How do singers of atonal folk music memorize the tunes?

[barnowl]

I must first stress that I am not making light (or dark) of atonal music. I do not like it at all. But that doesn't mean squat. There has to be something going for it. Maybe a billion of Chinese people like like their music. And, of course, we do have composers of atonal music in the western world.

What interests me is how Chinese folk singers learn their songs. Do the verses generally rhyme? Are the verses as structureless as the music?If it's no to both, memorization can be an arduous task.

(It is much easier, for example, to commit the first five verses of "The Cremation of Sam McGee" to memory, than it is to memorize Mr. Zero's soliliquy in "The Adding Machine." The former is highly structured and vastly entertaining verse, the latter is a dull normal's stream of consciousness.

And does the composer of Chinese atonal music (just 'atonal' for the rest of this discussion) write definite notes pauses, tempo changes, which the singers and instrumentalists are obliged to sing and play?

Or, does the composer simply write the words, and the musicians provide the music improvisationally?

And finally, how on earth do these musicians memorize these atonal songs? There are millions of 'em!!

We get various memory joggers in western music. What do they get in atonals?


And if you've come this far, here's something, off topic, but to survive in this world, evrey musicians should know. What kind of icon is used on STOP signs in Italy?

Answer: The fermata.

Honest. Isn't that charming?

But you knew that. Okay, then what is the origin of the do, re, mi, etc., names of the scale notes?

Oh you don't know that one!

If you weren't such a smart Alec, I'd have told you the answer.   

[Derek]

Like most non-western music, it is probably passed on from master to student in an entirely intuitive manner. If any words are written down or used to describe the process, they probably merely serve as labels to the true knowledge which can only be absorbed intuitively by observation and imitation.

[prometheus]

Their music isn't atonal. You are just 'deaf', almost literally. This is normal for western ears. They just do things very differently.

Depending on what style of music you are talking about exactly, I mean only China itself is already absurdly large, but the notes used for the melody will just be a part of what we call 'scale' or 'tonality' in the west.

The question is a bit silly since only western music memorises a lot. Other styles of classical music are also practiced every day so knowing the scale, the melodic potential and the rhythm will be routine. Of course things are taught by a master to a student.

Folk songs. How many folk songs do you know? Just sit down and try to make a list of them. I bet you will find out that you know many because they are part of everyday culture.

I am no expect of Chinese music but I am sure that the notes aren't picked at random. It is just their grammar of the musical language.
Take the Chinese language. They need to learn thousands of pictogrammes and they also have at least 150 different accents/versions of 'chinese'.

As for specific questions. I know nothing at all about Chinese poetry. This is a linguistic issue, not a musical one.

Okay, then what is the origin of the do, re, mi, etc., names of the scale notes?

It's derived from the Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni of Indian music.

[Derek]

It's derived from the Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni of Indian music.

Is this really true? That's fascinating!

[prometheus]

Guido of Arezzo is credited with the 'invention' of do-re-mi but of course the whole concept itself can be traced back to the Upanishads (Vedic text) dated somewhere around 4th century BC. Guido was born in 991 or 992.

Of course Arezzo came up with the system for specific pedagogical reasons unique to the time and the style of music.

Also it is possible that he reinvented solmization independently. I mean, the same things get invented by several people independently all the time. Just like things like roman concrete and damascus steel were lost and then reinvented.

Sa Ri Ga etc is still used in India today. It is solmization used to sing through scales. So it is almost totally the same as in the west. At least as far as I can tell.