Which Chinese musical instruments are representative of Chinese musical instruments?

China's wind instruments have a very ancient origin. It is rumored that there was a kind of wind instrument called "key" which was made of reeds during the period of Xia Yu 4,000 years ago.

Republic of China in the twentieth year, Shanxi Wanquan County Jing village excavated three Neolithic "ocarina". In the Book of Songs, there are records of instruments such as xiao, pipe, key, ocarina and sheng. Later, the military music, also called drum music, horizontal blowing, riding blowing, etc., was based on the row of Xiao, reed, horn, flute, etc. as the main musical instruments, often played when the army was marching, but also used as a guard of honor or played at banquets and for other entertainment purposes. The appearance of suona is relatively late, and it was recorded in the Ming Dynasty. So far, in the folk wedding and funeral celebrations and folk festivals, wind instruments are the main instruments.

China's wind instruments according to the different methods of pronunciation, can be divided into three categories:

1. breath through the blowhole, causing the vibration of the air column and pronunciation, such as the flute

Sub, xiao, ocarina, xiaojiao and so on.

2. The breath passes through the whistle, causing the air column to vibrate and pronounce the sound, such as the oboe

nah, pipe and so on.

3. The breath passes through the reed, causing the air column to vibrate and pronounce the sound, such as

sheng, reed sheng, handle wu and so on.

The following wind instruments are commonly used in Chinese orchestras:

Ditze

The ditze is also known as the horizontal blowing flute. According to legend, it was imported to Chang'an after Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions during the time of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, it became an important instrument to accompany opera.

The traditional flute, made of bamboo, has six holes for sound, one hole for blowing and one hole for the membrane. When played, it is pronounced by the vibration of the air column inside the bamboo tube. Its common range of two octaves, flute sound crisp, high, transparent and mellow, solo, ensemble are characterized by rich expressive power, it is loved by the people.

There are many kinds of flutes, and the most common ones are those whose cylinder tone (the lowest tone) is a′ (the actual tone) and d2 (the actual tone). Because these two kinds of flutes are the main accompaniment instruments for Kunqu and Bangkang operas, respectively, they are customarily called 『Qu flute』 and 『Bang flute』.

Xiao Hsiao

About 4,500 years ago, a musician named 仱lun invented the "ryutong," a bamboo pipe with one end closed by a knuckle, which was blown straight out from the other end to produce sound, and this was the predecessor of the xiao. Before the Han Dynasty, the Kyoho added a back hole, making it a five-hole instrument, which was introduced to Japan during the Tang Dynasty and called the Shakuhachi (shakuhachi). In the Wei Dynasty, an additional hole was added, and not much has changed since then.

The xiao is a straight wind instrument with a V-shaped mouthpiece, similar to the flute, six holes, five in front and one in the back, a low tone, and a range of two-and-a-half octaves, with the lowest common xiao tone being d′.

Sheng Sheng

Anciently, the big sheng was called "yu", and the small sheng was called "and". In the fifteenth century B.C., the name "He" was written on the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin Dynasty. In the sixth century B.C., this instrument was also mentioned in the Chinese poems and scriptures.

The traditional sheng is a 13-reed or 14-reed instrument, but it has been modified to include 21, 24, 26, 32, 34 and 36 reeds.

The sheng is often used as an accompanying instrument, but it can also be used as a solo instrument due to its clear and bright sound and wide range. The sheng is a reed vibration sound, blowing and sucking can be played, and at the same time can be blown out more than two tones, so you can play harmony.

Suona

The suona was originally a Persian (now Iranian) and Arabian musical instrument. Suona two words for the transliteration of the Persian word SURNA. China since the Ming Dynasty began to record about the suona. So far in the folk wedding and funeral celebrations and folk festivals, it is the main musical instrument. There are many kinds of suona, including big ones, small ones, rough ones and soft ones, which have been handed down all over the world, and they are very expressive. Almost all the techniques of wind instruments can be played, and it can also imitate singing, blowing with the tube body, whistle, and trumpet mouth split, each simulating different roles, such as Lao Sheng, Hua Dan, etc. The suona has a common range of two octaves, but it can be used to play in a variety of ways. Its common range is two octaves, and the suona commonly used in national orchestras today is the soprano suona in the key of D with a barrel note of g′.

Plucked instruments

Plucked instruments are musical instruments that use fingers or plectrums to pluck the strings, and struck the strings with bamboo to pronounce the sound. Plucked instruments have a long history, a wide variety of forms, is very rich in characteristics of a class of stringed instruments. As far back as three thousand years ago in the Zhou Dynasty, there have been "qin", "cer" and other musical instruments, and then produced or imported the weekend of the Warring States period of the zhu, zheng, the Qin Dynasty of the strings of black, the Han Dynasty of the konghou, ruan, Sui and Tang dynasty of the pipa, the Yuan dynasty of the three-stringed, the Ming dynasty of the Yangqin, and so on.

Based on the differences in instrument shape, performance and playing methods, plucked instruments can be roughly divided into three categories:

The first category is represented by the seven-stringed zither, including zither, zheng and other instruments. These instruments have a rectangular wooden box as the body of the instrument, open to the strings, played flat. Except for the seven-stringed zither, which can be played by pressing the strings, the rest of the instruments use only the empty strings.

The second category is represented by the pipa, including the liuqin, yueqin, ruan, and sanxian, which are equipped with four, three, or two strings, and are played with the left hand pressing the strings and the right hand plucking them, mostly on the lap.

The third category is the yangqin. Placed flat on a wooden frame, with the qin bamboo struck strings to take the sound, about the Ming Dynasty by the introduction of foreign countries.

There are many types of plucked instruments in general, and the following are the most commonly used instruments in the current National Orchestra: pipa, liuqin, yangqin, wazheng, ruan, and sanxian.

Pipa

Pipa is the earliest common name for plucked instruments. As far back as the third century AD, China had a long-handled, leather-faced pipa with a rounded sound box, called the "stringed drum". During the Han Dynasty, there was also a pipa with twelve columns. Around 350 A.D., a type of pipa with a pear-shaped cabinet, curved neck, and four strings was introduced to China through India, called the "curved pipa," which is the predecessor of the modern pipa.

It absorbed the strengths of the Qin and Han pipas and was improved by later generations, increasing from a phase without a character to six phases and more than 20 characters, and expanding the range of sound. Playing method initially with wooden plucking, the middle of the Tang Dynasty changed to use fingers, playing skills after a long period of development, increasingly complex. The expressive power was enriched. Nowadays, it has been spread all over the north and south of China. In addition to appear as solo, repertoire, and play and other forms of pure fun, in the opera, opera, singing and other accompaniment band is also widely used, is a fairly important plucked instrument in China.

Liuqin Liuching

Also known as willow leaf qin, gold steel legs, soil pipa, like a small pipa, the original Shandong Liuqin opera, Anhui Sizhou Shaoxing chaotic bomb and other important accompaniment of the opera, equipped with two or three strings, after the reform of the addition of four strings, a wide range, chromatic complete, beautiful tone, used as a soloist and the national orchestra plucked group of the soprano voice.

Three-stringed Sanhsian

Three-stringed Sanhsian is also known as "strings". Developed from the Qin Dynasty's "strings and drums", the name Sanhsian was first found in Ming Dynasty literature. The sanxian is the main accompaniment to the "big drum book" (also known as the storytelling book) in the north and the "Qingyin" and "Daoxiang" in the south, and is often used to enhance the rhythmic effect in the orchestra ensemble due to its resounding and powerful sound. In addition, the sanxian is also a very distinctive solo instrument.

Ruan Yuan

Ruan is an important plucked instrument in the band ensemble. According to legend, Ruan Xian, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in the Jin Dynasty, was good at playing this instrument, so he was also known as "Ruan Xian". Ruan has been improved, the existing large, medium and small, that is, high and low ruan. It is common in folk opera and rap. In modern orchestral ensembles, it is often used as an accompaniment. At present, the most commonly used are medium and large ruan.

Yangchin

The stringed instrument was introduced to China from Persia around the Ming Dynasty. It was initially popular in the coastal areas of Guangdong Province, and then gradually spread throughout the country. Yangchin has a clear and crisp sound, a wide range, and can be played at the same time and rapid arpeggios, in the ensemble is an extremely important instrument, solo performance is also very distinctive and performance.

The zheng Cheng

is an ancient musical instrument that was popular in Thailand before the Warring States period (475 to 221 B.C.). It has been widely spread throughout China, from Lingnan to Inner Mongolia. It is especially famous for its wide adoption in Henan, Shandong, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Inner Mongolia. Now improved, from thirteen, sixteen strings ranging from the development of twenty-one to twenty-five strings, performance greatly improved, popular, is used for solo, repertoire, ensemble, and a variety of operas, songs and dances and other accompaniments.

Rubbing Instruments

Rubbing instruments are a kind of musical instruments that use the horse's tail mounted on a thin bamboo bow to rub the strings and make them vibrate and pronounce. The most common stringed instruments in China include the erhu, gaohu, zhonghu, gehu, banhu, sihu, and so on.

The huqin existed as early as in the Tang Dynasty, when it was known as the "jiqin" (嵇琴), and in the Northern Song Dynasty, when it was widely practiced in the northern part of China, it was known as the "xiqin" (奚琴). In the Song Dynasty, Chen Yeung's "Book of Music" (1099), Volume 128, says: "The Xiqin is a kind of hu music, originating from the strings and drums, and its shape is also similar to that of the Xi music. In order to distinguish it from the others, the two strings are rolled by a bamboo sheet, which is still used by the people. According to the text and the graphics in the painting, the Xiqin is very similar to today's huqin, except that it is played in a different way.

Over the past thousand years, the huqin has been widely circulated in the folklore of our country, and there has been remarkable development in both instruments and music. Due to the different materials and shapes, the mother type of huqin has given rise to the jinghu, erhu, banshu, and sihu, etc., and the huqin has been created to meet the needs of the national orchestra and music after the Republic of China, which has made this type of instrument even more abundant. At present, the local and various types of musical instruments used in the huqin, no less than dozens of kinds of instruments, they not only have a beautiful tone and distinctive local color, and have a high degree of skill and rich performance ability, especially the erhu, in recent decades there is a greater development. It has become an excellent solo instrument and an important orchestra instrument.

Erhu (nanhu) Erhu (nanhu)

Erhu is the most widely circulated and representative of a stringed instrument in China, which is widely circulated inside and outside the Great Wall, north and south of the Yangtze River and even the Pearl River Basin. The name "Erhu" is used in the south for solo performance or in national bands, and in the north it is called "Nanhu". Due to different customs in different parts of the country, it is also known as "Erxian", "Buzzer" and "Hu Hu". Although there are many names, it is actually the same instrument. The erhu has a beautiful and expressive sound, and can play soft and smooth tunes as well as jumping and powerful melodies. It is used for solo performance as well as for ensemble or accompaniment, and is an important accompanying instrument in many types of folk operas.

The erhu generally adopts the five-degree method of tuning, and the most commonly used empty string tuning is d′a′.

Gehu

Gehu is a bass stringed instrument with a large volume and a wide range of tones, which is reformed on the basis of the erhu with reference to the way of playing the Western cello.

It has four strings, a fingerboard, and a horizontal barrel. With the fingerboard, it is extremely convenient to press the strings, and not only can it be played, but it can also be plucked and played. It is mainly used for ensemble playing, and can also be used for strumming. Its empty strings are set to CGDA.

Percussion instruments

The percussion instruments have the longest history and occupy an important position among the musical instruments of the country. Traditionally, they are divided into five categories: drums, gongs, cymbals, plates and bells, and if they are divided according to the materials used in their manufacture, they can be further divided into three categories: metal, bamboo, wood and leather. Their playing skills and expressive power is extremely rich, the sound has characteristics, not only to make the rhythm of the instrument is sharp and strong, and has a very deep infectious force, especially with a strong national color. In folk music, the Shifan gongs and drums, Chaozhou gongs and drums, Southern Jiangsu blowing and beating, Hebei blowing songs and Liaoning drum blowing, etc., are all percussion instruments. Bells are rarely used in modern national orchestras.

I. Drums:

The earliest appearance of drums is recorded in the history of percussion instruments, and there has been the word "drum" in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin ruins. Drums are a variety of musical instruments, each with its own characteristics, playing methods are different, there is a wealth of expressive power, in addition to the ensemble or accompaniment, some kinds of music is also used as a solo instrument.

Dagu (Iarge drum)

Dagu, also known as the datang drum, is a larger drum, generally more than a foot and a half in diameter. It is made of a wooden drum covered with two pieces of cowhide of equal area at the upper and lower ends. Generally placed on a four-legged wooden frame to play, play with two mallets to hit the drum surface and pronunciation. The tone is low and thick.

Dingyin Ganggu

Dingyin Ganggu is a drum that can be used to set the tone of the sound, and it is improved according to the drum (flowerpot drum). The drums are often played in groups of two or three, with the two groups being set to the main tone and the dominant tone, and the three groups being set to other tones such as the subordinate tone, the upper dominant tone, or the lower middle tone

Two. Gongs

Gongs are one of the most widely used percussion instruments in China, initially popular in Central Asia and Southeast Asia, and were introduced to China in the early sixth century A.D., when they were called "sand gongs". With the development of opera art, after a long period of circulation and improvement, the gong has become an instrument with rich performance. There are many kinds of gongs, some of which have fixed pitch, some of which sound higher after striking, and some of which sound lower after striking.

The gong is a body vibration instrument, simple structure, the body of the gong is a circular arc, usually surrounded by a border, with a mallet to hit the central part, vibration sound.

Yunluo cloud gong

Yunluo cloud gong is a percussion instrument with a fixed pitch, which is called nine-tone gong. The common cloud gongs have ten small gongs hanging between wooden frames, or wooden frames against the table, the right hand with a small mallet to hit the (large cloud gongs, the use of wooden frames on the stage) the position of the arrangement of the different.

Three. Plate musical instruments

Plate musical instruments used in the orchestra there are ringing boards, clappers, wooden fish -------- and so on.

Rattling board Hsiangban

Rattling board is also called clapboard, because often made of sandalwood, also known as sandalwood board, in the sixth century in the Tang Dynasty has appeared, the number of six or nine, due to the use of the purpose of different boards, the number of boards are not the same, and is usually used by the three boards composed of. Because of the different scope of application, it can be divided into three kinds of drums, bookplate, and crash plate. The ancient plate is used for folk music ensemble and theater accompaniment, and it is the main rhythmic instrument, often used in conjunction with the board and drums, and the bookplate and crash plate are used as the accompaniment for the singing and singing of Chinese opera.

Bangtze

Bangtze was first used to accompany various kinds of bangtone, and is often used on strong beats to increase the dramatic atmosphere. Because of the different scope of application, there are Hebei Bangtang (referred to as Bangtang), South Bangtang, Lian Bangtang, and Qin Bangtang, and so on.

The Hebei clappers are two solid hardwood rods of varying lengths and thicknesses made of rosewood or mahogany. The left hand holds a short and thick oval-shaped and the right hand holds a long and thin round wooden stick, striking each other to pronounce the sound, which is high-pitched and solid.

◆The south clapper is a rectangular hollow wooden body, and the left hand holds a bang and the right hand holds a mallet when it is played,

and the pronunciation is round and generally made of rosewood.

◆The falling clapper is used to accompany Yu opera, and its shape is like

an egg.

◆Qin clappers are used in Qin opera.