lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

348ARTS & ARCHITECTUREMyanmar dancescholars havecataloguedaround 2000dance movements,including13 head movements,28 eyemovements, eightbody posturesand 10 walkingmovements.Classical MusicClassical music traditions were largely borrowed from Siam musicians inthe late 1800s, who borrowed the traditions from Cambodian conquestscenturies earlier. Myanmar classical music, as played today, was codifiedby Po Sein, a colonial-era musician, composer and drummer who alsodesigned the hsaing waing (the circle of tuned drums, also known aspaq waing) and formalised classical dancing styles. Such music is meantto be played as an accompaniment to classical dance-dramas that enactscenes from the Jataka or from the Ramayana.Musical instruments are predominantly percussive, but even the hsaingwaing may carry the melody. These drums are tuned by placing awad of paq-sa a (drum food) – made from a kneaded paste of rice andwood ash – onto the centre of the drum head, then adding or subtractinga pinch at a time till the desired drum tone is attained.In addition to the hsaing waing, the traditional hsaing (Myanmarensemble) of seven to 10 musicians will usually play: the kye waing (acircle of tuned brass gongs); the saung gauq (a boat-shaped harp with13 strings); the pattala a (a sort of xylophone); the hneh h (an oboe-type in-strument related to the Indian shanai); the pa-lwe (a bamboo flute); themi-gyaung g (crocodile lute); the paq-ma a (a bass drum); and the yagwin(small cymbals) and wa leq-hkouq q (bamboo clappers), which are purelyrhythmic and are often played by Myanmar vocalists.The beautifullypainted littleparasols you seearound Myanmarare often made inPathein – in factthey’re knownas Pathein hti(Patheinumbrellas).FolkOlder than Myanmar classical music is an enchanting vocal folk-musictradition still heard in rural areas where locals may sing without instrumentalaccompaniment while working. Such folk songs set the work cadenceand provide a distraction from the physical strain and monotonyof pounding rice, clearing fields, weaving and so on. This type of music ismost readily heard in the Ayeyarwady Delta between Twante and Pathein.Rock & RapWestern pop music’s influence first came in the 1970s, when singers suchas Min Min Latt and Takatho Tun Naung sang shocking things such asBeatles cover versions or ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree’.This led to long-haired, distorted-guitar rock bands such as Empire andIron Cross (aka IC) in the 1980s. Two decades later, no-one’s bigger thanIron Cross – try to see them live (you’re sure to see them on videotapeat teashops or on all-night buses). Another big band is Lazy Club whoplayed concerts in the US in 2009.Bands such as these (all of whom usually sing in Burmese, even ifthey have English names) have a stable of several singers who split stagetime with the same backing band. Iron Cross, for example, features oneof Myanmar’s ‘wilder’ singers, Lay Phyu, but it can also tone it down as aTRADITIONAL BURMESE MUSIC CDSThese music CDs can generally be found outside Myanmar:» Mahagitá Harp & Vocal Music from Burma (2003; Smithsonian Folkways)» Music of Nat Pwe: Folk & Pop Music of Myanmar (2007; Sublime Frequencies)» Pat Waing The Magic Drum Circle of Burma (1998; Shanachie)» U Ko Ko Performs on the Burmese Piano (1995; Ummus)» Various artists Burma: Traditional Music (2009; Air Mail Music)» White Elephants & Golden Ducks Enchanting Musical Treasures from Burma(1997; Shanachie)