The pentatonic scale was much used in older music. The heptatonic scale is often encountered in northern Chinese folk music. Chinese musical instruments traditionally have been classified according to the materials used in their construction, namely, metal, stone, silk, bamboo, gourd, clay, skin, and wood. Of these, the stone and wood instruments are obsolete. Of later origin are various lutes and fiddles, introduced to China from Central Asia.
Chinese music is as old as Chinese civilization.
One orchestra was used for religious ceremonies, another for royal archery contests, and the third for entertaining the royal banquets and harem. The imperial court also had a huge outdoor band of nearly 1400 performers. Portions of Tang music are preserved in Japanese court music, or gagaku. Among the many genres of Chinese music is a form of music drama often called Chinese opera. Formerly these operas were based on old tales of heroes and the supernatural.