Taoist Music - Yin and Yang Tones

Yin and Yang Tones

The principal belief of the Yin Yang is reflected in the categorisation of musical tones. The two main forms of Taoist music are the Yin Tone and the Yang Tone . Yin stands for all things that are female and soft and Yang stands for all things male and hard. Through the proper balance of Yin (female) and Yang (male) a Taoist can find harmony and simplicity in all things (Bowker, 2000). Taoists strive to have these cosmic forces within themselves and around them at peace and in balance (Keown, 2003).

The Yang tone is used in rituals mainly for the benefit of the priests, spirits and gods ). . The ceremony held to celebrate the birth of the god Quan Yin, one of the deities of Taoism, started with chanting in the Yang tone. The other form, Yin Tone, is music aimed at appeasing and entertaining the general populace. This creates a harmony with the Yang tone, by giving to the people what the Yang tone gives to the gods and priests. Yin tunes are usually performed at outer altars to inspire the populace in their beliefs and are livelier and more melodic than Yang tunes (Long, 2005). The ceremony of the birth of Quan Yin consisted of elements of both the Yang tone and the Yin tone. This combination of tones symbolizes the balance Taoists strive to achieve.

The Yang tones were initially staged in the hall of the three purities. The three purities are the highest deities in Taoism and they are said to reside over the heavens (Murashige, 2005). The ceremony involved three female priests, two of which wore robes of simple red and black and the main priest wore a richly decorated robe of a jade colour. The priests stood in front of the three purities and read from prayer books before them. The priests maintained this formation throughout the entire ceremony until the end, when the main priest led them in single file around each of the altars in the temple to pay their respects to the other gods.

The ceremony started with the three priests chanting in a mono syllabic, often repeated phrase with only slight melodic deviation from the tonic. The melodic deviation was rising in a pentatonic style chord then dropping in similar pentatonic step wise motion until the melody arrived back at the tonic, in a wave type phrase (Figure 2). Most melodic phrases in the ceremony ended in descending tones, heading back to the tonic (to gain harmony and balance, like yin-yang) before starting the next phrase. Later on, as the ceremony was finishing off, the music strayed from the Yang Tone and headed more towards the Yin tone. The priests made their way around the temple to the other places of worship and the forecourt, for the purpose of the general populace observing the ritual. The prayers in this section were still somewhat intoned. More melodic phrasing was heard and the rhythms became faster and more syncopated. These rhythms, syncopations and melodic ideas all relate to the core belief of Taoism, balance and harmony.

The demeanour and interaction between the priests and worshippers reflected an air of individual focus. The priests were constantly absorbed on the prayers, chanting, and rhythm and ignored all other matters. Many other worshippers came and went as the ceremony progressed and paid their respects to the three purities and the two adjoining altars on either side of the main altar, at which the ceremony was held. The worshippers made no appearance of solemnity towards the ceremony and came and went as they pleased, leaving incense offerings and praying. In the following of Tao, each of these worshippers had their own inner harmony and this in no way intruded on the Tao of the ceremony, or the Tao of the priests.