Development of Bowstring Musical Instruments

The main components of bowstring instruments in western musical instruments include violin, viola, cello, double bass and other four members of the violin family, and everyone is familiar with them. In addition, the viol violin, which people call the ancient violin today (this kind of ancient violin rose in15th century and was replaced by the violin family after18th century), also belongs to the bowstring instrument.

violin

It is one of the most popular bowstring instruments since17th century and one of the most important instruments in western music. The present four-string violin was developed from the old three-string violin in16th century, and was improved by stradivari, Amati and Guarnery in 1650- 1730. Later improvements included lengthening the fingerboard, adding chin rest, and replacing the catgut with steel wire and nylon wire.

The timbre of violin instruments is expressive, not only beautiful in appearance, but also pleasant in sound and elegant in sound quality, and very good at expressing feelings. It is not only the most ideal solo instrument, but also the main instrument in the orchestra. Its playing skills are extremely rich, and composers often use it to trigger the tone of their works. Violins are divided into the first violin and the second violin in the symphony orchestra. The first violin is often the main theme, and the second violin is the harmony accompaniment of the main part of music. In addition, the violin is often used for chamber music and solo in sketches. In recent years, violin has become one of the main instruments of contemporary pop music and jazz.

viola

It is only one seventh larger than the violin, almost the same in appearance, and is also widely used in orchestral music, symphony and chamber music (especially string quartets). However, viola usually plays the role of alto, accompanying and contrasting the main theme, and is rarely used for solo. However, it occasionally appears as a solo instrument. For example, in Berlioz's symphony Harold in Italy, viola solo accounts for a considerable proportion. Viola has a unique sound quality, similar to nasal intonation, which is very suitable for expressing deep and mysterious emotional appeal.

cello

Its history can be traced back to the end of16th century, and it is an instrument called "bass violin" or "knee violin" which evolved from15th century. The violin is not as big as the cello, and its radian is not so obvious, but it can be sandwiched between your knees and played with a bow like a cello.

Cello was originally spelled Violoncello in Italian, and then gradually abbreviated to Cello. Cello is famous for its warm and rich timbre, and it is one of the most common instruments in symphony orchestras. Suitable for all kinds of roles: sometimes join the bass camp and make a heavy sigh in a low voice; Sometimes the middle two strings play the role of rhythm backbone.

The most brilliant moment of the cello is the mission entrusted to it by the composer to express the melody like a song. The wonderful melody played by the whole cello group is enough to dwarf any other instrument in the symphony orchestra.

double bass

It is huge and needs to stand and play. It has two basic shapes: one belongs to the Liuqin family, with sloping shoulders and flat back. The other belongs to the violin family, with a square shoulder and a slightly round back.

The double bass is the lowest sound in orchestras and symphonies. It plays an accompaniment role and is rarely used for solo, but its strong bass is undoubtedly the embodiment of the powerful power in multi-part music. Beethoven often used it to play important melodies in symphony orchestras. For example, at the beginning of the fourth movement of the Ninth Symphony, he strongly denied the theme motivation of the first three movements with the narrative tone of double bass. Also, in his Animal Carnival, Saint Sang vividly created a heavy and solemn elephant image with a double bass.

No one created and invented the violin at once. Tracing the origin of this bowstring instrument from its sound principle, it should be that the primitive ancestors were inspired by the bowstring sound in the process of singing and dancing after hunting or war victory, and made the most primitive stringed instrument. Then, due to the different length, thickness and tension of strings, different acoustic effects are produced, and then a wide variety of stringed instruments such as two strings (such as erhu), three strings (such as three strings), four strings (such as violin), five strings (such as some big bass), six strings (such as guitar) and eight strings (such as mandolin) are developed. Some books and scholars insist on drawing distant relatives and finding ancestors for the violin. Whether it is really necessary and valuable is a matter of opinion.

If we must look for some traces of the evolution of violin instruments in the long river of history, then their distant ancestors should be related to ancient instruments such as Sri Lankan Lavoine stron, Arabian Labarbe, Kamanche in Central Asia and Rebeck in the Pyrenees Peninsula. In Europe around12nd century, there was a musical instrument called Vio (a medieval stringed instrument), which was definitely more closely related to the violin. Its shape and even the spelling of letters have many similarities with the violin. Bowstring instruments began in the Tang Dynasty (7th century AD) and have a history of 1000 years. However, Jia Hu bone flute in Wuyang with a history of 89,000 years, guqin guzheng with a history of more than 2,000 to 3,000 years, and various musical instruments such as chime, chime, sheng, pipe, flute, flute and bowstring are all quite young. Although bowstring instruments appeared later than wind instruments and playing instruments, they developed rapidly. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, especially since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the development of local operas and Bangzi operas in various regions and the continuous creation of people, a variety of bowstring instruments have been gradually bred to meet the accompaniment requirements of operas. Such as Banhu in Bangzi Opera, Jinghu in Peking Opera, Yuehu in Cantonese Opera, Erhu in Tin Opera and so on.

According to statistics, bowstring instruments have developed very rapidly, and 100 has formed a huge system over the years. Its members include Erhu, Banhu, Zhonghu, Gao Hu, Jinghu, Jinghu and all kinds of bowstring instruments popular all over the world. They are isomorphic to form the "Huqin family" in China traditional music. Today, there are more than 50 kinds of bowstring instruments.

Current situation of China

In classical music and even modern light music, almost all lyric melodies are played by strings. It can be seen that softness and beauty are the common characteristics of all stringed instruments. The timbre of stringed instruments is unified and has multi-level expressive force: the ensemble is full of passion, and the solo is gentle and graceful; Also because

It has a clever color to enrich the changeable archery. Bowstring instrument is a kind of stringed instrument.

The bowstring instruments in China's national classical musical instruments mainly include erhu (Nanhu), Gao Hu (tenor erhu, Yuehu), Zhonghu (alto erhu), Hu Si, Banhu, Jinghu (Huqin), Gehu, Low Gehu (bass erhu), Coconut Hu, Tribal Tiger and Ai Jieke, Ma Touqin, Niuguqin, Maguhu and Guihu of ethnic minorities.

erhu

He is a member of Hu Qin's family. The piano barrel is made of wood or bamboo, one end of which is wrapped in snake skin, and a bamboo bow and a bow tail are sandwiched between the two strings to play. Its timbre is beautiful, soft and expressive. Is the king of musical instruments in national bands. Now erhu has developed into a large-scale concerto (such as Capriccio of the Great Wall) and even plays modern music. Skills can be compared with violin, and at the same time, it is an instrument with special charm in cultivation. Erhu's main works are "Two Springs Reflecting the Moon", "Waves" and "Horse Racing".

banhu (fiddle)

It belongs to the bowstring instrument. Named after the wooden board on the piano barrel. Also known as Bangzi and Qinhu, it is the main accompaniment instrument of Bangzi Opera and other northern operas and Quyi. Its surface is similar to erhu. Banhu's speaker is coconut shell or wood.

System. The panel is made of paulownia board, the piano rod is made of hard ebony or mahogany, two strings and horse hair. Its timbre is bright, high-pitched and crisp, especially rich in local flavor. It is a characteristic instrument of the Bowstring Instrument Group in the National Orchestra. It is most suitable for expressing warm, unrestrained and cheerful emotions. Banhu's songs "Daban" and "The Day of Turning Over" make full use of Banhu's unique rich playing skills and bright timbre, adding masculinity and local flavor to the music.

Jinghu

Originally called Huqin, it is the main accompaniment instrument of Beijing Opera. It was reformed on the basis of Hu Qin. Its stems and barrels are all made of bamboo. The stem is equipped with a 1,000-kilogram fishhook, the barrel mouth is covered with snake skin, and the ponytail bow is played. According to the introduction of the old Beijing Opera artists, the early Jinghu used a soft bow to pull strings (that is, the bow hair was soft), and the hard bow did not appear until after the19th century. Now people in Anhui, Henan and other provinces are still playing with soft bows. Playing with this bow has a special effect of breaking the bow, and the playing skills are also very high, while the pronunciation of the hard bow is strong and loud.

Gaohu

It is one of Guangdong's characteristic musical instruments, also called Yuehu. Its shape is similar to erhu, so there are also areas called erhu. In fact, it is based on the reform of erhu. Its barrel is smaller than erhu and its pitch is four to five degrees higher than erhu, so it is called Gao Hu. Its outer string is made of steel wire and its inner string is wrapped with copper wire. When playing, the piano tube is clamped between the legs to control the volume and reduce the sand sound. Gaohu's timbre is beautiful, bright, gorgeous and elegant, which is suitable for playing lyrical and gorgeous music. The music "Spring Comes" gives full play to the performance of Gao Hu's musical instruments, which is clear, gorgeous, lyrical and vividly shows the mountain spring.

The beautiful spring scenery of birds and flowers makes people feel the breath of spring. It is also used as a high-pitched stringed instrument in large national bands. It is also the main instrument in Guangdong music. His music includes: cloud chasing the moon, treading on thin ice, rain hitting bananas and so on.

Zhonghu

It was created on the basis of erhu. Mainly to strengthen the expressive force of the voices in the band. It is an alto bowstring instrument in the band and can also be used for solo, so it is also called alto erhu. Zhonghu's piano barrel is bigger than Erhu's, and its stem is longer than Erhu's, and its structure is the same as Erhu's. This instrument is mostly used for ensemble, accompaniment and solo. It is one of the indispensable instruments in the national orchestra. Its timbre is rich, broad and full, and its timbre is unique. The music "On the Prairie" fully demonstrated and brought into play the unique timbre and skills of Zhonghu.

Hu Si

It is a bowstring instrument. Mongolians call it Hull or Sixian, which originated from the ancient Western Qin Dynasty. It was also called violin in the later edition of Lv Zhengyi in Qing Dynasty, which was mainly used in court bands in Qing Dynasty. /kloc-Before the 8th century, it was popular in China, Inner Mongolia and North China, and it was a common musical instrument for Mongolian and Han people. It is mainly used for accompaniment of Jingyun Drum, Xihe Drum, Tianjin Tune, Hubei Xiaoqu, Shaoxing Lotus Fall, Errenzhuan, Shadow Play, Traditional Chinese Opera and National Instrumental Ensemble.

Its barrel is made of wood, covered with python skin, and its handle is made of ebony or mahogany. Two groups of strings (i.e. four strings), 1 3 string is the inner string and 2 4 string is the outer string, and the pitch of each group is the same. The bamboo bow ponytail is divided into two strands, which are sandwiched between 1 2 and 3 4 strings respectively, and both strings sound at the same time. There are two kinds of Hu Si: Big Hu Si and Small Houyi. Dasihu is mostly used to accompany rap music, and Xiaosihu is mostly used for solo and national instrumental ensemble. Its playing method is almost the same as that of erhu, and it has a unique timbre because of its special structure.

A bow-shaped instrument with four metal strings that resembles a huqin.

It is a bass bowstring instrument with large volume and wide range. It is based on erhu and reformed with reference to the playing method of western cello.

It has four strings, with fingerboards, and the piano barrel is placed horizontally. Because of the fingerboard, it is very convenient to press the strings, not only to play, but also to pluck the strings. Mainly used for ensemble, but also as a play. Its empty string pitch is CGDA.

Zhuiqin

It is a small three-string system, also known as a pendant or pendant, also known as the second string. This instrument can be solo and ensemble. It has a very wide range, a soft voice and a relatively loud volume. Different from other musical instruments, it can imitate people's voices, sing, talk and even the calls of birds and animals. Popular in the Central Plains, it is the main accompaniment instrument of Henan pendant, Shenze pendant, Shandong and Shandong opera and Quyi.

Yezihu

It is a musical instrument for the Li and Han nationalities to draw bows and strings. History is called Superbody, also known as Xiao Hu. Shaped like a banhu, it has rich timbre and is used for ensemble or accompaniment. Popular in Hainan, Guangdong, Fujian and other provinces.

Ai Jieke

Also known as Khazhak, it is a stringed instrument of Xinjiang Uygur people. Popular in China, Xinjiang Uygur area. There are old Dolan Ai Jieke, New Ai Jieke and Bass Ai Jieke. Ai Jieke speaker is hemispherical, made of wood, and one side is sheepskin. After liberation, Ai Jieke has been improved. The strings were changed to four metal strings, and the volume was also increased. In addition, the crescent-shaped piano seat is installed on the iron column at the bottom of the speaker, which is convenient to be fixed on the knee to play. Ai Jieke, with soft and beautiful timbre and rich national characteristics, is an important instrument of Uygur national band, which can be used for solo, accompaniment and ensemble of Ma Touqin.

It is a China minority-Mongolian bowstring musical instrument, named after the horse head engraved on the top of the piano. Ma Touqin is a representative musical instrument of Mongolian people, which not only occupies a place in families in China and the world, but also is a favorite musical instrument of folk artists and herders. The music played by Ma Touqin is deep, rough and passionate, which embodies the Mongolian production, life and grassland customs. Ma Touqin's excellent repertoire is many, and the traditional Qin music is diverse in style, full of grassland characteristics and euphemistic in tune, mainly depicting natural scenery or singing to horses. Such as Zhu Selie, Cool Hang Gai, Four Seasons, Mongolian Minor, Spring in Ordos, Cool Spring, Walking and "Ma bu".

Kaoerge piano

This is a musical instrument of the Dong nationality. Named for its slender figure resembling a cow's thigh. Niu Tuqin is called "Ji Guo" in Dong language. The piano is made of Chinese fir and has a thin plate on its surface to form a sounding box. Two strings, five-degree interval, and the bow is generally erhu bow. Because it is shaped like a cow's leg, the two corners of the piano tail are like horns, also known as "cow's leg" and "horn string". When playing, the piano is placed on the left wrist and rotates back and forth from left to right. The playing method and posture are slightly like a violin. Or pull and sing, or men pull and women sing. It is mostly used for playing love songs, playing bass and singing softly when walking, which has a unique charm. At the wedding, this piano and pipa played together, conveying a warm and festive atmosphere.

Maguhu

It is a bowstring instrument of Zhuang nationality, named after the piano barrel is made of horse bones. It is mainly popular in Zuoyoujiang, Guangxi, accompanied by the one-man show of Zhuang nationality. It can also be used for solo, instrumental ensemble, local opera, rap music, and also as a treble instrument in folk music. Magu Lake has a history of more than 200 years. It was originally used for Xiancun performance in festivals, and it was called "decree by destiny", which was the early form of Zhuang folk instrumental ensemble "Eight Tones". When playing, the piano barrel is placed on the leg, the left hand holds the piano to press the strings, and the right hand holds the ponytail bow to play between the two strings. The timbre is similar to that of Jinghu, softer. The commonly used techniques are front bow, back bow, small jump bow, bow, beating, oblique and sliding. Used for solo, octave ensemble, silent rap and Zhuang opera accompaniment. It is the main musical instrument of the Eight Tone Band and also plays a leading role in the Zhuang Opera Band.

Jigana

This is A Dai's bowstring instrument. This is A Dai's Dan Xian piano solo. Because the piano barrel is wrapped in a bamboo shell, it is called a bamboo shell piano in Chinese. Guiga has a small shape. The piano stem is made of wood, mostly Toona sinensis or teak, with a total length of only 30 cm. A shaft is horizontally arranged at the upper end of the piano head, which is made of wood or bamboo. The piano tube is made of bamboo. It is cylindrical. Mostly made of large dragon balls grown locally. The length of the pipe is12cm and the diameter is 8cm. The front end of the tube is covered with bamboo shoots, and the back end of the tube is open. On the panel, there is a bamboo bridge and a silk thread. Bows are made of thin bamboo with ponytails.

Naxi huqin

This is a bowstring instrument of Naxi nationality. Naxi people also call it the dragon head, the huqin and the Hu Da because of its large decorative dragon head and harp tube. Simple in shape, soft and rich in timbre, it is used in "White Sand Fine Music" and "Naxi Ancient Music". Popular in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province. Well-known tracks include: Step by Step, Ten Feelings, Water, Spring is Coming, One River Wind, Mountain Sheep and so on.