Cantonese Children's Songs in Hong Kong

Abstract

A century of British colonial rule over a population of Chinese majority has resulted in a special culture of Hong Kong. While the local people have maintained a considerable amount of the traditional Chinese culture, a very strong Western influence is also prominent. Thus, there is a mixture of Chinese and Western culture in all aspects of life. In music education, however, most teachers adopt Western methods. The songs used at school are frequently Western nursery rhymes or composed children's songs in Western styles with Cantonese text. This paper attempts to investigate the children's songs in Hong Kong and to explore the pitch relationship between text and melody in Cantonese children's songs.