12 Chinese Zodiac Tunes

For me, knowing the Chinese Zodiac sign helps me approximate a person’s age. Knowing that person’s Western Zodiac sign helps me anticipate the timing of a birthday in the year. Having just finished writing twelve pentatonic instrumental pieces for the high G ukulele, one for each Chinese Zodiac animal, I am eager to share how these original tunes relate to the Chinese Zodiac signs.

It was not long ago that we celebrated the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs in song in 3 Chord Thursday. Our resident artist Eve Myles had illustrated a color graphic that we can pin on our walls. Every year we celebrate the lunar new year in our thematic song session. Yet, we haven’t really looked into what this all means.

12 Chinese Zodiac Tunes pentatonic pieces for high G ukulele by Anne Ku — 12 Chinese Zodiac Tunes by Anne Ku

Remembering birthdays

A picture paints a thousand words. It’s easier to remember images than text.

It’s easier to remember animals than numbers or dates.

Before I learned to speak English, I could count. At age seven, I could figure out my elementary school teachers’ ages just from their Chinese Zodiac signs. Call it modulo 12 mathematics.

If you’re born in the year of the snake — and it happens to be the year of the snake, your age will be a multiple of 12.

The lunar calendar does not align with the Western or solar calendar as we know it. Chinese Zodiac signs follow the lunar calendar which follows the moon cycle. This means that 1st January is not the new lunar year.

If you’re born around Chinese New Year, you’d need to look up the dates. For instance, babies born on 28th January 2025 are born in the Year of the Dragon not Snake because the Year of the Snake begins on 29th January 2025.

Look up your birthday to find your sign.

12 major pentatonic scales

In the run up to Chinese New Year (of the Snake), I decided to write an instrumental solo piece for the high G ukulele using the five notes of a major pentatonic scale.

Since there are twelve major pentatonic scales, one for each note in the chromatic scale (before they repeat), I thought of writing 12 tunes corresponding to the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs.

However, it was not a one to one correspondence in the end.

I used the notes from the “easier to play” pentatonic scales more than once.

This meant having to use several pentatonic scales in the end (to use them all up).