- Oriental Riff
The Oriental Riff is a musical
riff or phrase that is often used to represent "theOrient ", China, Japan or a generic east Asia theme. The riff is also known by an extremely diverse set of names: "The Chinese Melody", "The Stereotypical Oriental Tune", "The Asian Jingle" or even the "trope of musical orientalism".It remains an open question as to whether the Oriental riff has an actual origin in the region it is used to represent or is purely a Western invention. The notes used in the riff are part of a
pentatonic scale , giving the riff a resemblance to east Asian music.In Western music
The "Oriental Riff" has been included as part of numerous musical works. One of its most famous incarnations was in the 1974 #1 hit single "
Kung Fu Fighting " byCarl Douglas .The riff has been included in a number of other popular songs, including "Bad Detective", first recorded by
The Coasters in 1964 and covered by theNew York Dolls in 1974, "A Passage to Bangkok " by Rush in 1976, "Blazing Apostles" byBebop Deluxe in 1976, "Turning Japanese " byThe Vapors in 1980, the solo section of Trivium's songAnthem (We Are The Fire) ,Rice Rice Baby , by3 Local Boyz in 1990, and "Young Folks ", byPeter Bjorn and John in 2006.Computer games using the riff include
International Karate (1986) and its sequelInternational Karate + (1987), which feature music byRob Hubbard . It was also included in the opening theme music to the cooking show "Wok with Yan ".The riff is sometimes accompanied by the sound of a
gong .Zach Galifianakis , a contemporary musical comedian, includes the Oriental Riff in his act:: "Whenever my Asian roommate walks in the door, I play this. [he plays the riff] And she says "Zach, why do you do that every time I come in the room?" and I say "Because I don't have agong ."Media
ee also
*
Leitmotif
*Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians
*The Streets of Cairo, or the Poor Little Country Maid (the Arabian-themed equivalent of the Oriental Riff)References
* [http://chinoiserie.atspace.com/index.html The Musical Cliché Figure Signifying The Far East: Whence, Wherefore, Whither?] , an extensive page dedicated to the history of the Oriental Riff
* [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=300466&page=3&pp=50 The Straight Dope's discussion] of the Oriental Riff (also [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=299058 here] )
* [http://ilx.p3r.net/thread.php?msgid=5454146 Discussion] of the Oriental Riff used in Bowie's China Girl
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