It is one of the most enduring work in Chinese theatre, and one that became a model for Ming dynasty drama as it was the favorite opera of the first Ming emperor. length It has not caught on in China but in Korea (where she also did some of her research) the bipa was revived since then and the current versions are based on Chinese pipa, including one with five-strings. The pipa is held in a vertical or near-vertical position during performance, although in the early periods the instrument was held in the horizontal position or near-horizontal with the neck pointing slightly downwards, or upside down. The strings are sounded with a large, thick, fan-shaped plectrum called a bachi (detail #6), traditionally made of wood (the practice bachi pictured here is made from resin). It is a big percussion instrument of Japanese that plays integral part of many Japanese Matsuri (festival). Note however that the frets on all Chinese lutes are high so that the fingers and strings never touch the fingerboard in between the frets, this is different from many Western fretted instruments and allows for dramatic vibrato and other pitch changing effects. This minute design detail gives rise to sawari, the distinctive raspy tone of a vibrating string. The fourth and fifth strings, if 5-stringed, are tuned to the same note. There are some confusions and disagreements about the origin of pipa. Painted panel of the sarcophagus of Y Hung, depicts one of the Persian or Sogdian figures playing pipa. In the late 20th century, largely through the efforts of Wu Man (in USA), Min Xiao-Fen (in USA), composer Yang Jing (in Europe) and other performers, Chinese and Western contemporary composers began to create new works for the pipa (both solo and in combination with chamber ensembles and orchestra). to the present. [56], Texts from Tang dynasty mentioned many renowned pipa players such as He Huaizhi (), Lei Haiqing (), Li Guaner (), and Pei Xingnu (). A Sound Classification Musical instruments can be classified by the Western orchestral system into brass, percussion, strings, and woodwinds; but the S-H system allows non-western instruments to be classified as well. Kindai-biwa still retains a significant number of professional and amateur practitioners, but the zato, heike, and moso-biwa styles have all but died out. [10] An instrument called xiantao (), made by stretching strings over a small drum with handle, was said to have been played by labourers who constructed the Great Wall of China during the late Qin dynasty. A player holds it horizontally, and mostly plays rhythmic arpeggios in orchestra or ensemble. The exception for these methods is for when hazusu or tataku are performed on the 4th string. A rapid strum is called sao (), and strumming in the reverse direction is called fu (). Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Several related instruments are derived from the pipa, including the Japanese biwa and Korean bipa in East Asia, and the Vietnamese n t b in Southeast Asia. [18], As biwa music declined in post-Pacific War Japan, many Japanese composers and musicians found ways to revitalize interest in it. This is the original form of biwa that came to Japan in the 8th century. Biwa hshi performances overlapped with performances by other biwa players many years before heikyoku (, The Tale of the Heike),[further explanation needed] and continues to this day. One of these, the new chikuzen biwa tradition, became popular amongst many thousands of amateurs between c.1900 and 1920. In the 13th century, the story "The Tale of Heike" ()was created and told by them. In more recent times, many pipa players, especially the younger ones, no longer identify themselves with any specific school. 1969. Updates? The instrument is also held vertically while playing. greatest depth of resonator, multiple (by pressure stopping against fretted fingerboard). The heike-biwa, smaller than the ms-biwa, was used for similar purposes. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. Biwa playing has a long history on Kyushu, and for centuries the art was practiced within the institution of ms, blind Buddhist priests who performed sacred and secular texts for agrarian and other rituals. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The flowers fluttered, and from Heaven the phoenix trilled, [44] The first volume contains 13 pieces from the Northern school, the second and third volumes contain 54 pieces from the Southern school. The biwas sound at the attack (top) at one second later (bottom). Tachibana sought to create a new narrative style that would appeal to a contemporary urban audience (de Ferranti p. 120) and that would be performed by sighted musicians. [9] When singing in a chorus, biwa singers often stagger their entry and often sing through non-synchronized, heterophony accompaniment. As one of the modern types of biwa that flourished in the late 19, centuries, Satsuma-biwa is widely played today in various settings, including popular media. However, the biwas cultural significance is due to its evolution during the medieval era into a narrative musical instrument. This is due to the fact that the space between the strings on the first three frets is so short that a fingered 1st fret on the 3rd string, for example, would damp the following 4th string, as shown on Figure 7. Title: Satsuma Biwa () Date: ca. Recently, this instrument, much like the konghou harp, has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. II, p. 30. [41] Three Ming dynasty pieces were discovered in the High River Flows East (, Gaohe Jiangdong) collection dating from 1528 which are very similar to those performed today, such as "The Moon on High" (, Yue-er Gao). 592 AD, Sui dynasty. In Japan, the biwa is generally played with a bachi instead of the fingers, and is often used to play gagaku. In the 1920s and 1930s, the number of frets was increased to 24, based on the 12 tone equal temperament scale, with all the intervals being semitones. The plectrum also contributes to the texture of biwa music. Pipa is commonly associated with Princess Liu Xijun and Wang Zhaojun of the Han dynasty, although the form of pipa they played in that period is unlikely to be pear-shaped as they are now usually depicted. It is however possible to produce the tremolo with just one or more fingers. The gagaku biwa (), a large and heavy biwa with four strings and four frets, is used exclusively for gagaku. Yo-sen has 2 tones regarded as auxiliary tones. Figure 4 introduces the biwas six traditional tunings. Other noted players of the early 20th century include Liu Tianhua, a student of Shen Zhaozhou of the Chongming school and who increased the number of frets on the pipa and changed to an equal-tempered tuning, and the blind player Abing from Wuxi. Since biwa pieces were generally performed for small groups, singers did not need to project their voices as opera singers did in Western music tradition. 2. [2] Pear-shaped lutes have been depicted in Kusana sculptures from the 1st century AD. Ms Biwa () Japanese. A pipa player playing with the pipa behind his back. The biwa, originally an instrument of high society, gradually spread among wandering blind monks who used this instrument to tell stories. A. Biwa B. Koto C. Shakuhachi D. Shamisen 3. [27] The traditional 16-fret pipa became less common, although it is still used in some regional styles such as the pipa in the southern genre of nanguan/nanyin. Interest in the biwa was revived during the Edo period (16001868), when Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established the Tokugawa shogunate. Over 100 years after its development, the H-S system is still in use in most museums and in large inventory projects. [10] In solo performances, a biwa performer sings monophonically, with melismatic emphasis throughout the performance. Influenced by the recitations of blind priests, the music of the heike biwa reflects the mood of the text. During the Qing dynasty, apart from those of the various schools previously mentioned, there was Chen Zijing (), a student of Ju Shilin and known as a noted player during the late Qing dynasty. Techniques that produce vibrato, portamento, glissando, pizzicato, harmonics or artificial harmonics found in violin or guitar are also found in pipa. Telling stories and holding religious practices with biwa accompaniment became a profession for blind monks, and it was these wandering blind monks who carried on the tradition. Instruments are classified using 5 different categories depending on the manner in which the instrument creates the sound: Idiophones, Membranophones, Chordophones, Aerophones, & Electrophones. Biwa is a 4-stringed lute played with a large spectrum. Although no longer as popular as it once was, several chikuzen biwa schools have survived to the present day in Japan and to a lesser extent in Japanese communities abroad (such as in Hawaii). The body is narrower and smaller than the other types of biwa. [8] The varying string thickness creates different timbres when stroked from different directions. Non-traditional themes may be used in these new compositions and some may reflect the political landscape and demands at the time of composition, for example "Dance of the Yi People" which is based on traditional melodies of the Yi people, may be seen as part of the drive for national unity, while "Heroic Little Sisters of the Grassland" extols the virtue of those who served as model of exemplary behaviour in the People's commune.[48]. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. As a result, younger musicians turned to other instruments and interest in biwa music decreased. It has the largest body and relatively short neck among biwas. Shanghai-born Liu Guilian graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and became the director of the Shanghai Pipa Society, and a member of the Chinese Musicians Association and Chinese National Orchestral Society, before immigrating to Canada. Because of its traditional association with silk strings, the pipa is classified as a silk instrument in the Chinese bayin (eight-tone) classification system, a system devised by scholars of the Zhou court (1046-256 B.C.) As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes. An early depiction of pipa player in a group of musicians. [38] It has however been suggested that the long plectrum depicted in ancient paintings may have been used as a friction stick like a bow. This overlap resulted in a rapid evolution of the biwa and its usage and made it one of the most popular instruments in Japan. The same piece of music can therefore differ significantly when performed by students of different schools, with striking differences in interpretation, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, playing techniques, and ornamentations. Seeing its relative convenience and portability, the monks combined these features with their large and heavy gaku-biwa to create the heike-biwa, which, as indicated by its namesake, was used primarily for recitations of The Tale of the Heike. The nut is a rounded edge at the 90-degree bend where the neck meets the peg box, and the broad flat surface just below the bend has a very shallow trough carved into it perpendicular to the course of the strings (see detail #5). Northern Wei dynasty (386534 AD). [24], In the subsequent periods, the number of frets gradually increased,[26] from around 10 to 14 or 16 during the Qing dynasty, then to 19, 24, 29, and 30 in the 20th century. She lives in San Diego, California and works extensively with Chinese, cross-cultural, new music, and jazz groups. The biwa is a four stringed lute and it is approximately 106 cm long (42 inches). Taiko Related Articles on Traditional Japanese Instruments 1. The biwa is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime during the Nara period (710-794). By the Song dynasty, the word pipa was used to refer exclusively to the four-stringed pear-shaped instrument. The heike-biwa (), a biwa with four strings and five frets, is used to play The Tale of the Heike. 2000. Western performers of pipa include French musician Djang San, who integrated jazz and rock concepts to the instrument such as power chords and walking bass.[70]. [citation needed]. The pipa has also been used in rock music; the California-based band Incubus featured one, borrowed from guitarist Steve Vai, in their 2001 song "Aqueous Transmission," as played by the group's guitarist, Mike Einziger. [19], Other musicians, such as Yamashika Yoshiyuki, considered by most ethnomusicologists to be the last of the biwa hshi, preserved scores of songs that were almost lost forever. The fourth and fifth strings, if 5-stringed, are tuned to the same note. Though formerly popular, little was written about the performance and practice of the biwa from roughly the 16th century to the mid-19th century. [14][15][16], The pear-shaped pipa is likely to have been introduced to China from Central Asia, Gandhara, and/or India. Traditionally they are lashed with heavier rope, though some modern instruments are tightened with large screws. Its classification is a type of a Chordophone. Its plectrum is slightly larger than that of the gagaku-biwa, but the instrument itself is much smaller, comparable to a chikuzen-biwa in size. As in shamisen music, vocal and instrumental parts are sometimes combined and played at the same time. Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API. Outside influence, internal pressures, and socio-political turmoil redefined biwa patronage and the image of the biwa; for example, the nin War of the Muromachi period (13381573) and the subsequent Warring States period (15th17th centuries) disrupted the cycle of tutelage for heikyoku[citation needed][a] performers. The chikuzen-biwa was used by Buddhist monks visiting private residences to perform memorial services, not only for Buddhist rites, but also to accompany the telling of stories and news. It was those blind monks who fell outside of governmental protection who, during the 17. century, creatively modified the biwa to introduce a shamisen flavor, such as making frets higher to play in-between notes. Shakuhachi 2. Because of this tradition as a narrative music, the biwa is mostly played solo and is less commonly played with other types of instruments, except in gagaku () or the court orchestra where it is used in its original instrumental role, and in modern instrumental repertoire. Therefore the sound of the biwa is very strong at the attack but it has almost no resonance, and in that sense, its contribution to the overall sound of the orchestra is more rhythmic than harmonic. Because of this bending technique oshikan (. Further, the frets and the nut are wide, which provides a surface, not a point, for a string to touch. Figure 6 shows a spectral analysis of the arpeggio read at the attack and one second later. [12] The plectrum is also critical to creating the sawari sound, which is particularly utilized with satsuma-biwa. The biwa sounds as written, and it is tuned to an A-430Hz. The biwa is a relative of Western lutes and guitars, as well as of the Chinese pipa. In Japan the loquat is known as biwa (, ) and has been grown for over . . [21] During this time, Persian and Kuchan performers and teachers were in demand in the capital, Chang'an (which had a large Persian community). Fine strings murmur like whispered words, The performers left hand is used both to steady the instrument, with the thumb hooked around the backside of the neck, and to depress the strings, the index finger doing most of the work but sometimes aided by the middle finger. 36 in. As one of the modern types of biwa that flourished in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, Satsuma-biwa is widely played today in various settings, including popular media. Modern notation systems, new compositions as well as recordings are now widely available and it is no longer crucial for a pipa players to learn from the master of any particular school to know how to play a score.
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