We had a fascinating live hangout all about traditional Chinese music and culture, and if you haven't seen it yet, you should watch first before reading the rest of this article:

We had fun introducing you guys to the wonderful instrument 琵琶 (pí pá) - lute, and hope you learned something new from my friend Jie Ma (马捷 mǎ jié) about traditional Chinese music!

Please follow along below with some of the vocab words we covered in the video.

Vocabulary Words:

音乐 (yīn yuè) - music
乐器 (yuè qì) - musical instruments
传统 (chuán tǒng) - traditional
中国传统音乐 (zhōng guó chuán tǒng yīn yuè) - Chinese traditional music
中国传统乐器 (zhōng guó chuán tǒng yuè qì) - Chinese traditional musical instruments
琵琶 (pí pá) - lute

Popular Traditional Chinese songs:

春江花月夜 (chūn jiāng huā yuè yè) - Blossoms on a Moonlight River in Spring

梁山伯与祝英台 (liáng shān bó yǔ zhù yīng tái) - Butterfly Lovers (Chinese Romeo & Juliet)

茉莉花 (mò lì huā) - Jasmine (with Celine Dion)

Learn how to ask 'what kind of music do you like?'

Music Genres 音乐类型 (yīn yuè lèi xíng):

西方 (xī fāng) - Western
古典 (gǔ diǎn) - Classical
古典音乐 (gǔ diǎn yīn yuè) - Classical music
爵士 (jué shì) - Jazz
蓝调 (lán diào) - Blues
乡村 (xiāng cūn) - Country
摇滚 (yáo gǔn) - Rock and roll
流行音乐 (liú xíng yīn yuè) - Pop / Popular Music

Songs to learn Chinese:

Mentioned in the video:

lǎo shǔ ài dà mǐ (老鼠爱大米)"Mice Love Rice."

月亮代表我的心 (yuè liang dài biǎo wǒ de xīn) - "The Moon Represents My Heart"

我只在乎你 (wǒ zhǐ zài hu nǐ) - “I Only Care About You”!

From a long line of traditional Chinese musicians,  Jie Ma (Chinese characters: 马捷) began studying music and playing the pipa at age 5 in China. Jie became a professional musician at age 14 and received her Bachelor of Music degree from one of China's top music schools, the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, in 2001. Jie also studied in China under celebrated pipa masters Wang Fandi, Liu Dehai, and Kuang Yuzhong, and Ruan master Jiliang Lin. 

For more information on Ma Jie and to see her other works, please check out her website here: majiepipa.com.