excessive amount of specialized training to master. How and why do cultures classify, value, and make use of fiddle instruments differently, on top of their diverse musical styles, playing techniques and conventions?This is one important question if one wants to understand the lives of different fiddles---a most common instrument found in many many cultures.

10 MOST INTRIGUING MUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS:9

9 Music and Affection

The music therapy must be functioning through social and psychological factors. So, music and affection--both person-to-object affection and person-to-person affection----is the topic right on top of no.10. Why do people feel music has a probably stronger communication power than language (despite the saying that 'music is a universal language')?Some say music communicates affection and mood. When I met the Indonesian singer Rita Tila, and we played with Gamelan ensemble for two weeks followed by two concerts, everyone feel great emotional attachment with each other. Even though we have not talked much with one another, we feel that playing music ties us stronger than other means of communication--through music making, we feel we are so close and we know each other so well that it's even better than if we've talked for a long long time. 

10 MOST INTRIGUING MUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS:10

10:Music and Healing

Every time after playing in concerts, I feel empowered and refreshed, my physical health improved. Why is that? It turns out that after a long time, the question is not as simple as 'music can heal' any more, as certain complications that came along. For instance, in what situation music can improve my health? If someone cannot play music but likes to listen to it, are they likely to benefit from it? Being a musician I feel that listening (passive experiences comparing to making music) is much less effective than playing (active creative expression). On the other hand, I came to realize more and more that music may not be directly affecting the physical status--it is very much through the psychological and social level of communication. If I play music by myself, I may not feel the healing power; if I play with other musicians, I can feel better but still restrained power; only when I play for many many people that I feel the great power of pleasing myself and thus healing. It resembles the pleasure I had after I attend a pleasant social event where I can communicate happily with friends. So, after all, how does this work?