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Lesson

It's Your Birthday! Introduction to Asian Court Music

May it Please Your Highness: Music of the Asian Courts / It's Your Birthday! Introduction to Asian Court Music

In this introductory lesson, students are invited to embark upon an exciting journey through space and time to celebrate their birthday in the ancient royal courts of Asia! Attentive listening experiences will open their ears to the sounds of classical music from several different cultures. Creative activities, engaging imagery, and thoughtful discussion prompts will open their imaginations to the atmosphere of the courts where this music flourished long ago. Along the way, students will also make geography connections and discover new musical instruments - like the saron from Java and sitar from India!

Lesson Paths & Learning Objectives

  1. Your Birthday Trip to Asia!

    • Identify Asia on a world map.
    • Explain what a "court" is, and the roles courts (e.g., royal and imperial) serve/served in different world cultures.
    • Identify several names for royalty around the world and places that have/had royal court traditions.
    • 20+ minutes

  2. Music of the Courts

    • Use musical terms to describe the sounds of several types of court music.
    • Identify an important historical purpose of court music.
    • Discuss what daily life might have been like for court musicians in Asia during the 17th century.
    • 20+ minutes

  3. Court Music Scavenger Hunt

    • Identify and describe the visual and sonic features of one Asian court instrument.
    • Identify the country where an Asian court instrument originated on a map or globe.
    • 20+ minutes

More +
Less -

Bibliography

Text

Brunet, Jacques. 1976. Indonesia: Music from West Java, liner notes. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08041.

Daniélou, Alain, Serge Moreux and Jacques Cloarec. 1955. Anthology of Indian Classical Music: A Tribute to Alain Daniélou, liner notes. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08270.

Duindam, Jeroen. 2011. "Royal Courts in Dynastic States and Empires." Royal Courts in Dynastic States and Empires: A Global Perspective: 1–23. Brill.

Guo, Linlin. 2022. "Court Music of China, Japan and Korea in the 16th - 17th Centuries: A Comparative Analysis." Música Hodie: 1–38. Goiânia.

Huot, Guy, translator. 1972. "Korean Music." Korea, liner notes. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08010.

Kiddle.co. n.d. "Royal Family Facts for Kids." Kiddle Encyclopedia. Kiddle.co, Last modified September 5, 2025.

Sonneborn, Daniel Atesh. 2006. When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq, liner notes. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, SFW40533.

Spawforth, A. J. S. 2007. The Court and Court Society in Ancient Monarchies. Cambridge University Press.

Zlatareva, Maria. 2025. "Royal Titles and Nobility Ranks in a Monarchy." Infoplease, Updated January 27, 2025.

Audio, video, and image credits appear in order of slideshow sequence

Audio

Cook, Emory. "Convair Takeoff." On Sound Effects, Vol. 1. Stamford, CT: Cook Records, COOK10001_107, 1950, streaming audio.

Jenkins, Ella. "Song of the Seven Continents." Bernadelle Richter, producer. On Sharing Cultures with Ella Jenkins. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, SFW45058_112, 2003, streaming audio. Performed with children from the LaSalle Language Academy of Chicago.

The American Brass Quintet. "Vive le Roi (Long Live the King) - Josquin des Pres." On Music for Brass Quintet. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW03651_101, 1965, streaming audio.

Ekber Çiçek, Ali. "Meydan Saz." Kudsi Erguner, recorder. On Turkey: Bektashi Music- Ashik Songs. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08069_112, 1982, streaming audio.

Gamelan Ensemble from Central Java. "Lagu Babar Lajar: Instrumental (Gamelan, Saron and Bonang)." Harold Courlander and Raden Suwanto, producers. On Music of Indonesia. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW04406_201, 1950, streaming audio. Ensemble featuring gamelan, rebab, gender, and suling, Central Java.

Khan, Ali Akbar. "The Sindhi-Bhairavi Mode." Alain Daniélou, recorder. On Anthology of Indian Classical Music: A Tribute to Alain Daniélou. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08270_110, 1955, streaming audio.

The Gamelan Sunda of the Bakti Buddha Ensemble. "Tari Topeng." Jacques Brunet, recorder. On Indonesia: Music from West Java. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08041, 1976, streaming audio.

Imperial Orchestra. "Su-Je Chon." Guy Huot, translator. On Korea. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08010_101, 1972, streaming audio.

Shankar, Ravi. "The Ahiri-Lalita Mode." Alain Daniélou, recorder. On Anthology of Indian Classical Music: A Tribute to Alain Daniélou. Paris, France: AUVIDIS / IICMSD / UNESCO, UNES08270_103, 1955, streaming audio.

Rahim, Alhaj and Souhail Kaspar. "Taqsim Maqam Ajam." On When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, SFW40533_101, 2006, streaming audio.

Roth, Wolfgang. "Hoert ihr Herrn (Hear Ye, Kind Sirs)." On Early German Ballads, Vol. 2: 1536-1800. New York City, NY: Folkways Records, FW03072_207, 1963, streaming audio.

Images

Unknown artist. A Group of Women in a Garden, Entertaining Themselves with Music and Dancing, mid-18th century, painting. Washington, DC: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, H x W: 28.3 x 18.3 cm (11 1/8 x 7 3/16 in). Gift of Charles Lang Freer.

Unknown artist. Fresco at Chehel Sotoun Palace, Isfahan, Iran, 17th century, painting. Wikimedia user Aliarjmandi, photographer. Isfahan, Iran: Chehel Sotoun Palace. Unnamed painter from 17th century Persia, in reign and palace of Abbas II of Persia, Safavid dynasty. Image uploaded by Wikimedia user Jacqke in 2021.

Hasui, Kawase. Sunset Glow in Yanaka, 1921, ink and color on paper. In Twelve Months of Tokyo, S. Watanabe Color Print Co., publisher. Washington, DC: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, H: 26 cm (10 1/4 in). Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Robert O. Muller Collection.

Spemone. "Low Angle Shot of Pink and Red Balloons," photograph. Pexels, 2017.

Walden, Jennifer. "Birthday Sketch," 2021, drawing. Personal Collection.

Pixabay. "Assorted-Colored Gift Boxes," photograph. Pexels, 2017.

Taylor, Ty-Juana. "Questions About Asian Court Music," 2021, digital image. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

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Frissell, Toni. "Toni Frissell Standing on Wing of Small Airplane, with Thomas J. Watson Standing Next to Airplane," 1962, photograph. In Toni Frissell Photograph Collection. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.

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United States Central Intelligence Agency. "Asia," 1997, map. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Kandell, Alice S. "King and Queen of Sikkim," 1971, photograph. In Sikkim Photos (Kandell Collection). Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.

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Carfax2. "The British Royal Family on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace," 2013, photograph. Wikimedia Commons.

Hiroshige II, Utagawa. The Buddhist Temple Asakusa Kinryuzan, 1861, ink and color on paper. Washington, DC: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, H x W: 36.3 x 74.3 cm (14 5/16 x 29 1/4 in). Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, Bequest of Florence Leonhart.

Walden, Jennifer. "Colored Markers," 2021, photograph. Personal Collection.

Unknown artist. Court Scene, ca. 1820, painting. In Folio from a Bhagavata Purana. Washington, DC: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, H x W: 41.4 x 52.5 cm (16 5/16 x 20 11/16 in). Transfer from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Bequest of Joseph H. Hirshhorn to the Smithsonian Institution, 1981.

Mohamadi, Jonas. "Boy Listening in Headphones," photograph. Pexels, 2018.

Midori. "Pura Batubolong Lombok Family Gathering," photograph. Wikimedia Commons, 2010. Image cropped to fit slide.

cottonbro studio. "A Mother Sitting on the Couch with Her Kids and Their Dog," photograph. Pexels, 2020.

Vargas, Jerson. "Close-up of Sound Waves on a Computer Screen," photograph. Pexels, 2020.

Hardy, Thomas. Portrait of Joseph Haydn, 1791, oil on canvas. London, England: Royal College of Music Museum of Instruments, H 76.5 x W 63.5 cm. Gift from Arthur F. Hill, 1933. Accessed via Art UK.

Unknown photographer. "Leyla Saz," c. 1900, photograph. Wikimedia Commons.

Leckie, Michael. "Debbie Wiseman," 2015, photograph. Personal Collection.

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Underwood & Underwood, publisher. "Members of the 'Pipers' Club'," 1905, photograph. Fair Young Musicians of Cork, Ireland. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.

Spandorf, Lily. Woman Sits on Ground Playing Sitar, n.d., drawing. In Lily Spandorf drawings. Washington, DC: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution. Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.

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Varma, Raja Ravi. Kadambari Playing Sitar, ca. 1910, print. Bengaluru, India: Ravi Varma Press, 50 cm. x 35 cm. Accessed via Wikimedia Commons. Uploaded by user: Yann in 2022.

Unknown maker. "Sitar," n.d., musical instrument. In Museo de Instrumentos Musicales 'Dr. Emilio Azzarini'. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Collection of Museo Azzarini, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Donated by the Embassy of India in Argentina, 1979.

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Unknown maker. "Oud," musical instrument. Tdrivas, Photograph taken byWikimedia Commons, 2018.

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