Why is traditional chinese music pentatonic?

Also, pitch is variable, not exact. In fact, they have many more pitches they use than standard western music (many microtones) but the melodies themselves are outlined by something relatively pentatonic, but even that is dependent on region. When you take a Chinese melody, a Japanese melody, a Korean melody, etc. read more

Chinese music is based on the ancient Chinese pentatonic, five-tone musical system. The five tones are classified as: Kung, Shang, Chiao, Chih and Yue. According to the Chinese theory of the Five Elements, related to Chinese music, the tones are connected to a myriad of cosmological concepts, as well as the inner workings of man. read more

Many modern composers make the"Colonialist" mistake of thinking that if they just imitate the pitches of a pentatonic melody, that they are sounding like non-western music. In fact, one could avoid the pentatonic scale all together and sound far more authentic like a non-western culture's traditional music. read more