Although typically it is used to play short standardized phrases between lines of vocal text, it may be used for longer programmatic pieces depicting battles, storms, or other dramatic events. [3][4][5], The earliest mention of pipa in Chinese texts appeared late in the Han dynasty around the 2nd century AD. Ye Xuran (), a student of Lin Shicheng and Wei Zhongle, was the Pipa Professor at the first Musical Conservatory of China, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. When two strings are plucked at the same time with the index finger and thumb (i.e. The Edo period proved to be one of the most prolific and artistically creative periods for the biwa in its long history in Japan. The instrument itself resembles gaku-biwa but is slightly smaller, and is held horizontally. However, another variant of the biwa known as the ms-biwa or the kjin-biwa also found its way to Japan, first appearing in the Kyushu region. With the rounded edge of the resonator resting in the players lap and the peg box end of the instrument tilted to the left at about a 45-degree angle from vertical, the biwas soundboard faces forward. These, according to the Han dynasty text by Liu Xi, refer to the way the instrument is played "p" is to strike outward with the right hand, and "p" is to pluck inward towards the palm of the hand. The nishiki-biwa (), a modern biwa with five strings and five frets, was popularised by the 20th-century biwa player and composer Suit Kinj (, 19111973). 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. Beginning in the late 1960s to the late 1980s, composers and historians from all over the world visited Yamashika and recorded many of his songs; before this time, the biwa hshi tradition had been a completely oral tradition. Jiaju Shen from The Either also plays an Electric 5 String Pipa/Guitar hybrid that has the Hardware from an Electric Guitar combined with the Pipa, built by an instrument maker named Tim Sway called "Electric Pipa 2.0". Different sized plectrums produced different textures; for example, the plectrum used on a ms-biwa was much larger than that used on a gaku-biwa, producing a harsher, more vigorous sound. (80 30 3.4 cm), Classification: the finger and thumb separate in one action), it is called fen (), the reverse motion is called zhi (). There is little space between the strings on the first three frets, causing obstruction when attacking an upper string whose immediate lower string is fingered in one of the first three frets. The number of frets is considerably fewer than other fretted instruments. 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. The fourth/fifth string G is an octave higher than the second string G. Again, note this is relative tuning; it could be AEAE, GDGD, etc, depending on the players range of voice. [11] The style of singing accompanying biwa tends to be nasal, particularly when singing vowels, the consonant , and syllables beginning with "g", such as ga () and gi (). In all biwa styles, except for Gaku-biwa (: please refer to the section Types of Biwa), fingers are positioned between the frets, not on the frets. The biwa is a four stringed lute and it is approximately 106 cm long (42 inches). 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. It has the largest body and relatively short neck among biwas. Catalogue of the Crosby Brown . Wu Man is probably the best known pipa player internationally, received the first-ever master's degree in pipa and won China's first National Academic Competition for Chinese Instruments. This music was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14th-15th centuries. [20], Garfias, Gradual Modifications of the Gagaku Tradition 16, Garfias, Gradual Modifications of the Gagaku Tradition 18, Ferranti, Relations between Music and Text in "Higo Biwa", The "Nagashi" Pattern as a Text-MusicSystem 150, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biwa&oldid=1097578427, This page was last edited on 11 July 2022, at 14:28. As the biwa does not play in tempered tuning, pitches are approximated to the nearest note. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. On the plectrum, figure of a golden phoenix with flowers in its beak, The flowers fluttered, and from Heaven the phoenix trilled, 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. Yoko Hiraoka, a Lecture/Recital of Japanese Biwa Music The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments. Its size and construction influences the sound of the instrument as the curved body is often struck percussively with the plectrum during play. length On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Kakubachi: This is the performance of arpeggio with a downward motion of the plectrum, and it is always loud. Acoustical classification of woods for string instruments This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Famous solo pieces now performed include: Most of the above are traditional compositions dating to the Qing dynasty or early 20th century, new pieces however are constantly being composed, and most of them follow a more Western structure. 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. The short neck of the Tang pipa also became more elongated. [61][33], During the Song dynasty, players mentioned in literary texts include Du Bin (). Shamisen players and other musicians found it financially beneficial to switch to the biwa, bringing new styles of biwa music with them. [8][9] Liu Xi also stated that the instrument called pipa, though written differently (; pp or ; pb) in the earliest texts, originated from amongst the Hu people (a general term for non-Han people living to the north and west of ancient China). This music called heikyoku () was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14-15th centuries. https://japanese-music.com/profile/nobuko-fukatsu/. The musical narrative of The Tale of Heike, in The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music, edited by Alison McQueen Tokita and David W. Hughes. The five-stringed pipa however had fallen from use by the Song dynasty, although attempts have been made to revive this instrument in the early 21st century with a modernized five-string pipa modeled on the Tang dynasty instrument. Although shaped like a Western lute, the Biwa's back is flat and it has a shallower body. Examples of popular modern works composed after the 1950s are "Dance of the Yi People" and "Heroic Little Sisters of the Grassland" (). The biwas sound at the attack (top) at one second later (bottom). For other uses, see, Illustrations from the 15th century Korean work, Xiansuo Shisan Tao (, later incorporated into Complete String Music ), Note that some people claimed Pei Xingnu to be the female player described in the poem, History of lute-family instruments Short-necked lutes, "The pipa: How a barbarian lute became a national symbol", "Avaye Shayda - Kishibe's diffusionism theory on the Iranian Barbat and Chino-Japanese Pi' Pa', "Chapter 1: A General history of the Pipa", "Bracket with two musicians 100s, Pakistan, Gandhara, probably Butkara in Swat, Kushan Period (1st century-320)", The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of T'ang Exotics, "Pipa - A Chinese lute or guitar, its brief history, photos and music samples", A report on Chinese research into the Dunhuang music manuscripts, "Chapter 3 Musical structure in the Hua Collection", "Comparison of Three Chinese Traditional Pipa Music Schools with the Aid of Sound Analysis", "Lui Pui-yuen, master of Chinese music, returns to perform once again", "Incubus - Mike Einziger Guitar Gear Rig and Equipment", "[search page, albums featuring Yang Jing]", "La scne musicale alternative pkinoise vue par Jean Sbastien Hry (Djang San)", "BC GRIMM Experimental Acoustic-Electric Music EPK", "Experimental Electric Pipa - , by Zhang Si'an (Djang San )", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pipa&oldid=1138787889, Articles with dead external links from January 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Articles with MusicBrainz instrument identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Flute and Drum at Sunset / Flowery Moonlit River in Spring, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 16:35. In the present day, there are no direct means of studying the biwa in many biwa traditions. [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. The . Like the heike-biwa, it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. What is known is that three main streams of biwa practice emerged during this time: zato (the lowest level of the state-controlled guild of blind biwa players), shifu (samurai style), and chofu (urban style). So the previously mentioned tuning can be tuned down to B, F, B, c, d. Asahikai and Tachibanakai are the two major schools of chikuzen-biwa. During the war time in early 20th century, biwa music was easily adapted to the nationalism of Imperial Japan, and many songs that emphasized the virtue of loyalty and sacrifice for the country were created and widely played. The biwa (Japanese: ) is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The biwa is a stringed instrument used in Japan as a sort of story telling method. Biwa music is based on a pentatonic scale (sometimes referred to as a five-tone or five-note scale), meaning that each octave contains five notes. Blind priests would play them in order to tell stories and tales of ancient war. Players hold the instrument vertically. [1] The biwa is a relative of Western lutes and guitars, as well as of the Chinese pipa. However, false nails made of horn existed as early as the Ming period when finger-picking became the popular technique for playing pipa.[24]. Pipa has been played solo, or as part of a large ensemble or small group since the early times. Waribachi: This is a downward sweeping of the four strings, dividing the motion into two groups of two notes. Tataku: This is similar to hazusu, except that this time, two non-struck pitches follow the struck one. Interest in the biwa was revived during the Edo period (16001868), when Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established the Tokugawa shogunate. (88.9 30.8 29.2 cm) Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1968 Accession Number: 68.62.1 Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings 5. Also known as mouth organ. The earliest-known piece in the collection may be "Eagle Seizing a Crane" () which was mentioned in a Yuan dynasty text. Modern biwa used for contemporary compositions often have five or more frets, and some have a doubled fourth string. This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen. Even the biwa hshi transitioned to other instruments such as the shamisen (a three-stringed lute).[15]. Japanese Musical Instruments. Biwa performers also vary the volume of their voice between barely audible to very loud. Different schools however can have sections added or removed, and may differ in the number of sections with free meter. Considering that the metronome marking of this music rarely exceeds the quarter-note at 54, and that the biwa plays mostly on the 1st beat of each measure, it is the authors impression that hazusu and/or tataku may help the biwa player keep time by providing material/action that cuts the duration of a measure in two, even if it cannot be heard. The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. chikuzen biwa Grinnell College Musical Instrument Collection 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. The plectrum is usually made from rosewood with boxwood or ivory tips for plucking the strings. Members of these schools are sighted and include both females and males. The pipa pieces in the common repertoire can be categorized as wen (, civil) or wu (, martial), and da (, large or suite) or xiao (, small). Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Hornbostel-Sachs or Sachs-Hornbostel is a system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the Zeitschrift fr Ethnologie in 1914. Description. The fingers normally strike the strings of pipa in the opposite direction to the way a guitar is usually played, i.e. Another excerpt of figurative descriptions of a pipa music may be found in a eulogy for a pipa player, Lament for Shancai by Li Shen:[33]. , one can make two or three notes for each fret and also in-between notes. 11.7 in. [9] When singing in a chorus, biwa singers often stagger their entry and often sing through non-synchronized, heterophony accompaniment. The most basic technique, tantiao (), involves just the index finger and thumb (tan is striking with the index finger, tiao with the thumb). Several types of biwa, each with its own social setting and repertoire, have evolved in Japan over the past 1300 years, the specimens pictured here being called most accurately the chikuzen biwa. The sound can be totally different depending on where the instrument is hit, how the plectrum is held, and which part of the plectrum hits the surface. So, here are six traditional Japanese instruments you can listen to today! Cheng Yu researched the old Tang dynasty five-stringed pipa in the early 2000s and developed a modern version of it for contemporary use. Chikuzen biwa music is narrative music much beholding to narrative shamisen music. [56], Texts from Tang dynasty mentioned many renowned pipa players such as He Huaizhi (), Lei Haiqing (), Li Guaner (), and Pei Xingnu (). Musical Instruments of East Asia Flashcards | Quizlet The instrument was invented in China in the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, during the Jin dynasty. Classification (Sachs-Von Hornbostel revised by MIMO) 321.312 chordophone--spike box lute or spike guitar: the resonator is built up from wood, the body of the instrument is in the form of a box through which the handle/neck passes [23], During the Song dynasty, pipa fell from favour at the imperial court, perhaps a result of the influence of neo-Confucian nativism as pipa had foreign associations. used to strike the hard soundboard sharply to create percussive effects, adding a more dynamic flavor to the music. During the Song dynasty, many of the literati and poets wrote ci verses, a form of poetry meant to be sung and accompanied by instruments such as pipa. These tunings are relative, the actual pitches a given biwa is tuned to being determined by the vocal range of the singer/player. There are some confusions and disagreements about the origin of pipa. The Museum's collection of musical instruments includes approximately 5,000 examples from six continents and the Pacific Islands, dating from about 300 B.C. [10][11] This may have given rise to the Qin pipa, an instrument with a straight neck and a round sound box, and evolved into ruan, an instrument named after Ruan Xian, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and known for playing similar instrument. The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. Yoko Hiraoka, a member of the Yamato Komyoji ryu, presents a lecture/recital of Japanese Biwa music. The most eminent 20th century satsuma-biwa performer was Tsuruta Kinshi, who developed her own version of the instrument, which she called the tsuruta-biwa. The sole stroke motion used in this example is kakubachi, but it also includes examples of hazusu and tataku. Hornbostel-Sachs - Wikipedia As part of, Mamoru Ohashi (Japanese, active Ogasa, Shizouka Prefecture 1953). Its tuning is A, E, A, B, for traditional biwa, G, G, c, g, or G, G, d, g for contemporary compositions, among other tunings, but these are only examples as the instrument is tuned to match the key of the player's voice. The instrument is also held vertically while playing. [31] Celebrated performers of the Tang dynasty included three generations of the Cao familyCao Bao (), Cao Shancai () and Cao Gang (),[59][60] whose performances were noted in literary works. This type of biwa is used for court music called gagaku (), which has been protected by the government until today. For the left hand, as mentioned above under the Construction section, bending of the strings (oshikan ) and delicate control of it to create a vibrato effect (yuri ) are crucial techniques to create the biwas subtle in-between notes that are unique for fretted instruments. Songs are not always metered, although more modern collaborations are metered. There are 4-string and 5-string biwas, both with 5 frets, and the soundboard is made from soft paulownia wood. 36 1/2 7 7/8 5 in. Because of this bending technique oshikan (), one can make two or three notes for each fret and also in-between notes. 1984. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. 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. Popular Japanese three-stringed lute. There are some types of traditional string instrument. It helps illustrate the neglible amount of resonance the biwa produces, because already after 1 second most of its sound energy is below the threshold of hearing. Several schools of biwa playing evolved from the ms tradition, one of which, founded in the 1890s by Tachibana Chij and others and called the Asahi-kai, was based on the style of the Chikuzen region of Kyushu. 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. The body is narrower and smaller than the other types of biwa. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Typically, the lower strings of the arpeggio are open, as indicated with the '0' in Example 4, while the last string hit may either be open or fingered (numbers 1 to 4 refers to the left hand's fingers from the index to the 4th finger, respectively). These cookies do not store any personal information. 'Ghost of Tsushima' composer reveals the instrument behind the game's It eventually became the favored instrument to accompany narrative singing, especially on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu where it was performed by blind Buddhist priests (ms). The tuning of the strings changes according to the pieces mode. [29], There are many references to pipa in Tang literary works, for example, in A Music Conservatory Miscellany Duan Anjie related many anecdotes associated with pipa. It is similar in shape to the chikuzen-biwa, but with a much more narrow body. . 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. Figure 6 shows a spectral analysis of the arpeggio read at the attack and one second later. It is assumed that the performance traditions died out by the 10th or 11th century (William P. Malm). Shakuhachi One of the most popular traditional Japanese wind instruments is the shakuhachi. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 681. [43] The collection was edited by Hua Qiuping (, 17841859) and published in 1819 in three volumes. By the Song dynasty, the word pipa was used to refer exclusively to the four-stringed pear-shaped instrument. After having arrived in Japan via the Silk Road for purely instrumental music, the biwa evolved over time into a narrative musical instrument. 13 in. The sanxian (Mandarin for 'three strings') is a type off fretless plucked Chinese lutes. Clara H. Rose (d. 1914) Catalogue of the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments: Asia, Gallery 27. An apsara (feitian) playing pipa, using fingers with the pipa held in near upright position. All rights reserved. Pipa is also an important component of regional chamber ensemble traditions such as Jiangnan sizhu, Teochew string music and Nanguan ensemble. In the Meiji period (1868-1912), sighted musicians created new styles of secular biwa narrative singing inspired by Kyushu ms traditions and introduced them to Tokyo. Notes played on the biwa usually begin slow and thin and progress through gradual accelerations, increasing and decreasing tempo throughout the performance. 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. While blind biwa singers no longer dominate the biwa, many performers continue to use the instrument in traditional and modern ways. The encounter also inspired a poem by Yuan Zhen, Song of Pipa (). Shamisen. 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. PDF A Comparison of String Instruments Based on Wood Properties The strings on a biwa range in thickness, with the first string being thickest and the fourth string being thinnest; on chikuzen-biwa, the second string is the thickest, with the fourth and fifth strings being the same thickness on chikuzen- and satsuma-biwa. The biwa arrived in Japan in the 7th century, having evolved from the Chinese bent-neck pipa (; quxiang pipa),[1] while the pipa itself was derived from similar instruments in West Asia. The wu style was associated more with the Northern school while the wen style was more the Southern school. About: Biwa Its plectrum is the same as that used for the satsuma-biwa. It had close association with Buddhism and often appeared in mural and sculptural representations of musicians in Buddhist contexts. Shakuhachi 2. Famous pieces such as "Ambushed from Ten Sides", "The Warlord Takes Off His Armour", and "Flute and Drum at Sunset" were first described in this collection. In gagaku, it is known as the gaku-biwa (). 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 instrument itself also varies in size, depending on the player. Traditionally, the 2nd pitch either acts as a lower neighboring tone or a descending passing tone. Biwa - Wikipedia However, depictions of the pear-shaped pipas in China only appeared after the Han dynasty during the Jin dynasty in the late 4th to early 5th century. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. 105-126. We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. 5, period of the Northern Wei (384-441 A.D.), A Song dynasty fresco depicts a female pipa player among a group of musicians, Group of female musician from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960 AD), A mural from a Yuan dynasty tomb found in Hengshan County, Shaanxi, showing a man playing the pipa, A group of Qing dynasty musicians from Fuzhou. Apart from the four-stringed pipa, other pear-shaped instruments introduced include the five-stringed, straight-necked, wuxian pipa (, also known as Kuchean pipa ()),[20] a six-stringed version, as well as the two-stringed hulei (). The body of the instrument is never struck with the plectrum during play, and the five string instrument is played upright, while the four string is played held on its side. This article is about the Chinese instrument. The strings are struck with a hand-held wooden plectrum. It is made out of wood, with a teardrop-shaped body and a long neck with four or five high frets, and is stringed with four or five silk strings that are plucked by a big pick called bachi. Brian Grimm placed the contact mic pickup on the face of the pipa and wedged under the bridge so he is able to plug into pedalboards, live computer performance rigs, and direct input (DI) to an audio interface for studio tracking. His well-received compositions, such as November Steps, which incorporated biwa heikyoku with Western orchestral performance, revitalized interest in the biwa and sparked a series of collaborative efforts by other musician in genres ranging from J-Pop and enka to shin-hougaku and gendaigaku. They recorded the critically acclaimed CD "Eagle Seizing Swan" together. Pei Luoer was known for pioneering finger-playing techniques,[25] while Sujiva was noted for the "Seven modes and seven tones", a musical modal theory from India. Lin Shicheng (; 19222006), born in Shanghai, began learning music under his father and was taught by Shen Haochu (; 18991953), a leading player in the Pudong school style of pipa playing. It is possible to include a fingered pitch among the lower grace-notes but that pitch should preferably be chosen among those playable on the 4th fret. It is a big percussion instrument of Japanese that plays integral part of many Japanese Matsuri (festival). February 20, 2008. Finally, measure 5 shows a rare instance where a melodic tone (F# in this case) is doubled on the second beat of the biwa's pattern. This music was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14th-15th centuries. The biwa developed into five different types in its long history: . [36][37] The Ming collection of supernatural tales Fengshen Yanyi tells the story of Pipa Jing, a pipa spirit, but ghost stories involving pipa existed as early as the Jin dynasty, for example in the 4th century collection of tales Soushen Ji. This is the original form of biwa that came to Japan in the 8th century. All rights reserved. In 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed, giving way to the Meiji period and the Meiji Restoration, during which the samurai class was abolished, and the Todo lost their patronage. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Exploiting the sound of the open strings increases the overall sounds volume. 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).
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