What is a plucked instrument?

Plucked musical instrument group: metal oral string, bamboo oral string, bow, pipa, Ruan, Yueqin,, Sanxian, Rewafu, Dongbula, Zamune, Zheng, Guqin, Gayaqin, Harp and Yanzhuqin. A plucked instrument is a general term for instruments that pluck strings with fingers or picks and tap strings with harps and bamboo poles.

Introduction to plucked instruments

The plucked instrument has a long history and various forms, and it is a very distinctive stringed instrument. As early as 3,000 years ago in the Zhou Dynasty, there were musical instruments such as "Qin" and "Se", and then they successively produced or imported Zhu and Zheng in the Warring States Period, green beans in the Qin Dynasty, pipa in the Han Dynasty, Ruan and Pipa in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Sanxian in the Yuan Dynasty and dulcimer in the Ming Dynasty over the weekend. Plucked instruments can be divided into horizontal and vertical types. Horizontal styles, such as: Zheng (guzheng and tuning Zheng), guqin, dulcimer and piano solo. Vertical, such as: Pipa, Ruan, Yueqin, Sanxian, Dongbula, Zamu Nie.

According to the different shapes, performances and playing methods of musical instruments.

classify

First kind

Guqin, guzheng and other musical instruments. This instrument has a rectangular wooden box as the piano body, which is played horizontally with the strings. Guqin can only be played with strings, and others only use its empty string sound.

the second type

Represented by pipa, it includes, yueqin, Ruan, Sanxian and other musical instruments. It is equipped with four, three or two strings, the left hand presses the string, the right hand plucks the string, and the multi-play vertical hug.

The third category

The dulcimer is laid flat on the wooden frame, and the strings are played with piano and bamboo to get sound. It was introduced from foreign countries around the Ming Dynasty.

There are many kinds of plucked instruments. Next, the most commonly used instruments in Chinese orchestras are introduced in turn: Pipa, Qin Liu, Yang Qin, Hezheng, Ruan and Sanxian.

Dombrat

Dongbula is an ancient Kazakh stringed instrument. In some Kazakh families, even a family can play several songs. In Kazakh, winter bula has a special meaning: "winter" is the sound of playing musical instruments, and "bula" means plucking the strings.

Dombrat

Dongbula has a long history. As early as the third century BC, it spread in Xinjiang, China.

Dong Bula's piano is made of wood and looks like an enlarged spoon. The earliest Dongbula was very simple to make. Folk artists cut a whole piece of wood into the shape of a spoon, put it on the panel, pull two sheep intestines as strings, and then put nine notes on the handle of the spoon, and it is made. Dongbula is an indispensable accompaniment instrument for Kazakh folk singers. With it, Kazakhs are no longer lonely when they go out to graze. At home in the evening, people play Dongbula, sing and dance, and have a good time with their families.

Dongbula can be used for solo, ensemble and accompaniment, and its expressive force is very rich. Dongbula is played in the same way as most plucked instruments. He held the piano in his arms, holding it in his left hand, pressing the strings with his index finger and thumb, and plucking the strings with his right middle finger and thumb. By using different playing techniques of Dong Bula, the gurgling spring sound, crisp birdsong, jubilant sheep and galloping horseshoes on the grassland are vividly displayed.

surname

Ruan is a plucked instrument in China. Ruan was always called "Qin Pipa" in ancient times. During the Qin Dynasty in the second and third centuries BC, people added strings to small drums with handles to make plucked instruments, which were called "pottery". Later, people referred to Zheng, Zhu and other musical instruments, and created a more advanced musical instrument than Xianfei, called Qinpipa, which was the predecessor of Ruan.

surname

Around the third century AD, there was a musician named Ruan Xian, who was very good at playing this kind of "Qin Pipa" with a circular loudspeaker. Because of his superb playing skills, he is deeply loved by the people, and people gradually use his name "Ruan Xian" to call this instrument. However, Ruan, the abbreviation of Ruan Xian, began in the Song Dynasty more than 1000 years ago.

Ruan's shape is very simple, consisting of three parts: head, stem and body. The piano head is generally decorated with traditional China bone carvings such as Dragon or Ruyi, and four chords are installed on both sides. Ruan's piano body is an oblate resonance box, which is glued by front panel, back panel and frame panel. Ruan's structural principle, production materials and playing techniques have many similarities with pipa.

In recent years, with China's emphasis on national musical instruments, musicians have also reformed Ruan, developing tenor Ruan, tenor Ruan and bass Ruan.

Ruan, a high-pitched instrument, has a clear and bright pronunciation and often plays the main theme in the band.

Zhongruan is an alto instrument, with quiet and soft tone and poetic tone. In ensemble, it often plays melodies and interludes, which has a touching effect. As accompaniment, rich rhythm changes can highlight the characteristics of music. Using more than two zhongruan musicians to play harmony in the band will enrich the middle part of the plucked instrument group.

Da Ruan is five degrees lower than zhongruan, which is similar to the cello in western musical instruments. When a band plays a melody, it is often combined with zhongruan octave to enhance the zhongruan effect, which is most suitable for setting off lyric melody. When playing single notes or chords, you can strengthen the sense of rhythm and set off the warm and unrestrained effect of music. The bass Ruan has a deep voice, just like the double bass in western musical instruments.

dulcimer

Dulcimer, also known as "dulcimer", is a stringed instrument commonly used in China. Its timbre is crisp and bright, and its expressive force is extremely rich. It can be solo, ensemble or accompanied by piano books, rap and opera, and plays an important role in national instrumental ensemble and national band.

dulcimer

According to historical records, before the Middle Ages, a stringed instrument called Satellini was popular in ancient Arab countries such as the Sea of Azov and Persia in the Middle East. In the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644), with the increasingly close friendly exchanges between China and West Asia and East Asia, Sedley was introduced from Persia to China by sea, which was only popular in Guangdong at first, and then gradually spread to all parts of China. Later, after the transformation of China folk artists, Satellini gradually evolved into China's national musical instrument-dulcimer.

Dulcimer is mainly made of wood, and its body is its * * * sound box, which is butterfly-shaped, so some people call it "butterfly piano". When playing, the piano is placed on the wooden frame, and each of the left and right hands holds an elastic bamboo pestle, and the strings are struck for pronunciation.

Dulcimer has many playing skills, rich timbre and strong and deep pronunciation in bass area; The alto is pure and transparent; The high-pitched area is crisp and bright. Dulcimer is more suitable for playing fast-paced music, and it is most suitable for expressing lively emotions and cheerful feelings.

Dulcimer has been circulated and evolved in China for more than 400 years. During this period, musical instrument manufacturers in China have developed many new varieties of dulcimer, such as tone-shifting dulcimer, tone-shifting dulcimer, Zheng dulcimer and electro-acoustic dulcimer. What is particularly worth mentioning is the electro-acoustic dulcimer, which consists of a piano body, a pickup, an amplifier and a sound box. When the strings vibrate, the sound waves are converted into electrical signals through the pickup, which are beautified by the amplifier and then emitted by the speaker. Electro-acoustic dulcimer can accompany and solo, so it has been popular with dulcimer players since it came out.

Dulcimer has been spread and developed in China for many years, and it has become a favorite instrument with traditional characteristics and national style in China, whether in musical instrument making, performing arts or music creation.

pipa

Origin of pipa

The so-called pipa in history not only refers to musical instruments with pear-shaped sounding boxes, but also refers to all kinds of plucked instruments with similar shapes and different sizes, such as, yueqin, Ruan, etc., which can be said to be pipa instruments. Its names "Pi" and "Pa" are based on the right-handed skills of playing these instruments.

pipa

Pipa, also known as "Pipa", was first recorded in the history of Liu Xi's Interpretation of Names and Musical Instruments in the Han Dynasty: "Pipa originated in Hu Zhong, and then drummed. Say yes when you push your hand, and say yes when you pull it, just like when you drum, because you feel famous. " In other words, the pipa is a musical instrument that is played on a horse. It is called a batch when it is ejected forward and a handle when it is picked back. According to its performance characteristics, it is named "batch handle". In ancient times, knocking, striking, bouncing and beating were all called drums. At that time, nomadic people were good at playing pipa on horseback, so they "immediately beat drums." It was not until the Wei and Jin Dynasties that it was officially called "Pipa".

Pipa evolved from straight-necked pipa and curved-necked pipa in history. According to historical records, the straight-necked pipa appeared earlier in China. "Qin Hanzi" in Qin and Han Dynasties is a kind of pipa with a straight handle and a straight neck, which was developed from the cymbals at the end of Qin Dynasty. Ruan is a round wooden musical instrument with four strings and twelve columns, which is played vertically by hand. Ruan Xianshan played this instrument in the Jin Dynasty, so it is commensurate with its name, which is today's Ruan.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, cultural exchanges were conducted with the western regions through the Silk Road, and the music pipa was introduced from Persia to China via today's Xinjiang. Qupipa is pear-shaped, with four strings and four phases (without columns), and it is played horizontally with a pick. It prevailed in the Northern Dynasties and spread to the southern Yangtze River basin in the first half of the 6th century.

Among the nine or ten pieces of music in Sui and Tang Dynasties, pipa became the main musical instrument, which played an important role in the development of song and dance art in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. From Dunhuang murals and Yungang stone carvings, we can still see its position in the band at that time.

The Tang Dynasty was the peak of the development of pipa, and a large number of pipa players and music emerged. For example, Cao Bao, Cao Shancai and Cao Gang of Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty were all famous pipa players, and they were highly praised by the world. The poet praised their superb skills. Cao Gang's right hand is vigorous and powerful, and Pei Xing, an equally famous woman, is exquisite in pressing strings with her left hand and good at twisting strings. Father Pei, a famous "Five-string" performer in Shule, Western Regions, was one of the most valued court musicians of Emperor Taizong, and initiated the pipa fingering method. Kang Kunlun is known as the first hand of pipa, and Duan Shanben is a famous Buddhist musician. After competing with Kangkunlun Pipa, he entered the court and became a royal musician.

Pipa structure

Pipa consists of "head" and "body". The head includes chord groove, chord axis, mountain pass, etc. The fuselage includes phase, taste, sound box, hand cover and other parts.

The head of a pipa consists of a chord groove, four hammers (chords) and a mountain pass.

pipa

The upper end of the pipa body is also called "neck", that is, "phase". The upper end of the neck is called "pillow" and the middle and lower part is called "taste". In ancient times, phase sum product was called "column", which was a phoneme device. The middle and lower part of the fuselage is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and the bottom is semi-circular hollow, that is, the sound box; The grade is glued to the panel made of phoenix tree, and the four strings are tied in the four holes of the hand cover. There is a small hole on the panel in the center of the hand cover, which is called "sound receiving hole" or "sound outlet hole". The back of the body is called "Pipa Back", the upper end of the back is connected with the head, the middle and lower part of the back is bonded with the panel, and the abdomen has two rungs and several sound columns, which are placed in a certain position; The base materials are rosewood, black material, old mahogany, rosewood, fragrant mahogany and so on. They are all top grade, while white wood is a popular product, because rosewood, mahogany and other wood are good at making natural overtones when playing with them.

Pipa is composed of six phases and twenty-five tones, which constitutes the twelve-tone average law and has a wide range. One string is made of steel wire, and the second, third and fourth strings are made of nylon wrapped with steel rope. Pipa sounds very special, and overtones rank first among all kinds of musical instruments at all times and in all countries. Not only is the volume loud, but the sound quality is crisp and bright. At the same time, the pitch of the pipa is accompanied by rich overtones, which can make the sound of the piano less attenuated and penetrating. When playing in a calm and empty place, the sound of the piano when playing heavy notes with it can spread two or three miles away.

The pronunciation characteristics of high-quality pipa are:

Strong penetration (small attenuation, long transmission). The treble is bright and hard, the midrange is soft and moist, and the bass is pure and sincere. In Pipa, the big strings are like rain, the small strings are like dense, humming, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering, flickering. Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, and "four strings in unison, like spinning" is no longer a poet's artistic exaggeration, but a veritable performance effect of contemporary pipa.

Pipa nursing

The older the backing and panel of the pipa, the better, because the longer the age, the less fat in the wood, the easier it is to sing, and the louder the volume, the more beautiful the timbre. If musical instruments want to be used for a long time without being damaged, we should pay attention to nursing methods. Nursing instruments can not only protect the volume and timbre, but also play a protective role.

pipa

Care for musical instruments should be paid attention to from two aspects: first, don't be injured; The second is not to get wet. Get into the habit of putting the musical instrument into the bag or box immediately after use, and put the bag or box in a dry and appropriate place. If the pipa is temporarily placed on the table after the performance, it should be placed flat in the center of the table and should not stand upright against the center of the wall. In case you need to stand upright against the wall, you can only lean against the corner, so that the four hammers of the pipa will lean against the walls on both sides. If you put the pipa in a cloth bag and hang it on the wall, it should only be hung on a wooden wall, not a brick wall; The firmness of nails and ropes should also be checked frequently. guzheng

In this way, the most common injuries, such as falling head or bottom, can be avoided.

At present, when pasting panels and heads, water glue such as yellow croaker glue is generally used. This kind of glue is most afraid of being wet, and it will degum when wet. After degumming, the volume will be weakened and the timbre will be more damaged. Therefore, it is not suitable to be placed in a humid place, nor can it be wet by rain. Another reason why the pipa is not wet is that when the panel is wet by water stains, it will absorb a lot of water in the sycamore board, which will also weaken the volume. Therefore, even after sticking the panel with a chemical glue that is not afraid of moisture, the moistureproof of pipa should be the key concern.

guzheng

Brief introduction of guzheng

Also known as "Qin Zheng". Since the Qin and Han dynasties, it has gradually spread from the northwest to all parts of the country, and gradually formed a school with strong local characteristics. Shandong Zheng, Henan Zheng, Chaozhou Zheng, Hakka Zheng, Zhejiang Zheng, Fujian Zheng, Inner Mongolia Zheng (that is, Yatuo Song), North Korea Zheng (that is, Yanbian Zheng) and Shaanxi Zheng are called real Zheng. At present, the unified specifications of guzheng are: 1.63m, 2 1 string. The panel of guzheng is mostly paulownia in Lankao, Henan Province, and the frame is white pine. There are precious wood such as mahogany, old rosewood (Burmese rosewood), golden nanmu and rosewood on the side plates around the piano body. The sound quality of the guzheng depends on the panel and strings, and the surrounding materials also slightly improve the sound quality of the guzheng, especially the old mahogany, rosewood and golden nanmu. From early to modern times, there are 12, 13, 18, 23, 25 strings and so on. And there are many ways to set strings in different areas. New types of Zheng include "butterfly Zheng" and "mode Zheng".

guzheng

Guzheng genre

Zheng is also called because it originated in the State of Qin (now Shaanxi) during the Warring States Period. It is called guzheng, just like the lyre is called guqin, because it has a long history. After the Zheng spread to North Korea, Japan and Vietnam, it evolved into the Kaye Qin in North Korea, the Zheng Dao in Japan and the sixteen-stringed Qin in Vietnam, each with its own characteristics in music.

There is a passage in Historical Records that Li Si advised the drinkers to drive away the guests: "The husband knocked on the urn, played the piano, and fought, but the singer was really Qin Zhisheng ..." "Hanshu Salt and Iron Theory" also recorded: "In the past, people's receptions were all based on party customs, just playing the piano and drums." It can be seen that Zheng had become a household musical instrument at that time.

guzheng

Surprisingly, however, in the birthplace of China Zheng, that is, today's Shaanxi area, the "truth" of Zheng music is almost perfect. In the early 1960s, the author went to Shaanxi to collect folk songs for a long time, and heard and witnessed the colorful operas and folk music in this area, which is really rare in other areas. From Shaanxi opera, opera rehearsal, opera to Duangong opera, Taoist sentiment in northern Shaanxi, storytelling, and then to Angu music, there are many traditional musical instruments, but the Zheng is rarely used. It is only in Yulin that Zheng is used as an accompaniment instrument, which appears in the accompaniment of Yulin ditty together with dulcimer, pipa and sanxian. Folk artists only have a few older silversmiths, carpenters and other craftsmen, and generally play with their thumbs and forefingers, which is a relatively primitive playing method. However, Yulin Xiaoqu can be regarded as Qin Zheng's wise after the event.

During the long historical changes, Qin Zheng moved eastward and southward, blending with local operas, rap and folk music, forming many distinctive schools and styles. Traditional Zheng music can be divided into north and south schools, but it can still be further distinguished, such as Henan Zheng, Shandong Zheng, Chaozhou Zheng, Hakka Zheng and Zhejiang Zheng. This paper only introduces five main schools of China guzheng music, excluding Gayagam of Korean nationality in China and Yatog of Mongolian guzheng.

Judging from the words recorded in Historical Records and Hanshu, Zheng developed quite widely in Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty made Luoyang its capital, and in the Northern Song Dynasty, Bianliang (now Kaifeng) was in Henan. The folk music "The Voice of Zhengwei" has been popular in this area for a long time. Qin Zheng moved to Henan with the capital, and a new voice was excavated. For example, Cao Zhiyou said in a poem, "Playing the zither is exciting and the new sound is fascinating." He also wrote: "When the voice is fixed, the zither is turned on" and "Why forget your worries?" From these poems, we can see that Cao Zhi is very familiar with the art of guzheng, and even an indispensable part of his life. Cao Zhi was Wei in the Three Kingdoms, that is, today's Henan people. From his poems about Zheng, we can get a glimpse of Zheng in Henan.

Henan Zheng is "vigorous and loud", just like the character and language of Henan people, it is loud, rough, clear and humorous. Of course, this refers to the general style. The performance of Henan Zheng is quite in line with this style, that is, the right hand starts from the place near the piano code and flows to the place near Yueshan. At the same time, the left hand shakes greatly, which makes the music performance very dramatic and effective. In Zheng, Henan, this skill is called "wandering".