Music plays
an important role in every civilization. It has always been alongside human
beings since the very early days. In this blog, I’m going to introduce some of
the Chinese musical instruments that we commonly see today.
Dizi
The dizi is
a Chinese transverse flute. Most dizi are made of bamboo, which explains why
dizi are sometimes known by simple names such as Chinese bamboo flute. Northern
Chinese dizi are made from purple or violet bamboo, while dizi made in Suzhou
and Hangzhou are made from white bamboo. Dizi produced in southern Chinese
regions such as Chaozhou are often made of very slender, lightweight,
light-colored bamboo and are much quieter in tone.
Although
bamboo is the common material for the dizi, it is also possible to find dizi
made from other kinds of wood, or even from stone, for an example jade. However,
jade may not be the best material for dizi since, as with metal, jade may not
be as tonally responsive as bamboo, which is more resonant.
Xiao
The xiao is
a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. Xiao are almost always made of bamboo, the
best being 'purple bamboo'. Traditional xiao have six finger holes, while most
modern ones have eight; the additional holes do not extend the instrument's
range but instead make it easier to play notes such as F natural. Compared to
the dizi, the xiao has a much lower tone.
Erhu
The erhu is
a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle,
which may also be called a Southern Fiddle, and sometimes known in the Western
world as the Chinese violin. The Erhu can be traced back to proto-Mongolic
instruments introduced to China more than a thousand years ago. The Erhu
consists of a long vertical stick-like neck, at the top of which are two large
tuning pegs, and at the bottom is a small resonator body (sound box) which is
covered with python skin on the front end. Two strings are attached from the
pegs to the base, and a small loop of string placed around the neck and strings
acting as a nut pulls the strings towards the skin, holding a small wooden
bridge in place.
The Erhu
has some unusual features. First is that its characteristic sound is produced
through the vibration of the python skin by bowing. Second, there is no
fingerboard; the player stops the strings by pressing their fingertips onto the
strings without the strings touching the neck. Third, the horse hair bow is
never separated from it, but passes between them as opposed to over them.
Lastly, although there are two strings, they are very close to each other and
the player's left hand in effect plays as if on one string.
Pipa
The pipa is
a four-stringed 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 26. The
pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for
almost two thousand years in China. Several related instruments in East and
Southeast Asia are derived from the pipa; these include the Japanese biwa, the
Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà, and the Korean bipa.
Guzheng
The guzheng,
also known as the Chinese zither, is a Chinese plucked string instrument with a
more than 2,500-year history. It has 16 (or more) strings and movable bridges.
The modern guzheng usually has 21 strings, and is 64 inches (1,600 mm)
long. It has a large, resonant cavity made from wutong wood. Other components
are often made from other woods for structural or decorative reasons. Guzheng
players often wear fingerpicks, made from materials such as ivory, tortoiseshell,
resin or hard plastic, on one or both hands.
Image and article source: Wikipedia.com
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