Taoist Music - Instruments and Gestures

Instruments and Gestures

The priests in the ceremony used a variety of instruments. The main priest used hand movements and ritual objects influenced by Chinese mysticism. These gestures are used in Yang tone ceremonies in combination with magical instruments . Magical instruments are believed to manifest magical powers during rituals. The Yang tone is mainly played with magical instruments such as the Quing (metal bowl) and the Faqi (ritual percussion section). The Faqi often consisted of large drums, bells, and wooden fish blocks called Muyu (Jones, 2005). These are played to help mediation and to compliment the ritual actions of the priests (Hong, 2005). The musical instruments used in this ceremony, the Quing and the Muyu, are said to be indispensable (Hong, 2005). These are also used to set the time of the chanting and to add to the religious atmosphere. Through most of the parts of the ceremony a steady beat on the Muyu (Figure 5) and Quing (Figure 4) accompanied the chanting, with sections between prayers ending with a syncopated rhythm of the Quing and Muyu (Figure 3).