The ''lāruǎn'' (
拉 阮; also spelled ''la ruan'') is a relatively new Chinese
string instrument
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...
blending the acoustics of the ''
ruan
Ruan may refer to:
Buildings
* Ruan Center, office building in Des Moines, Iowa
* John Ruan House, historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, t ...
'' with that of the Western
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
. Its larger counterpart is the ''dalaruan'' (大拉阮), which corresponds to the
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
.
The instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body like ruan, with neck no frets but bowed by horsehair bow
These
musical instruments
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
were created in the 20th century to be an alternative to other bowed bass register instruments used in Chinese orchestras, such as ''
dihu
The ''dihu'' ( 低胡, pinyin: dīhú) is a large bowed string instrument from China. It has a large soundbox covered on one end with snakeskin. Like most other members of the huqin family of instruments, it has two strings and is held vertically ...
'', cello/double bass, ''
gehu
The ''gehu'' ( 革胡; pinyin: géhú) is a Chinese instrument developed in the 20th century by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen ( 杨 雨 森, 1926–1980). It is a fusion of the Chinese huqin family and the cello. Its four strings are also ...
''/''
diyingehu
The bass ''gehu'' (低音革胡; pinyin: ''dīyīngéhú'', ; also called ''digehu'' or ''beigehu'' 倍革胡, literally "bass ''gehu''") is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family. It was developed by Yang Yusen along with t ...
'', ''damatouqin''/''dimatouqin'', and ''
paqin
The ''paqin'' ( 琶琴) is a modern bowed lute originating in China. The instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body like pipa, with neck no frets but bowed by horsehair bow.
It has a bass variant, the ''dapaqin'' and a alto variant is the ''xiaopaq ...
''/''dapaqin''. The China National Traditional Orchestra of Beijing is one of the few Chinese orchestras using this instrument.
See also
*
Ruan
Ruan may refer to:
Buildings
* Ruan Center, office building in Des Moines, Iowa
* John Ruan House, historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, t ...
*
Gehu
The ''gehu'' ( 革胡; pinyin: géhú) is a Chinese instrument developed in the 20th century by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen ( 杨 雨 森, 1926–1980). It is a fusion of the Chinese huqin family and the cello. Its four strings are also ...
*
Dihu
The ''dihu'' ( 低胡, pinyin: dīhú) is a large bowed string instrument from China. It has a large soundbox covered on one end with snakeskin. Like most other members of the huqin family of instruments, it has two strings and is held vertically ...
*
Traditional Chinese musical instruments
Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories known as (). The eight categories are silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and skin; other instruments considered traditional exist that may not fit these group ...
References
Chinese musical instruments
Necked lutes
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