Chinese Instruments

1
????Chinese Instruments
2
Type of Chinese Instruments
Chinese instruments are also classified according
to the type of material they are made from. They
are Stone, Metal, Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Skin, Gourd
and Clay
3
Stone

• A good example is the Pien Ching. It is a set of
  L-shaped stones, of different quantities and
  sizes, hanging from a stand and struck with a
  special hammer. They are played only at court and
  during religious ceremonies.

4
Metal
Includes Bells, Bo (Cymbals) and Luo (Gong).
5
Bo (Cymbals)

• The performer strikes the pair together. The most
  common type now is the Jingbo (the prefix jing
  referring to Beijing), a name from the
  instruments use in the Peking opera.
• This type is clear and
• forceful in tone quality.

6
Luo (Gong)

• Chinese gongs are made of high-tin bronze,
  hammered into a sifter shape. Its central
  resonating area can be either flat or convex.
  Modern varieties are great in number with varying
  tone qualities.

7
Silk

• Refers to the stringed instruments. The stringed
  instruments can be further divided into two
  categories the bowed strings (e.g. Erhu (Chinese
  violin) and the plucked strings (e.g Pipa
  (Chinese Lute), Liuqin (Small Lute), Ruan,
  Sanxian (Three -string Lute/Banjo).

8
Pipa (Chinese Lute)

• The word "Pi" meant "to play forward" and "Pa"
  meant "to play backward".
• The Pipa arrived in China in the 4th century AD
  from Central Asia.

9
Liuqin (Small Lute)

• The Liuqin looks like a miniature pipa, but it
  has the shape of a willow leaf, this is where the
  Liuqin got its name from.

10
Ruan

• The name is a shortened form of Ruan Xian who was
  a musician in the 3rd century (the Six
  dynasties).

11
Sanxian (Three -string Lute/Banjo)

• Sanxian has a structure of a wooden drum covered
  with a snake skin, and an extended long and
  smooth finger board. It has a distinctive rich
  and harmonious sound with great volume and wide
  range.

12
Erhu (Chinese violin)

• Erhu also known as Huqin, The instrument has two
  strings and is played with the bow clasped
  between them. The sound box is covered by snake
  skin which gives the instrument its distinctive
  mellow and bright tone.

13
Bamboo

• The majority of woodwind instruments are made
  from bamboo. Examples include the Di (Flute),
  Suona (Oboe).

14
Di (Flute)

• Early in the reign of Emperor Wudi (141-88 BC) of
  the Han dynasty, the di flute was introduced to
  China from western areas. It is often bound with
  bands of silk or thread for crack proof.

15
Suona (Oboe)

• This double reed instrument was brought to China
  by Muslim travellers 500 years ago. . It has a
  penetrating tone quality, The suona is has a
  passionate and lively sound, particularly good at
  imitating the singing of hundreds of birds.

16
Wood

• This section includes a large variety of small
  percussion instruments including wooden blocks,
  boxes and xylophones with wooden blocks. These,
  like Muyu (Woodblock) were used by Buddhist monks
  during religious ceremonies.

17
Muyu (Woodblock)

• It was used originally to accompany Buddhist
  chant only. The larger type is primarily used in
  Buddhist temples, but recently appears in sets,
  varying in diameters and tone qualities.
• The set is mainly used for regular rhythms in the
  accompaniment.

18
Skin

• Drums are often covered with different types of
  animal skins along the top or head, like Bangu
  (Drum) or Tanggu (Medium-sized Barrel Drum).

19
Bangu (Drum)

• The player strikes on this central area with a
  pair of bamboo sticks.The Bangu leads the
  percussion section in the instrumental ensemble
  of the Peking opera.

20
Tanggu (Medium-sized Barrel Drum)

• The common type is similar in shape to a barrel.
  Its wooden shell, entirely painted red with
  decorative patterns, is covered with two
  drumheads of cowhide or pig skin.

21
Gourd

• A type of plant. A Sheng (Mouth Organ) is one of
  the oldest Chinese instruments made out of
  hollowed-out pumpkin-like vegetables. It consists
  of a wind-chest and a number of bamboo pipes set
  in a circle. The sheng imitates the sound of a
  phoenix.

22
Sheng (Mouth Organ)

• It is said that the first female ancestor Nüwa or
  one of her followers called Sui invented the
  instrument. The early type had a calabash base
  with pipes mounted through its holes in its top.

23
Clay

• The Ocarina, a small, egg-shaped wind instrument
  (with six holes for the finger tips) made of
  clay, like Xun (Clay Vessel Flute)

24
Xun (Clay Vessel Flute)

• The Xun was said to be made of baked clay by the
  legendary Bao Xin Gong the first male ancestor in
  Chinese myth.

25
Chinese orchestra

• A Chinese orchestra is an mixture of many
  cultural traditions. Similar to a western
  philharmonic orchestra, a full Chinese orchestra
  is made up of four sections as below
• Plucked-strings
• Bowed-strings

• Woodwind
• Percussion

26
More about Chinese Instruments

• http//www.chinesemusic.co.uk/english/pluckints.ht
  m
• http//www.philmultic.com/home/instruments/
• http//library.thinkquest.org/28110/instruments/ch
  inese/index.html
• http//english.taipei.gov.tw/tco/index.jsp?recordi
  d9872
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_China