Plucked Strings | Introduction
Introduction
Liuqin
An important instrument accompanying various regional operas and traditional folk ensembles, the liuqin originally was a mid-register instrument with two strings and seven frets. Since the 1950s, the instrument has been incorporated into the newly developed Chinese orchestra and numerous changes have been made. It now has four strings and twenty-nine frets, and has a much wider range with about four octaves.
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Pipa
Likely originating from similar plucked string instruments from the Middle East, the pipa has more than 2000 years of history within China. Numerous texts about the instrument can be found, although the ancient pipa did not always take the form of the pipa we know now. With its long history, the pipa has accumulated a large repertoire with very different styles and playing techniques. Since the 1950s, it has been developed to have a bigger dynamic range, increased number of frets, and the position of the frets have been changed for equal-tempered tuning.
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Yangqin
The yangqin is thought to have came into China around the end of the Ming dynasty from instruments found in the Persian and Arabic regions. First popularized around the Guangdong region, the instrument slowly spread to other parts of China. The earliest instruments only had two rows of bridges and a much smaller range. With rapid development of instruments in the mid twentieth century, the yangqin underwent several changes, including the addition of a couple more rows of bridges, thereby also increasing the range of the instrument. Chromatic notes are added and the modern instrument can play all the notes of the chromatic scale, which increases the ease of modulating to more distant keys or playing music that uses all the 12 tones of the chromatic scale.
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Ruan
The ruan is a very ancient musical instrument with extant records going back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25 – 220 AD). By the Sui Tang period (581 – 907 AD), this instrument was already widely used, both within the courts and in music played by the common folk. From only eight frets in the ancient instrument, the modern ruan has developed into a four-stringed, 24 fretted instrument. In the modern Chinese orchestra, various sizes of ruans may be used as well, although the most commonly found one is the zhongruan (mid-sized ruan).
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Sanxian
The name sanxian can be traced back to written records from the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD). Its origins however probably dates even further back to similar instruments from the Qin dynasty (221 – 206 BC). The sanxian is often used to accompany regional operas, shuochang, and other folk vocal art forms. With recent development to the instrument, the sanxian has also became a solo instrument with a unique voice, as well as being frequently used within the Chinese orchestra. The small sanxian can be found in the music of many regions in the southern part of China while the big sanxian is often seen in the northern regions. The Chinese orchestra uses the big sanxian.
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Zheng
The popularity of this instrument can be traced as far back as the Warring States (476 – 221 BC). Before the Jin dynasty (266 – 420 AD), the zheng has 12 strings, and that increased to 13 strings during the Tang dynasty (618 – 907 AD). During the 1950s, the growth of the Chinese orchestra and development of instruments making up the Chinese orchestra led to changes in the zheng as well. Strings changed to metal and nylon, and the number of strings increased to 21 (or less often seen, 25).