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Liuqin
The ''liuqin'' ( Chinese: , pinyin: ) is a three, four or five-stringed Chinese mandolin with a pear-shaped body. The range of its voice is much higher than other Chinese plucked string instrument, and it is used in both orchestral music and solo pieces in Chinese music. This has been the result of a modernization in its usage in recent years, leading to a gradual elevation in status of the ''liuqin'' from an accompaniment instrument in folk Chinese opera, to an instrument known for its unique tonal and acoustic qualities. The instrument is held diagonally like the Chinese ruan and yueqin. Its strings are elevated by a bridge and the soundboard has two prominent soundholes. Finally, the instrument is played with a pick with similar technique to both ruan and yueqin. Therefore, the liuqin is most commonly played and doubled by those with ruan and yueqin experience. Historically, the ''liuqin'' was commonly made of willow wood (柳 ''liǔ'' literally meaning "willow") ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipa
The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in China as early as the Han dynasty, and although historically the term ''pipa'' was once used to refer to a variety of plucked chordophones, its usage since the Song dynasty refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument. The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. Several related instruments are derived from the pipa, including the Japanese biwa and Korean bipa in East Asia, and the Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà in Southeast Asia. The Korean instrument is the only one of the three that is no longer wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of China
The music of China consists of many distinct traditions, often specifically originating with one of the country's various Ethnic groups in China, ethnic groups. It is produced within and without the country, involving either people of Chinese origin, the use of traditional Chinese instruments, Chinese music theory, or the languages of China. It includes traditional classical forms and indigenous folk music, as well as recorded popular music and forms inspired by Western culture. Documents and archaeological artifacts from early History of China, Chinese civilization show a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou dynasty (1122–256 BC) that set the tone for the continual development of Chinese musicology in following dynasties. These developed into a wide variety of forms through succeeding dynasties, producing the heritage that is part of the Chinese cultural landscape today. Traditional forms continued to evolve in the modern times, and over the course of the last c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipa
The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in China as early as the Han dynasty, and although historically the term ''pipa'' was once used to refer to a variety of plucked chordophones, its usage since the Song dynasty refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument. The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. Several related instruments are derived from the pipa, including the Japanese biwa and Korean bipa in East Asia, and the Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà in Southeast Asia. The Korean instrument is the only one of the three that is no longer wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Musical Instruments
Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories (classified by the material from which the instruments were made) known as (). The eight categories are silk, bamboo, wood, Rock (geology), stone, metal, clay, gourd and skin; other instruments considered traditional exist that may not fit these groups. The grouping of instruments in material categories in China is one of the first musical groupings ever devised. Silk Silk () instruments are mostly stringed instruments (including those that are plucked, bowed, and struck). Since ancient times, the Chinese have used twisted silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used. Instruments in the silk category include: Plucked * ( zh, c=wikt:古琴, 古琴, p=gǔqín) – 7-stringed zithers * ( zh, c=wikt:瑟, 瑟, p=sè) – 25-stringed zither with movable bridges (ancient sources say 14, 25 or 50 strings) * () – 16–26 stringed zither with movable bridges * () – harp * () – four-st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruan (instrument)
The ''ruan'' () is a Traditional Chinese musical instruments, traditional Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its four strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel (flatwound for the lower strings). The modern ''ruan'' has 24 frets with 12 semitones on each string, which has greatly expanded its range from a previous 13 frets. The frets are commonly made of ivory or in recent times of metal mounted on wood. The metal frets produce a brighter tone as compared to the ivory frets. It is sometimes called ''ruanqin'', particularly in Taiwan. Sizes The ruan comes in a family of five sizes: *soprano: ''gaoyinruan'' (高音阮, lit. "high pitched ''ruan''"; tuning: G3-D4-G4-D5) *alto: ''xiaoruan'' (小阮, lit. "small ''ruan''"; tuning: D3-A3-D4-A4) *tenor: ''zhongruan'' (中阮, lit. "medium ''ruan''"; tuning: G2-D3-G3-D4) *bass (instrument), bass: ''daruan'' (大阮, l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yueqin
The ''yueqin'' (; ; ; or ), also called a moon lute or moon guitar, is a traditional Chinese musical instruments, traditional Chinese string instrument. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, and usually four strings. It is an important instrument in the Peking opera orchestra, often taking the role of main melodic instrument in lieu of the bowed string section. The instrument was invented in China in the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, during the Jin Dynasty (265–420), Jin dynasty. The Ruan (instrument), ruan, another Chinese instrument, is the ancestor of the yueqin. The name ''yueqin'' once applied to all instruments with a moon-shaped soundboard, including the Ruan (instrument), ruan; however, "yueqin" now applies to a separate category from the Ruan (instrument), ruan family. Etymology The word ''yueqin'' is made of two characters, ''yuè'' (月 "moon") and ''qín'' (琴 "stringed instrument, zither"). Its name in Korean (''wolgeum''), Japane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments
Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories (classified by the material from which the instruments were made) 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 groups. The grouping of instruments in material categories in China is one of the first musical groupings ever devised. Silk Silk () instruments are mostly stringed instruments (including those that are plucked, bowed, and struck). Since ancient times, the Chinese have used twisted silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used. Instruments in the silk category include: Plucked * ( zh, c= 古琴, p=gǔqín) – 7-stringed zithers * ( zh, c= 瑟, p=sè) – 25-stringed zither with movable bridges (ancient sources say 14, 25 or 50 strings) * () – 16–26 stringed zither with movable bridges * () – harp * () – four-stringed lute with gourd body used by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mei Han
Mei Han () is a Chinese-Canadian ''guzheng'' performer and scholar. She was born into a military family in Beijing, the youngest of four children. Her father Han Shu came from Shanxi, and her mother, who is half Miao, came from Hunan. Her maternal grandfather was a scholar, calligrapher, and educator named Long Zhancen (龙湛岑, 1889–1969). Han began playing the ''zheng'' at the age of eleven. She graduated with a degree in English from Beijing Workers' University (北京市职工大学), and performed for a time with the Beijing Comrades Song and Dance Troupe (北京战友歌舞团; full name: 北京军区政治部战友歌舞团), which is affiliated with the People's Liberation Army. Han's primary instrument is the 21-string '' zheng'', but she also plays ''zheng'' with 16, 23, and 26 strings, as well as the ''liuqin'', a high pitched small lute. She performs in traditional, contemporary, and cross-cultural contexts. She studied ''guzheng'' with Zhang Yan (张燕, 1945� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yueqin
The ''yueqin'' (; ; ; or ), also called a moon lute or moon guitar, is a traditional Chinese musical instruments, traditional Chinese string instrument. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, and usually four strings. It is an important instrument in the Peking opera orchestra, often taking the role of main melodic instrument in lieu of the bowed string section. The instrument was invented in China in the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, during the Jin Dynasty (265–420), Jin dynasty. The Ruan (instrument), ruan, another Chinese instrument, is the ancestor of the yueqin. The name ''yueqin'' once applied to all instruments with a moon-shaped soundboard, including the Ruan (instrument), ruan; however, "yueqin" now applies to a separate category from the Ruan (instrument), ruan family. Etymology The word ''yueqin'' is made of two characters, ''yuè'' (月 "moon") and ''qín'' (琴 "stringed instrument, zither"). Its name in Korean (''wolgeum''), Japane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guzheng
The zheng (), or guzheng (), is a Chinese List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked, plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a Major scale, major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from ''Paulownia'' wood. Other components are often made from other woods for structural or decorative reasons. Guzheng players often wear a fingerpick made from materials such as plastic, resin, tortoiseshell, or ivory on one or both hands. It can have nylon steel strings, steel strings, silk strings, etc., depending on the genre. The most common guzheng has 21 strings. The high-pitched strings of the guzheng are close to the player, and the low-pitched strings are on the opposite side. The strings' order from the inside to the outside is 1 to 21. The guzheng is ancestral to several other Asian zithers such as the Japanese Koto (musical instrument), koto, the Korean gayageum and ajaeng, Mongolian yatga, the Vietnamese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhongruan
The ''zhongruan'' () is a Chinese plucked string instrument. The ''zhongruan'' has a straight neck with 24 frets on the fingerboard and 4 strings. It is usually played with a plectrum (guitar pick). It can also be played with fingers (index finger and thumb with acrylic nails), which is similar to the way of playing the ''pipa'' (琵琶). The ''zhongruan'' is a tenor-ranged instrument in the family of '' ruan'' (阮). In ancient China, the ''ruan'' was called ''Qin pipa'' (Qin ynastypipa, 秦琵琶) or ''Ruan xian'' (阮咸). Now the ''ruan'' has expanded to different sizes and the ''zhongruan'' is the "medium" one. Use The default tuning of ''zhongruan'' is It can also be tuned as or or other variants, according to requirements in music scores. Since the ''zhongruan'' has a rounded, calm and rich tone, it is usually played as a lead instrument in small ensembles and used to accompany other instruments in Chinese orchestra. It can also be played solo. Construction A good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
