A Pedagogical Guide to "Distant Voices" (1999) by Ping Gao (b. 1970) (open access)

A Pedagogical Guide to "Distant Voices" (1999) by Ping Gao (b. 1970)

Ping Gao is a composer-pianist in China. The purpose of this research is to provide a pedagogical analysis of Ping Gao's solo piano suite Distant Voices (1999), with intent to introduce Chinese folk music and contemporary characteristics in the twentieth century to early advanced piano students. After an introduction, chapter 2 presents an overview of Ping Gao's biographical information and his compositional style. Chapter 3 provides resources and information of folk music tradition related to this selected work. Chapter 4 analyzes Distant Voices with respect to the Chinese folk idioms, including folk songs, the sound of the folk instruments, and pentatonic modes and scales. Chapter 5 then analyzes the work with respect to its contemporary characteristics, including non-traditional harmony (secundal, quartal, and quintal chords) and contemporary rhythm and meter (shifted accents, asymmetric meters, and mixed meter). Chapter 6 examines some further technical challenges in performing the work. This work can be considered a helpful source for piano teachers to incorporate folk music styles from different regions of the world into their teaching, cultivating students' appreciation for other cultures and music styles.
Date: December 2022
Creator: Wang, Yiting
System: The UNT Digital Library