Other Movie
Talks about Pipa by Lin Shi Cheng
The Pipa lesson by Wu Yu Xia(part 1)
The Pipa Lesson by Wu Yu Xia(part 2)
The Pipa making process and how to use Pipa
Wednesday 31 August 2016
Monday 15 August 2016
MOVIE
"The Ambush From All Sid and The King Chu doffs his Armour, Pipa by Zhao Cong and Yu Yuan Chun.
MOVIE
"Winter Crows Playing In The Water " the Teo Jue traditional classic music, Pipa and Ran by Lu Hong and Huo Jun Miao.
Sunday 14 August 2016
Saturday 13 August 2016
INTRODUCTION
Pipa technician skills
Pipa is plucked stringed instrument, which is lute-shaped with four strings and a fretted soundboard of 30(or 31) frets. The word “pipa” is made up of two Chinese characters – “琵” “pi” and “琶” “pa”. These two Chinese characters describe how the instrument is played and the sounds it produced: the forward plucking of the string using one’s right hand was termed “pi”, and the backward plucking of the string with the right hand was termed “pa”. The player wears artificial fingernails made of bone, shell of some special nylon, which are bound by surgical tape onto the flesh of his fingers to pluck at the instrument. Its techniques are applied to almost every plucked stringed instrument and its concepts have been borrowed for the reformations of various plucked stringed instruments.
Tuning:
The symbols of Pipa’s four strings are:
x----the forth and thickest string;
三----the third string;
II----the second string;
I----the first and thinnest string.
( )----a free string.
There are various ways of tuning for Pipa. The most common tuning is (form the forth string to first one):
A, d, e,a,
The others tuning can also be:
G, d, e, a;
A, b, e, a;
A, d, a, a;
B, d, e, a;
#A, #d, e, a;
……
You can also create your own tuning for Pipa. The most common tuning is A-d-e-a.
Pipa has a range of A-e3, all semitones can be played.
played. Thus, interval (\\ shuangtan, 双弹 and // shuangtiao, 双挑, chord or tone cluster （ sao,
扫 and fu,, 拂） is produced. (When notated, sometimes it’s unnecessary to notate the symbols
of \ or /, the player will organize the order of playing naturally according to the notes and beats.) \ or / can also play arpeggios when it’s played slowly and continuously to pluck from the inner strings to the outer strings one by one or backwards. \ and / are played with the outer side of player’s false nail. The inner side of false nails can also produce sounds. It’s similar to guitar’s playing. The pluck with the forefinger nail’s inner side is “)” (mo，抹) and the pluck with the thumb nail’s inner side is “（”（gou, 勾）. The combination of \ and / is / \ (fen, 分) , which executed on two different strings to achieve a single sound. The combination of ( and ) is （） (zhe, 摭), which executed on two different strings to achieve a single sound. （）and / \ can be played alternately and continuously in Moderato speed.
This is a basic cycle of a ((lun, 轮) and the perspective of right and left is from the player’s viewpoint. (lun, 轮) produces continuous tremolos of varying speeds and sound textures. * can be played as a combination of two or more cycles joined together to produce tremolo for certain beats as more as the composer wants. * can not only play on one single string, but also on two or three of four strings.
Accent or accents (\\ or // or or ) can be added while * is playing. The forefinger or thumb
plays \\ or // or 扫 or 拂，while the other fingers continue with * on a single string. The * cycle then goes back to normal. This technique is usually used to signify that a loud * is required.
Pipa
Pipa is plucked stringed instrument, which is lute-shaped with four strings and a fretted soundboard of 30(or 31) frets. The word “pipa” is made up of two Chinese characters – “琵” “pi” and “琶” “pa”. These two Chinese characters describe how the instrument is played and the sounds it produced: the forward plucking of the string using one’s right hand was termed “pi”, and the backward plucking of the string with the right hand was termed “pa”. The player wears artificial fingernails made of bone, shell of some special nylon, which are bound by surgical tape onto the flesh of his fingers to pluck at the instrument. Its techniques are applied to almost every plucked stringed instrument and its concepts have been borrowed for the reformations of various plucked stringed instruments.
Tuning:
The symbols of Pipa’s four strings are:
x----the forth and thickest string;
三----the third string;
II----the second string;
I----the first and thinnest string.
( )----a free string.
There are various ways of tuning for Pipa. The most common tuning is (form the forth string to first one):
A, d, e,a,
The others tuning can also be:
G, d, e, a;
A, b, e, a;
A, d, a, a;
B, d, e, a;
#A, #d, e, a;
……
You can also create your own tuning for Pipa. The most common tuning is A-d-e-a.
Pipa has a range of A-e3, all semitones can be played.
Techniques and tonal colour:
In Pipa performance, symbols take on a special significance. Unlike most other instruments that have a few symbols, the Pipa’s symbols number in the hundreds. Each symbol defines and explains the technique that is used in the piece. These symbols, which are evolutions of calligraphy, are recognized by all Pipa players.
Numbers beside the note are used to instruct fingerings according to how the piece to be played. Symbols at the bottom of a note tell the performer which string to use.
The symbols involve string symbols, right hand symbols and left hand symbols.
String symbols:
x----the forth and thickest string;
三----the third string;
II----the second string;
I----the first and thinnest string,
( )----the free string.
When scored, the string symbols are written below a note.
1.\ (tan, 弹) and / （tiao, 挑） They are the basic right hand techniques of Pipa playing. \ (tan, 弹), which is used forefinger to flick one single string outwards from right to left from the player’s viewpoint, producing a single sound. Sound textures vary, depending on how the string is plucked. Sounds can be solid, weak, soft, forceful, loose, tight, gentle, loud, thick and thin among other textures. / （tiao, 挑）, which is used thumb to pluck one single string from left to right from the player’s viewpoint, producing a single sound。 Like \ ( tan, 弹), the sound textures of / (tiao, 挑) produced are mainly depending on the way of playing. \ and / are always played as a combination technique. They are not only producing single sounds, but also producing tremolo when the playing is fast and continuous. Besides producing the single sound, \ and / can not only play one single string, but also play two or three or four strings at the same time with one plucking movement. The same when tremolo is
played. Thus, interval (\\ shuangtan, 双弹 and // shuangtiao, 双挑, chord or tone cluster （ sao,
扫 and fu,, 拂） is produced. (When notated, sometimes it’s unnecessary to notate the symbols
of \ or /, the player will organize the order of playing naturally according to the notes and beats.) \ or / can also play arpeggios when it’s played slowly and continuously to pluck from the inner strings to the outer strings one by one or backwards. \ and / are played with the outer side of player’s false nail. The inner side of false nails can also produce sounds. It’s similar to guitar’s playing. The pluck with the forefinger nail’s inner side is “)” (mo，抹) and the pluck with the thumb nail’s inner side is “（”（gou, 勾）. The combination of \ and / is / \ (fen, 分) , which executed on two different strings to achieve a single sound. The combination of ( and ) is （） (zhe, 摭), which executed on two different strings to achieve a single sound. （）and / \ can be played alternately and continuously in Moderato speed.
2. (lun, 轮) is the other unique and basic technique of Pipa. Forefinger, middle finger, ring finger and last finger flick outwards from right to left in order, while the thumb picks the string from left to right.
This is a basic cycle of a ((lun, 轮) and the perspective of right and left is from the player’s viewpoint. (lun, 轮) produces continuous tremolos of varying speeds and sound textures. * can be played as a combination of two or more cycles joined together to produce tremolo for certain beats as more as the composer wants. * can not only play on one single string, but also on two or three of four strings.
Accent or accents (\\ or // or or ) can be added while * is playing. The forefinger or thumb
plays \\ or // or 扫 or 拂，while the other fingers continue with * on a single string. The * cycle then goes back to normal. This technique is usually used to signify that a loud * is required.
Basic left hand techniques and symbols:
As others stringed instruments and lute family instruments, the left hand techniques of Pipa include vibrato, portamento, pizzicato, harmonics and artificial harmonics as well. Besides, the most important, unique and expressive technique of left hand for Pipa is string-bending.
The way of string bending is that the player’s left finger presses the string on one fret, then pluck by right hand. With the resonant of the note played by right hand just now, left finger which is pressing the string begin to push inwards or pull outwards along the fret to raise the pitch of the string. The string which is always pressed on the fret by left finger can be also returned to the normal position if needed and the pitch’s returning from higher to original can also be heard if the resonant is enough. The sound is similar to portamento or glissando. However, string-bending can only be raised the pitches but not reduce and then returned to original while portamento of glissando can be backwards also. ↗ and ↘ are symbolized for string-bending.
None-musical techniques:
1. ∟ (pai., 拍)
The sound is like Bartok pizzicato. There are two ways of playing. One is plucking string with thumb upwards and releases. The other way is picking up string and let is go with thumb and forefinger.
2. (zhai, 摘)
Thumb presses against string while the forefinger or middle finger flicks outwards from right to left below the thumb. The sound produced is crisp, like thin metal stick being hit on percussion instruments. With the difference among the strings, pressure and positions, the obscure different pitches will be obtained.
Thumb presses against string while the forefinger or middle finger flicks outwards from right to left below the thumb. The sound produced is crisp, like thin metal stick being hit on percussion instruments. With the difference among the strings, pressure and positions, the obscure different pitches will be obtained.
3. 卜 (tan-mian-ban, 弹面板)
Forefinger or thumb uses surface of nails to hit surface of the board.
4. ⊥ (sha, 煞)
Fingernail of left finger stays under the string while the right hand plays, producing the sound that is not purely musical. The obscure pitches can be changed while left fingernail moves the position.
5. string-twisting
Twisting two, three or four together (possibly the first string under the second or vice versa), and plucking with the right hand. The sound of string-twisting is alike beating cymbals. The different position of left finger can produce obscure pitches also like the other non-musical techniques.
INTRODUCTION
Pipa Song (Pipa Xing 琵琶行)
This is the Tang Dynasty "Pipa Song" by Bai Ju Yi（白居易）.
Bai Juyi (772-846 AD) In 815 I was demoted from the Capital to a local Officer of Jiujiang Prefecture. One autumn night of the following year, while seeing off friends on a boat leaving Penpu harbor on the Yangtze River, I suddenly heard a pipa tune being played from the neighboring boat. The music style was clearly from the capital. Being totally surprised, I made an inquiry and learned that the musician was a lady who used to be a famous star in the Capital. She studied the pipa with the great Masters Mu and Cao. Then her glorious years past with the time as her beauty faded. Finally she had to lower herself to marry to a merchant. I then invited her to my boat, had the table re-set, and asked her to perform for my friends and myself. When the concert ended, I asked her why she was so sad. She told me of her splendid youth and how she lost her fame and lived a life of a merchant¡¯s wife. I had not myself felt depressed since my own departure from the capital. But after I heard her story, that night, the reality of my own demotion sank in. And I could not help but write for her this "Pipa Song", a long poem of six hundred and sixteen characters.
One Autumn night on the Yangtze River side,
I bade farewell to my friends on a boat.
Soft wind rustles reeds and maple leaves,
I, the host, dismounted and the guests went aboard.
Cup in hands, but there was no music,
We drank with depressed heart,
Seeing my friends off while the moonlight bathing in the river.
Suddenly the pipa sounds drifting to our ears from a neighboring boat,
My guests forgot to leave and I knew not where we were.
Tracing the sound, we looked for the wonder maker.
The music stopped and there was no sound to hear.
We moved our boat near the musician's to invite
Here to drink at our feast replenished by lamplight.
We urged her over and again until she appeared,
With half her face hiding behind the pipa still.
She turned the pegs and tuned each string few times,
Her music flew out even before playing a note.
Each plug on the string gave a note of melancholy,
Pouring out the resentment of her life.
She knitted up her brows and carried on,
Telling from her heart the life story long.
Now playing softly, now playing swiftly,
She performed first "Liuyiao" and then "Nishang"
The bold strings rattled like splatters of sudden rain,
The fine strings hummed like lovers' whispers.
Chattering and pattering, pattering and chattering,
As pearls, large and small, on a jade plate fall.
The sweet melody recalls oriole singing among flowers,
The sobbing music brings the gushing spring out of glacier,
The spring frozen, the strings ceased vibration.
The water stopped flowing and silence set in.
In my heart, a spell of deep feeling,
At this magical moment, silence tells more than sound.
Suddenly a strain of notes burst out
Like water splattering out of a fallen vase
Or horsemen riding among a forest of spears.
She struck the four strings all at once
As if the silk curtains were ripped with great force.
With her plectrum sweeping over the string,
The music came to an end with a crystal snap.
And tranquil overwhelmed in the boats far and near,
Only the Autumn moon shining in the rever so pale.
Sadly, she put the pick back under the strings
And rose elegantly with her manner respectful,
Saying that she was originated from the capital,
And lived in the famous district of Xiamoling.
By thirteen she had mastered the pipa,
And was first among equals at the Imperial Conservatory,
Her art the admiration even of master Shancai,
Her beauty the envy of all pretty girls.
Suitors competed to reward her,
For every song she received endless bolts of silk.
She sang, she beat time, all through the day,
She danced till her head gear fell to the floor.
Wine spilled, skirts stained,
Delicacies rivaled gaieties.
Day after day, and joy upon joy,
Her best years slipped away.
Then her brother joined the army, and her aunt died.
Times changed, and her beauty faded.
Her patrons wandered off, went elsewhere,
And the carriages at her door got fewer and fewer,
Till finally she had to lower herself marry a tea dealer.
All he thought of was money, parting never bothers him,
So the month before he'd gone to Fuliang, to buy tea,
And she had been left to tend the boat all alone,
No company but the cold water and the moon.
In the deep of night she would dream of the past,
Awake from Crying, her face wet with tears.
I had sighed when I heard the music,
But now, having heard her story, sadness doubled.
"Both of us are strangers here, both of us stranded,
Does it matter that we've just met, if our hearts understand?
I left the capital a year ago,
And now, a sick exile at JiuJiang, my sorrow grows.
The city is far away, there is no music,
No flute, no pipa, all the year long.
I live, now near Pencheng, damp and low,
Choked with reeds and bamboo.
What do I hear, day and night?
The sad songs of cuckoos, the sad cries of apes.
On a spring day, at the river,
Or on an autumn moonlit night,
Often-I sit up, alone, and sip wine.
There are folk songs, of course, there are village flutes,
But they are so crude and they grate on my ears.
Tonight I heard you play the pipa.
It brightens me like music from Heaven.
Sit down once more, please play an ancore,
And in turn I will write you a "Pipa Song".
Moved by my words, she stood there, silent for a long while,
Then she sat down and quickly tuned her strings again,
Grief-filled and heart-felt she played a different tune.
Tear-soaked, sorrow-laden, all sobbed out at once.
And who was weeping the bitterest tears of all?
The Deputy Chief of Jiujiang Prefecture,
whose blue gown was soaked in tears.
I bade farewell to my friends on a boat.
Soft wind rustles reeds and maple leaves,
I, the host, dismounted and the guests went aboard.
Cup in hands, but there was no music,
We drank with depressed heart,
Seeing my friends off while the moonlight bathing in the river.
Suddenly the pipa sounds drifting to our ears from a neighboring boat,
My guests forgot to leave and I knew not where we were.
Tracing the sound, we looked for the wonder maker.
The music stopped and there was no sound to hear.
We moved our boat near the musician's to invite
Here to drink at our feast replenished by lamplight.
We urged her over and again until she appeared,
With half her face hiding behind the pipa still.
She turned the pegs and tuned each string few times,
Her music flew out even before playing a note.
Each plug on the string gave a note of melancholy,
Pouring out the resentment of her life.
She knitted up her brows and carried on,
Telling from her heart the life story long.
Now playing softly, now playing swiftly,
She performed first "Liuyiao" and then "Nishang"
The bold strings rattled like splatters of sudden rain,
The fine strings hummed like lovers' whispers.
Chattering and pattering, pattering and chattering,
As pearls, large and small, on a jade plate fall.
The sweet melody recalls oriole singing among flowers,
The sobbing music brings the gushing spring out of glacier,
The spring frozen, the strings ceased vibration.
The water stopped flowing and silence set in.
In my heart, a spell of deep feeling,
At this magical moment, silence tells more than sound.
Suddenly a strain of notes burst out
Like water splattering out of a fallen vase
Or horsemen riding among a forest of spears.
She struck the four strings all at once
As if the silk curtains were ripped with great force.
With her plectrum sweeping over the string,
The music came to an end with a crystal snap.
And tranquil overwhelmed in the boats far and near,
Only the Autumn moon shining in the rever so pale.
Sadly, she put the pick back under the strings
And rose elegantly with her manner respectful,
Saying that she was originated from the capital,
And lived in the famous district of Xiamoling.
By thirteen she had mastered the pipa,
And was first among equals at the Imperial Conservatory,
Her art the admiration even of master Shancai,
Her beauty the envy of all pretty girls.
Suitors competed to reward her,
For every song she received endless bolts of silk.
She sang, she beat time, all through the day,
She danced till her head gear fell to the floor.
Wine spilled, skirts stained,
Delicacies rivaled gaieties.
Day after day, and joy upon joy,
Her best years slipped away.
Then her brother joined the army, and her aunt died.
Times changed, and her beauty faded.
Her patrons wandered off, went elsewhere,
And the carriages at her door got fewer and fewer,
Till finally she had to lower herself marry a tea dealer.
All he thought of was money, parting never bothers him,
So the month before he'd gone to Fuliang, to buy tea,
And she had been left to tend the boat all alone,
No company but the cold water and the moon.
In the deep of night she would dream of the past,
Awake from Crying, her face wet with tears.
I had sighed when I heard the music,
But now, having heard her story, sadness doubled.
"Both of us are strangers here, both of us stranded,
Does it matter that we've just met, if our hearts understand?
I left the capital a year ago,
And now, a sick exile at JiuJiang, my sorrow grows.
The city is far away, there is no music,
No flute, no pipa, all the year long.
I live, now near Pencheng, damp and low,
Choked with reeds and bamboo.
What do I hear, day and night?
The sad songs of cuckoos, the sad cries of apes.
On a spring day, at the river,
Or on an autumn moonlit night,
Often-I sit up, alone, and sip wine.
There are folk songs, of course, there are village flutes,
But they are so crude and they grate on my ears.
Tonight I heard you play the pipa.
It brightens me like music from Heaven.
Sit down once more, please play an ancore,
And in turn I will write you a "Pipa Song".
Moved by my words, she stood there, silent for a long while,
Then she sat down and quickly tuned her strings again,
Grief-filled and heart-felt she played a different tune.
Tear-soaked, sorrow-laden, all sobbed out at once.
And who was weeping the bitterest tears of all?
The Deputy Chief of Jiujiang Prefecture,
whose blue gown was soaked in tears.
Chinese explanation about "Pipa song"
浔阳江头夜送客，枫叶荻花秋瑟瑟。
主人下马客在船，举酒欲饮无管弦。
醉不成欢惨将别，别时茫茫江浸月。
忽闻水上琵琶声，主人忘归客不发。
寻声暗问弹者谁，琵琶声停欲语迟。
移船相近邀相见，添酒回灯重开宴。
千呼万唤始出来，犹抱琵琶半遮面。
转轴拨弦三两声，未成曲调先有情。
弦弦掩抑声声思，似诉平生不得志。
低眉信手续续弹，说尽心中无限事。
轻拢慢撚抹复挑，初为《霓裳》后《六幺》。
大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私语。
嘈嘈切切错杂弹，大珠小珠落玉盘。
间关莺语花底滑，幽咽泉流冰下难。
冰泉冷涩弦凝绝，凝绝不通声渐歇。
别有幽愁暗恨生，此时无声胜有声。
银瓶乍破水浆迸，铁骑突出刀枪鸣。
曲终收拨当心画，四弦一声如裂帛。
东船西舫悄无言，唯见江心秋月白。
沉吟放拨插弦中，整顿衣裳起敛容。
自言本是京城女，家在虾蟆陵下住。
十三学得琵琶成，名属教坊第一部。
曲罢曾教善才伏，妆成每被秋娘妒。
五陵年少争缠头，一曲红绡不知数。
钿头云篦击节碎，血色罗裙翻酒污。
今年欢笑复明年，秋月春风等闲度。
弟走从军阿姨死，暮去朝来颜色故。
门前冷落车马稀，老大嫁作商人妇。
商人重利轻别离，前月浮梁买茶去。
去来江口守空船，绕船月明江水寒。
夜深忽梦少年事，梦啼妆泪红阑干。
我闻琵琶已叹息，又闻此语重唧唧。
同是天涯沦落人，相逢何必曾相识！
我从去年辞帝京，谪居卧病浔阳城。
浔阳地僻无音乐，终岁不闻丝竹声。
住近湓江地低湿，黄芦苦竹绕宅生。
其间旦暮闻何物，杜鹃啼血猿哀鸣。
春江花朝秋月夜，往往取酒还独倾。
岂无山歌与村笛，呕哑嘲哳难为听。
今夜闻君琵琶语，如听仙乐耳暂明。
莫辞更坐弹一曲，为君翻作琵琶行。
感我此言良久立，却坐促弦弦转急。
凄凄不似向前声，满座重闻皆掩泣。
座中泣下谁最多？江州司马青衫湿。
主人下马客在船，举酒欲饮无管弦。
醉不成欢惨将别，别时茫茫江浸月。
忽闻水上琵琶声，主人忘归客不发。
寻声暗问弹者谁，琵琶声停欲语迟。
移船相近邀相见，添酒回灯重开宴。
千呼万唤始出来，犹抱琵琶半遮面。
转轴拨弦三两声，未成曲调先有情。
弦弦掩抑声声思，似诉平生不得志。
低眉信手续续弹，说尽心中无限事。
轻拢慢撚抹复挑，初为《霓裳》后《六幺》。
大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私语。
嘈嘈切切错杂弹，大珠小珠落玉盘。
间关莺语花底滑，幽咽泉流冰下难。
冰泉冷涩弦凝绝，凝绝不通声渐歇。
别有幽愁暗恨生，此时无声胜有声。
银瓶乍破水浆迸，铁骑突出刀枪鸣。
曲终收拨当心画，四弦一声如裂帛。
东船西舫悄无言，唯见江心秋月白。
沉吟放拨插弦中，整顿衣裳起敛容。
自言本是京城女，家在虾蟆陵下住。
十三学得琵琶成，名属教坊第一部。
曲罢曾教善才伏，妆成每被秋娘妒。
五陵年少争缠头，一曲红绡不知数。
钿头云篦击节碎，血色罗裙翻酒污。
今年欢笑复明年，秋月春风等闲度。
弟走从军阿姨死，暮去朝来颜色故。
门前冷落车马稀，老大嫁作商人妇。
商人重利轻别离，前月浮梁买茶去。
去来江口守空船，绕船月明江水寒。
夜深忽梦少年事，梦啼妆泪红阑干。
我闻琵琶已叹息，又闻此语重唧唧。
同是天涯沦落人，相逢何必曾相识！
我从去年辞帝京，谪居卧病浔阳城。
浔阳地僻无音乐，终岁不闻丝竹声。
住近湓江地低湿，黄芦苦竹绕宅生。
其间旦暮闻何物，杜鹃啼血猿哀鸣。
春江花朝秋月夜，往往取酒还独倾。
岂无山歌与村笛，呕哑嘲哳难为听。
今夜闻君琵琶语，如听仙乐耳暂明。
莫辞更坐弹一曲，为君翻作琵琶行。
感我此言良久立，却坐促弦弦转急。
凄凄不似向前声，满座重闻皆掩泣。
座中泣下谁最多？江州司马青衫湿。
INTRODUCTION
This is the older pipa music score, start in Tang Dynasty.
The pipa (琵琶) is a very popular musical instrument in Taiwan and China. It was first named “pi-pa” (枇杷); according to The Dictionary of Names of Musical Instruments by Liu Hsi (劉熙) of the East Han dynasty, this means “pluck out” and “pluck in”.
Pipa was a collective name of any lute regardless of its size, shape, material, number of strings or how it was played during the Chin, Han and Tang dynasties. It was not until the Sung dynasty that pipa became an exclusive name referring to the pear-shaped, curved-neck lute.
During the Chin dynasty (221-207 B.C.) a round-shaped, straight-necked lute was created. It had two-sided leather binding like a drum and was played vertically with the fingers. It was called the xiantao (string drum, 弦鼗), and also referred to as pipa. Around 105 B.C. a new pipa was created. It was made of wood and had a straight neck, round body, four strings and twelve frets. It was later renamed Chin pipa. A famous literati, Ruan Hsien (阮咸) of the “Seven Sages Under the Bamboo”, could play this instrument very well. Therefore, the Chin pipa was also referred to as ruanhsien(阮咸) or ruan(阮).
Pipa was a collective name of any lute regardless of its size, shape, material, number of strings or how it was played during the Chin, Han and Tang dynasties. It was not until the Sung dynasty that pipa became an exclusive name referring to the pear-shaped, curved-neck lute.
During the Chin dynasty (221-207 B.C.) a round-shaped, straight-necked lute was created. It had two-sided leather binding like a drum and was played vertically with the fingers. It was called the xiantao (string drum, 弦鼗), and also referred to as pipa. Around 105 B.C. a new pipa was created. It was made of wood and had a straight neck, round body, four strings and twelve frets. It was later renamed Chin pipa. A famous literati, Ruan Hsien (阮咸) of the “Seven Sages Under the Bamboo”, could play this instrument very well. Therefore, the Chin pipa was also referred to as ruanhsien(阮咸) or ruan(阮).
Around 350 A.D. when cultural exchanges were happening through the Silk Road, there were two kinds of pipas imported to northern China. Both were pear-shaped, curved-necks, four-bridges, and were held horizontally. One of them had four-strings and was plucked with a plectrum, the other had five-strings and was plucked with the fingers. They were brought to southern China after 551 A. D. These pipas had been adapted for singing and dance and were popular during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The pipa later on became one of the most important instruments of its time especially as the lead instrument of the ensemble of Tang’s “Grand Music” (大曲).
From the Tang and Sung dynasties the pipa evolved upon the foundation of the above two instruments becoming an instrument having four strings, four bridges, nine to thirteen frets and plucked with the fingers or artificial nails.
From the Tang and Sung dynasties the pipa evolved upon the foundation of the above two instruments becoming an instrument having four strings, four bridges, nine to thirteen frets and plucked with the fingers or artificial nails.
The way of playing the pipa also evolved along with its development. While the curved-neck pipa from the Silk Road had been played with a plectrum for a long time, the ruan had a long history of hand-plucked performances. During the North Wei dynasty these two ways of playing were merged to hand techniques. Many scholars argue that the pipa did not become a hand-plucked lute until 627-649 A.D., however, the stone carvings of the Yungang Cave (雲岡石窟) dating from 460-494 A.D. show many images of hand-plucked pipa players. This means that hand-plucked performances must have begun even earlier than the stone carvings of Yungang Cave.
After the Sung and Yuan dynasties the pipa evolved into a hand-plucked instrument having fourteen frets and had a better shape, range of pitches, and performance sound effects. The modern pipa has an even better resonance box for a louder dynamic range. It uses steel or nylon strings instead of silk strings for a brighter sound and has six bridges and twenty-five frets for a larger range of pitches and well-tempered tuning for modulation among the twelve keys.
In addition to solo repertoire, the pipa can also accompany singing, dancing or drama as well as be a member of various kinds of ensembles.
After the Sung and Yuan dynasties the pipa evolved into a hand-plucked instrument having fourteen frets and had a better shape, range of pitches, and performance sound effects. The modern pipa has an even better resonance box for a louder dynamic range. It uses steel or nylon strings instead of silk strings for a brighter sound and has six bridges and twenty-five frets for a larger range of pitches and well-tempered tuning for modulation among the twelve keys.
In addition to solo repertoire, the pipa can also accompany singing, dancing or drama as well as be a member of various kinds of ensembles.
Tuesday 9 August 2016
INTRODUCTION
This is the wall art painting from "Dun Huang", it is the dance and playing pipa with "Fan Tan Pi Pa".
Monday 8 August 2016
Tuesday 2 August 2016
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