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Posts tagged ‘musical instruments’

Sep 15

Wang Yiping plays the ruan (zhongruan) or moon guitar

The ruan (zhongruan)

The ruan (阮) or moon guitar is a four-stringed Chinese instrument similar to the pipa. It is also sometimes called the qin pipa (秦琵琶) and ruanxian (阮咸).

The most common ruan is the zhongruan (中阮) or tenor ruan. The bass ruan (大阮) is also fairly common; less frequently heard are the soprano (高音阮), alto (小阮) and contrabass: Diyinruan (低音阮) versions. Read more

Sep 14

Liu Hong plays the erhu

The erhu

Perhaps no musical instrument is more evocative of China than the erhu (二胡), but its origins are in central Asia: The erhu is one of several instruments including gaohu, zhuihu and jinghu that were historically known as “huqin” (barbarian’s fiddle) or “xiqin”.

The erhu became a common accompaniment to opera in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the early 20th Century, compositions for erhu by Hua Yanjun (1893-1950) and Liu Tianhua (1895-1932) gave the instrument a respectable solo repertoire.

In this video Liu Hong introduces the erhu and plays the classic folk tune “Running River” (江河水).

Read more

Jun 29

Memrane of a dizi

The dizi

The dizi (笛子) is one of China’s oldest instruments. Similar- though not identical to- the Western flute, the dizi probably originated around 8,000 years ago and remains ubiquitous in contemporary China. Early dizi were made from bone but bamboo became the most material. Read more

Jun 10

"Playing the pipa behind the back" - A pipa player from the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang

The pipa: How a barbarian lute became a national symbol

‘Playing the pipa behind the back’ is a special kind of Chinese gongfu that expresses flying in heaven at Dunhuang. [See image of pipa player from Mogao caves at Dunhuang]

The road to industrialization with Chinese characteristics was taken by Mao Zedong after imitating the Soviets for 8 years, when he threw away the crutch and stood independently.  The most unique aspect of that was the reverse method of strengthening agriculture in order to speed up heavy industry:  this an example of ‘playing the pipa behind the back’ studied from life.    Read more

Jun 9

Wu Fei playing guzheng

The guzheng

The guzheng is a 21-stringed zither that has been played in China – in one form or another – for about two thousand years. Aside from having 21 strings (compared to the guqin‘s 7 strings), the guzheng’s other major difference from the guqin is that there are bridges: This means that the left hand can change pitches by bending the strings up and down, whereas the guqin changes pitches by a horizontal motion like a slide guitar. Read more

Jun 8

Wu Fei playing with Secret Chiefs 3 at North Sea Jazz Festival

New uses for old Chinese instruments

Here are some videos showing musicians using traditional instruments to play all kinds of new music.

If you cannot watch any of these videos, please complain to your local Internet provider or your government about censorship or slow connection speeds. Read more

Jun 7

A pipa player in Night Revels of Han Xizai by Gu Hongzhong

The pipa

The pipa (琵琶) is a pear-shaped type of lute with four strings. It’s one of the most common Chinese musical instruments – varieties of pipa have been played in China for about two thousand years. Like many instruments now considered Chinese, its origins are in central Asia. Read more

Jun 6

"Listening to the Qin," attributed to the northern Song emperor Huizong (r.1101-1126).

The guqin and earth’s greatest hits

In 1977 NASA sent Voyager I into deep space to explore the great beyond. The spacecraft contained a 12-inch copper disc titled “Sounds of the Earth”, featuring “greetings from the People of Earth in 60 languages, and natural sounds such as ocean surf, thunder [and] chirping birds.”

Representing China among the 50 musical examples from around the world was a piece for the seven-stringed zither, the guqin. Called “Flowing Waters” (流水), the piece was performed by the late guqin master Guan Pinghu. Read more