Chinese Musical Instruments

Wind or Blowing Instruments 吹奏 乐器
• The wind instruments are mainly made of bamboo or wood and are in the form of a pipe. They can produce smooth and sonorous (洪亮) sound by wind blowing through the pipe. • There is a variety of wind instruments used in Chinese music , among them are the Dizi , Xiao and Sheng .
Chinese Musical Instruments
中国民乐器
Chinese music , the body of vocal(声乐） and instrumental music ,has a very long history , as old as Chinese civilization. During the Zhou Dynasty large-scale orchestras(乐队) appeared in the court. Musical culture in the Tang Dynasty was so developed that it ranked among the best in the world and exerted(发挥) great influence on the development of music in Japan , Korea and countries in Southeast Asia.
Zheng 筝
• The Zheng is a plucked string instrument that is part of the zither(筝 ) family. It was developed from a small instrument made from bamboo. • Due to its long history , the Zheng has been called Guzheng(古筝)， meaning Ancient Zheng . It has been a popular instrument since ancient times and is considered as one of the main chamber as well as solo instruments of Chinese traditional music.(它自古以来就是一种流行的 工具，被认为是一个主要商会以及中国传统音乐的独奏乐 器。) • Zheng flat rectangular shape, mainly drawn from the Indus wood (筝外形扁长方形，主要取材于梧桐木)
These instruments are divided into four groups.
• • • • Wind or Blowing Instruments 吹奏乐器 Bowed String Instrument 拉弦乐器 Plucked String Instrument 弹拨乐器 Percussion 打击乐器
Plucked String Instrument 弹拨乐器
• Guqin 古琴 • Zheng 筝 • Pipa 琵琶
Guqin 古琴
• The Guqin is the most classical of all the Chinese music instruments with about 2000 years of history.
About two thousand years ago ,there were already more than seventy kinds of instruments in the Zhou Dynasty , and more than two hundred kinds are still in use today.
Songs played by Banhu
• • • • • 汾水情 月芽五更 柳青娘 秦川行 ··· ···
Plucked String Instrument 弹拨乐器
• The plucked string instruments are played by plucking the strings with fingers or plectrums(拨子 ).
The famous songs played by Dizi
• • • • • • • • • • 梁祝之化蝶 梦里水乡 分飞燕 晚秋 故乡原风景 春江花月夜 水乡吟 枣园春色 大悲咒 ··· ···
Xiao 萧
• Similar to Dizi ,the xiao is also a very popular wind instrument. • Xiao is used to play classical Chinese music and solo music . • The Xiao is a transverse (横向的) flute and can be divided into three specific types : Xiao , Dongxiao(洞箫) and qinxiao(琴箫) .
Ten famous songs played by Guqin
• • • • • • • • • • • • 十大古琴名曲 1．广陵散 2．高山流水唐后分为《高山》和《流水》二曲 3．平沙落雁 4．酒狂 5．关山月 6．潇湘水云 7．阳关三叠 8．梅花三弄 9．胡笳十八拍 10．幽兰 11．忆故人
Bowed String Instrument 拉弦乐器
• Erhu 二胡 • Gaohu 高胡 • Banhu 板胡
Erhu 二胡
• The Erhu ,a 2-stringed , vertical fiddle(垂直小提 琴), has a history of about 700 years . • Erhu has a small body and a long neck , with the bow inserted between two strings. Traditionally the two strings are made of silk . • During the Ming and Qing dynasties , it underwent great change at the time of the golden age of the local operas . • Originally an instrument mainly for accompaniment in an opera , the Erhu becomes a solo instrument after much improvement.
The songs played by Sheng
• • • • 微山湖船歌 苗族歌曲 马蹄声 婚誓 芦笙恋歌
Bowed String Instrument 拉弦乐器
• The bowed string instruments produce from the vibration(振动) of the strings sweet sound and rich tone colors. • Most of Chinese bowed string instruments belong to the Huqin(胡琴) group, such as the Gaoqin(高胡) and the Banhu(板胡)。 • They can express profound feelings and display exquisite(精美) skills of the performer.
Banhu 板胡
• Banhu appeared during the Qing Dynasty and has got many other names such as Pang-Hu(旁 胡)，Qin-Hu(琴胡)，Da-Xian(大弦) and many others .
• 板胡形制大部分与二胡相同，主要区别在琴筒和 千斤 。琴筒又叫瓢，圆筒形，用椰子壳制作，也 有用木质、铜质或竹筒的 。千斤又称腰马，用牛 角或红木制作，与二胡千斤所用材料不同。琴弦 为丝弦或钢丝弦。
Famous songs played by Erhu
• • • • • • 二泉映月 红梅随想 江南春色 望星空 江河水 ··· ··
Gaohu 高胡
• The first appearance of Gaohu can be traced back the Song dynasty and it is particularly used in Southern China . • The physical structure of a Gaohu is similar to that of a Erhu , although the neck of this instrument is shorter . The tuning(调音 ) is a fourth to a fifth higher than the Erhu , give it a high pitch(音高 ). • 高胡是高音拉弦乐器，其形、构造、演奏手法与 技巧以及所用演奏符号等，均与二胡相同，只是 琴筒（共鸣箱）比二胡略小，常用两腿夹着琴筒 的一部分演奏。
Wind or Blowing Instruments 吹奏 乐器
• Dizi 笛子 • Xiao 萧 • Sheng 笙
Dizi 笛子
• The Dizi , a popular traditional Chinese flute ,is made of bamboo and is in the form of a pipe. It has one blowing hole, a film (薄膜)hole and six finger holes. • It is believed to have brought in from Tibet during the Han Dynasty and since then it has been used for over the past 2000 years .
Sheng 笙
• Sheng is one of the Chinese wind instruments and has existed for more than 2500 years . Sheng is also the first musical instrument in the world utilizing（利用） a “coupled acoustical system,”（声学系统耦合） between an air column and a free reed. • By virtue(凭借)of its construction, this is the only unique Chinese musical instrument in the Chinese orchestra capable of playing up to six notes simultaneously. The Sheng is used as both a solo and accompaniment instrument.
Pipawk.baidu.com琵琶
• The original instrument of Pipa with 4 silk strings has a history of over 2000 years . • The most common Pipa has a body with a short neck and a wooden belly(肚 ) . On the neck there are 19 to 26 bamboo frets, which are either made of wood ,jade, or elephant. • 4丝弦琵琶与原来的仪器有2000多年的历史。 最常见的琵琶有很短的颈部和一个木制的肚皮一 具躯体。脖子上有19至26竹苦恼，这是木材，玉 石，或大象。