EdUHK Releases Hong Kong’s First ‘Yueju Accomp’ Application
The Research Centre for Transmission of Cantonese Opera (RCTCO) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) held a launch ceremony today (18 March) for ‘Yueju Accomp’ – an iPad application that combines traditional Cantonese opera music with modern technology – enabling the public to play the accompaniment to Cantonese opera music in a user-friendly manner.
Developed by Professor Leung Bo-wah, Director of the RCTCO, and Dr Leung Chi-hin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts, ‘Yueju Accomp’ is the only iPad application for Cantonese opera music accompaniment to be granted a patent by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department.
Supported by the EdUHK iTech Fund, ‘Yueju Accomp’ enables users to manipulate the sounds and notes with multi-touch gestures on tablets using an Expression Grid. Ten default scores are preloaded into the app, including ‘Song of a Barbaric Land’ from the ‘Romance of the Phoenix Chamber’ （《鳯閣恩仇未了情》之《胡地蠻歌》）and ‘Fragrant Sacrifice’（《帝女花之香夭》）. Users can also import their own PDF scores. Twelve types of melodic instrument (including the erhu, pipa, guzheng and violin) and 14 types of percussion instrument (such as the cymbals, mukjyu etc.), along with five Sins (i.e. keys and scales) are also available.
Most of the instrument sounds were produced by professional musicians from live studio recordings, resulting in high-quality sounds. The keys displayed in the app can be switched between the Western music scale and the ‘Gongche’ notation, which is uniquely used for Cantonese opera.
Professor Leung said he hoped the user-friendly app would help the public understand Cantonese opera better, so that it could reach a wider audience. He also expressed his wish for the app to function as a technology-integrated Cantonese opera music teaching platform for universities and local schools. “With this app, music teachers are expected to be able to demonstrate or perform with students anytime, anywhere, thus enhancing classroom interaction and students’ learning interest,” he said.
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EdUHK Releases Hong Kong’s First ‘Yueju Accomp’ Application
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