In both ancient and modern days, music is used as a form of expression in human culture. It is
created with melodies and words that represented our thoughts and emotions. Musicians are
known to express themselves through songs to convey how they are feeling in life, allowing
listeners to relate and find comfort in their music. Moby, a multi award-winning recording
producer once said, “For me, music is an end unto itself but also a way of representing every
aspect of the human experience. You can represent joy, despair, confusion, anger and so on.”
Each culture has its unique form of music that is enjoyed by people of all ages on a different
continent. Music is also utilized as a tool of unification for each ethnic group and has been
played throughout the years for different occasions and entertainment purposes. Because of
the use of different instruments and inspirations, music around the world comes in different
styles and forms. For example, Western songs were originated from European folk songs
which were played frequently using strings and occasionally, harmonica.
As the theory of orientalism explains how the Occident imitate the culture of the Orient,
music can also be one of the examples featured. Orientalism is often found in Western art,
literature, and design as inspirations. A few renowned art pieces such as Grand Odalisque
(1814) and The Snake Charmer (c. 1879) are examples of Orient-influenced artworks. As it
was written by Edward Said (1978), "the Orient was almost a European invention...a place of
romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiments". Exotic
beings, in the forms of snakes, feathers and silk are drawn to describe the fantasied,
mysterious Orient.
Music is one of the many forms of art, so it is no exception that Orientalism also had
influenced some Western music. It can be influenced in terms of rhythm, lyrics or any
elements of the song that can represent some certain Eastern countries. In Western music,
Orientalist styles have related to previous Orientalist styles rather than to Eastern ethnic
practices, just as myths have been described by Lévi-Strauss as relating to other myths (Scott,
1997). It is clear that some Western songwriters seldom describe the Orient accurately in
their music, but only style their music in a way that they are set in exotic, foreign places.
Therefore, these differences between the Orientalists styles and the real ethnic practices have
become controversial and stereotypical. Westerners are led to believe that the Orient is a
structure of myths and “a creation with no corresponding reality” (Said, 1978). The purpose
of the study of Orientalism was executed not to criticize the depictions or imitations by the
West, but to acknowledge the reality of cultures in the East.
All orientalist musical styles originated from different countries in the East. The first style
that was featured in Western music is the Turkish style. According to Bellman (1993), this
style "evolved from a sort of battle music played by Turkish military bands outside the walls
of Vienna during the siege of that city in 1683.” He remarked that a few had heard it,
however, virtually no one remembered it, and that "what became understood as Turkish Style
was thus almost entirely the product of the European imagination." It surely added pleasure to
the music that era, but also gave a sense of superiority over the Turks during the Siege of
Vienna. Typical Turkish Style of the eighteenth century would be: a 2/4 march with a bass of
reiterated quavers (often asserting a tonic pedal); a melody decorated with grace notes (often
dissonant) and insisting on the notes of the tonic triad, but with an occasional raised fourth;
and `crude' harmony, such as root position triads and octave doubling of melody (Scott,
1997). Turkish music is lively in tempo and sounds as it is in a march. Many Viennese
musicians such as Mozart and Beethoven were no strangers to the Turks, as they viewed them
as military opponents. One of Mozart’s well-known pieces, Rondo Alla Turca, or most
known as The Turkish March was inspired by the Turkish Janissaries company. This piece
consists of repeated notes and ornaments, as well as loud/soft passages, which resemble the
Turkish style.
Mozart's use of a style of music traditionally played by Ottoman Janissary troops straddles
the line between cultural appropriation and destruction. It simultaneously borrows from and
legitimizes (for a western audience) a long-standing musical tradition, while undermining its
integrity by westernizing its themes to produce something only loosely resembling Janissary
marching band music (Sisneros, 2013). The Ottoman-inspired style had only represented war
and fear for the Austrians, as the style used always sounded like soldiers marching into war.
Furthermore, Mozart’s opera Singespiel Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from
the Seraglio), which was first played in 1782, also gave the same impressions. It tells the
story of the hero Belmonte and his attempt to rescue his love Konstanze from the harem of a
high-ranking official of the Ottoman Empire. An imprecise impression of Janissary music
was also westernized to depict where the innocence belongs. As quoted by Sisneros (2013),
the opera’s light-hearted, entertaining nature falls in line with one of two common modes of
presenting Turkish culture in European art present for centuries prior: the Turk as ruthless,
bloodthirsty, and terrifying; or as exotic, backward, heretical, and bordering on buffoonery.
In reality, the military ensemble that was played by the Ottoman Janissary troops was named
Mehteran. The music was a sign of majesty, splendour and might of their country, rather than
a vehicle for merriment. The Ottoman mehter was usually played wind instruments such as
the zurna (similar to the oboe), the boru (bugle), the kurrenay and the mehter whistle. It also
contained such percussion instruments as the kös, the drum, the nakkare (a small kettledrum),
the zil (cymbals) and the çevgan, which were used by Mozart for his mimic of the Janissary
music. Today, the music of the mehters is largely ceremonial and considered by the Turks as
a stirring example of heroism and a reminder of their historical past.
The following example involves a tune that is quite familiar to most Asians, especially the
Chinese. Known as the Oriental riff, the tune was used dating back to the "Aladdin Quick
Step" used in an Aladdin stage show. It is nine-notes long and it is usually played to hint on
the involvement of Asians or something Asian is coming. For example, in Betty Boop’s
“Making Stars” episode, the tune was played when a Chinese baby popped up on the screen.
The notes used in the riff are part of a pentatonic scale and often harmonized with parallel
open fourths, which makes it sounds like East Asian music to a typical Westerner. The tune
was used in well-known songs, like ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ by Carl Douglas and ‘Turning
Japanese’ by The Vapors. Both of these songs have been featured in children's films, such as
Kung Fu Panda and the Aristocrats, which help boost their popularity. From then on, the tune
is known as a representation of Asians to the Westerners. It is a musical phrase that creates a
sound world that is 'distant' and 'exotic', drawing the listener to believe that they are in the
Asian realm of fantasy and make-believe. One user with the name of Martin Nillson claimed
that he devoted his time to researching the roots of this tune. "It doesn't come from Chinese
folk music, really," Nilsson says. "It's just a caricature of how [Westerners] think Chinese
music would sound." Because it became famous through movies, Westerners, especially their
children have assumed that this tune was part of Asian music. Moreover, this tune acts as a
mockery towards the Asian society as it created a typical stereotype for the yellow-faced.
People would only think of the tune whenever they were asked about Asians or their music.
Chinese music is totally different from the riff, as it involves a more advanced art form of
organized vocals and instruments. The riff only contains the rhythmic pattern of “da-da-dada, da da, da da, Daiah!” and an occasional gong at the end. Chinese instruments can be
distributed into those made of gourds (early sheng instruments), bamboo (flutes), wood
(string instruments), silk (although rarely used, strings can be made of silk), clay (used for a
type of compact flute which can resemble an ocarina), metal (gongs), animal skin (drums)
and even stone (used to create a ringing sound). Voices are also significant in Chinese music
and often accompanied monophonically. The only resemblance that exists for both the riff
and Chinese music is that their tonality is pentatonic, which means that they use a scale of
five notes for harmonies.
In terms of lyrics, there are some cases where the songs orientalism has become too
offensive. Modern rap artist often features Asian elements that actually raise conflicts. For
instance, Lil Pump made a derogatory slur against Asian people in the track ‘Butterfly
Doors’. The lyrics were written, “They call me Yao Ming, ‘cause my eyes real low, ching
chong.” Yao Ming is a famous Chinese basketball player, and the lyrics deliberately point out
that all Chinese people have small eyes. “Ching chong” is a pejorative term that is used to
mock on the Chinese language as well as the people. Furthermore, Kanye West wrote
“Chasin love, lots of bittersweet hours lost eatin’ Asian pussy, All I need was sweet and sour
sauce,” in “I’m in it”. Asian women were disrespected as they were sexualized and mocked
in this song. Sweet and sour sauce was also featured as an Asian element because it is
commonly cooked in the East. The lyrics “I'm looking for an Asian princess wearing a sari,
yo Jasmine pass me the car key, let's all go back to my house right now and have a mehendi
party,” which were featured in Skepta’s “Asian Girl” also crossed the line for Asian
stereotypes. The Asian princess is known to be an Indian as she wore a sari and named
Jasmine, the name of the Arabian princess in Aladdin. Jasmine was only given as a nickname
for Indians here because there is a species of jasmine named Indian Jasmine. A Mehendi
party is a traditional pre-wedding Indian ceremony which is essentially organized by the
family of the bride. It is usually a private affair that takes place in the presence of friends,
relatives and family members. It is obvious that this rap music has contributed nothing but
travesty towards the Asian community. They associate small eyes to the Asian guys while
assuming all Asian girls are sexually deprived and easy to fool. This sends the wrong
message that Asians are weak and are nothing more than a group of “ching chongs” and
prostitutes. Westerners might look down on Asians and mistreat the people there because of
all these assumptions.
The Asian community is made up of a lot of races, including the Indians, Chinese, Arabs and
more. It is wrong to generalize Asians into only one category, for they have all different types
of biological traits and characteristics. Some of them are dark-skinned, while some have
largely round eyes. However, the Westerners only break down the races around the world
into three types, which are White, Black and Asians. Moreover, Asians have the same career
options in their countries as the Westerners. It is very offensive that some Westerners still
think Asian women only work as prostitutes as this date back to the colonization era. Movies
such as Geisha Girl and China Doll have influenced them to think that Asian women are only
sex symbols. Women in Asia nowadays have the opportunity to choose who they want to be,
and they have access to all job careers. Some accomplished Asians, such as Krystal Choo and
Pocket Sun show how much women have achieved since that era.
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