biwa instrument classification biwa instrument classification

Like with the shamisen, a distinctive raspy tone quality called sawari is associated with the chikuzen biwa. A distinctive sound of pipa is the tremolo produced by the lunzhi () technique which involves all the fingers and thumb of the right hand. Recently, this instrument, much like the konghou harp, has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. The biwa's twangy plucks were most commonly accompanied by a single voice during court performances, but its popularity spread the instrument made its way into religious sermons and oral history . 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. String-bending for example may be used to produce a glissando or portamento. Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection . 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. [53] The introduction of pipa from Central Asia also brought with it virtuoso performers from that region, for example Sujiva (, Sujipo) from the Kingdom of Kucha during the Northern Zhou dynasty, Kang Kunlun () from Kangju, and Pei Luoer () from Shule. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, and usually four strings. [1][2] Modern researchers such as Laurence Picken, Shigeo Kishibe, and John Myers suggested a non-Chinese origin. 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. At first the chikuzen biwa, like the one pictured in gallery #1, had four strings and five frets, but by the 1910s Tachibana and his sons had developed a five-string model (gallery #2) that, since the 1920s, has been the most common form of the instrument. [17][14] Starting about the 10th century, players began to hold the instrument "more upright", as the fingernail style became more important. Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API. [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. Instruments are classified using 5 different categories depending on the manner in which the instrument creates the sound: Idiophones, Membranophones, Chordophones, Aerophones, & Electrophones. (92.7 20 12.7 cm), Classification: Biwa. NGDMI v.1: 234-237. The surface of the frets is constantly shaved down by the strings, and one of the most important points in the maintenance of the biwa is to keep the surfaces as flat as possible to get goodsawari. [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. In Japan, the biwa is generally played with a bachi instead of the fingers, and is often used to play gagaku. 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. 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). Chikuzen-biwa is another major type of biwa that is widely played today. The Edo period proved to be one of the most prolific and artistically creative periods for the biwa in its long history in Japan. We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. [17][18] The pear-shaped pipa may have been introduced during the Han dynasty and was referred to as Han pipa. Other early known players of pipa include General Xie Shang from the Jin dynasty who was described to have performed it with his leg raised. 2. They recorded the critically acclaimed CD "Eagle Seizing Swan" together. This type of biwa, known as the gaku-biwa, was later used in gagaku ensembles and became the most commonly known type. Traditionally, the 2nd pitch either acts as a lower neighboring tone or a descending passing tone. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. The 5 String Pipa is tuned like a Standard Pipa with the addition of an Extra Bass String tuned to an E2 (Same as the Guitar) which broadens the range (Tuning is E2, A2, D3, E3, A3). Koizumi, Fumio. 77-103. [32][33][34] A famous poem by Bai Juyi, "Pipa xing" (), contains a description of a pipa performance during a chance encounter with a female pipa player on the Yangtze River:[35]. The frets of the satsuma-biwa are raised 4 centimetres (1.6in) from the neck allowing notes to be bent several steps higher, each one producing the instrument's characteristic sawari, or buzzing drone. She now performs with Red Chamber and the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble. The higo-biwa is closely related to the heike-biwa and, similarly, relies on an oral narrative tradition focusing on wars and legends. Formation: Japanese. The biwa developed into five different types in its long history: . [43] The collection was edited by Hua Qiuping (, 17841859) and published in 1819 in three volumes. It is an instrument in China, its mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes. A. Biwa B. Koto C. Shakuhachi D. Shamisen 3. 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. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Mural from Kizil, estimated Five Dynasties to Yuan dynasty, 10th to 13th century. [62] From the Ming dynasty, famous pipa players include Zhong Xiuzhi (), Zhang Xiong (, known for his playing of "Eagle Seizing Swan"), the blind Li Jinlou (), and Tang Yingzeng () who was known to have played a piece that may be an early version of "Ambushed from Ten Sides".[63]. For example, a piece like "The Warlord Takes off His Armour" is made up of many sections, some of them metered and some with free meter, and greater freedom in interpretation is possible in the free meter sections. The electric pipa was first developed in the late 20th century by adding electric guitarstyle magnetic pickups to a regular acoustic pipa, allowing the instrument to be amplified through an instrument amplifier or PA system. Once assembled, four wound silk strings of varying thicknesses are at one of their ends tied to the string holder bridge (detail #4) and the other to the tuning pegs. Updates? A player holds it horizontally, and mostly plays rhythmic arpeggios in orchestra or ensemble. Corrections? When two strings are plucked at the same time with the index finger and thumb (i.e. During the Yuan dynasty, the playwright Gao Ming wrote a play for nanxi opera called Pipa ji (, or "Story of the Pipa"), a tale about an abandoned wife who set out to find her husband, surviving by playing the pipa. The 4-string chikuzen biwa (gallery #1) is constructed in several parts and needs to be assembled and strung before being played. The open strings are shown in the first measures, and the pitches assigned the left-hand fingered notes in the following four measures. Typically, the three-note rhythm is either short-short-long or long-short-short. The pipa, pp, or p'i-p'a ( Chinese: ) is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. 13 in. [45] Other collections from the Qing dynasty were compiled by Li Fangyuan () and Ju Shilin (), each representing different schools, and many of the pieces currently popular were described in these Qing collections. Reflecting its history as an instrument for samurai, its music is often described as dynamic and heroic. Popular Japanese three-stringed lute. used to strike the hard soundboard sharply to create percussive effects, adding a more dynamic flavor to the music. [3][4][5], The earliest mention of pipa in Chinese texts appeared late in the Han dynasty around the 2nd century AD. 89.4.123. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments. Written by Nobuko Fukatsu It always starts from the 4th string and stops on either the 3rd, 2nd, or 1st string depending if the arpeggio contains 2, 3, or 4 pitches, respectively. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This next instrument seems to have some spiritual meaning behind it. 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. 2008. 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. 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. biwa, Japanese short-necked lute, distinguished by its graceful, pear-shaped body. Depictions of the pear-shaped pipas appeared in abundance from the Southern and Northern dynasties onwards, and pipas from this time to the Tang dynasty were given various names, such as Hu pipa (), bent-neck pipa (, quxiang pipa), some of these terms however may refer to the same pipa. The biwa is a relative of Western lutes and guitars, as well as of the Chinese pipa. Northern Wei dynasty (386534 AD). Each group can include either two open strings or one open and one fingered string. It has the largest body and relatively short neck among biwas. The instrument's rounded rectangular resonator has a snakeskin front and back, and the curved-back pegbox at the end of the neck has lateral, or side, tuning pegs that adjust three silk or nylon strings. The fourth and fifth strings, if 5-stringed, are tuned to the same note. The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. Type. Catalogue of the Crosby Brown . [14], Biwa usage in Japan has declined greatly since the Heian period. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. 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). 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 horizontal playing position became the vertical (or near-vertical) position by the Qing dynasty, although in some regional genres such as nanguan the pipa is still held guitar fashion. Heike Biwa (), Medium: Cheng Yu researched the old Tang dynasty five-stringed pipa in the early 2000s and developed a modern version of it for contemporary use. In spite of its popularity, the nin War and subsequent Warring States Period disrupted biwa teaching and decreased the number of proficient users. As the biwa does not play in tempered tuning, pitches are approximated to the nearest note. Taiko Related Articles on Traditional Japanese Instruments 1. 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. 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 fish is an auspicious symbol of Buddhism signifying wakeful attention since most fish lack eyelids and remain alert. 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. [6] Another Han dynasty text, Fengsu Tongyi, also indicates that, at that time, pipa was a recent arrival,[7] although later 3rd-century texts from the Jin dynasty suggest that pipa existed in China as early as the Qin dynasty (221206 BC). The chikuzen biwa is played with the performer in the seiza position (on the knees, legs folded under) on the floor. There were originally two major schools of pipa during the Qing dynastythe Northern (Zhili, ) and Southern (Zhejiang, ) schoolsand from these emerged the five main schools associated with the solo tradition. Among the major variants are the gakubiwa (used in court music), the msbiwa (used by Buddhist monks for the chanting of sutras), the heikebiwa (used to chant stories from the Heike monogatori), the chikuzenbiwa (used for an amalgam of narrative types), and the satsumabiwa (used for samurai narratives). The encounter also inspired a poem by Yuan Zhen, Song of Pipa (). This minute design detail gives rise to sawari, the distinctive raspy tone of a vibrating string. Figure 6 shows a spectral analysis of the arpeggio read at the attack and one second later. 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. ) However, the playing of the biwa nearly became extinct during the Meiji period following the introduction of Western music and instruments, until players such as Tsuruta Kinshi and others revitalized the genre with modern playing styles and collaborations with Western composers. Fine strings murmur like whispered words, It is the most widely used system for classifying musical instruments by ethnomusicologists and organologists . [12][13] Yet another term used in ancient text was Qinhanzi (), perhaps similar to Qin pipa with a straight neck and a round body, but modern opinions differ on its precise form. [19] Pipa acquired a number of Chinese symbolisms during the Han dynasty - the instrument length of three feet five inches represents the three realms (heaven, earth, and man) and the five elements, while the four strings represent the four seasons.[7]. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. [2] Pear-shaped lutes have been depicted in Kusana sculptures from the 1st century AD. Region: East Asia. The biwa is a pear-shaped instrument with four or five strings. The name "pipa" is made up of two Chinese syllables, "p" () and "p" (). 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. Its pick or bachi () is the largest among all types of biwa it sometimes. The biwa is a plucked lute chordophone of Japan. Japanese Music and Musical Instruments. [71][self-published source] In 2014, French zhongruan player and composer Djang San, created his own electric pipa and recorded an experimental album that puts the electric pipa at the center of music. [10] In solo performances, a biwa performer sings monophonically, with melismatic emphasis throughout the performance. Japanese and foreign musicians alike have begun embracing traditional Japanese instruments, particularly the biwa, in their compositions. Most ms biwas have tear-shaped bodies, but this rustic fish-shaped example was probably used by a wandering Buddhist monk. The satsuma-biwa (), a biwa with four strings and four frets, was popularized during the Edo period in Satsuma Province (present-day Kagoshima) by Shimazu Tadayoshi. The biwa, considered one of Japan's principal traditional instruments, has both influenced and been influenced by other traditional instruments and compositions throughout its long history; as such, a number of different musical styles played with the biwa exist. Generally speaking, biwa have four strings, though modern satsuma- and chikuzen-biwa may have five strings. In the narrative traditions where the pipa is used as an accompaniment to narrative singing, there are the Suzhou tanci (), Sichuan qingyin (), and Northern quyi () genres. Players hold the instrument vertically. The plectrum is usually made from rosewood with boxwood or ivory tips for plucking the strings. In the early 1950s, he founded the traditional instruments department at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The biwa's Chinese predecessor was the pipa (), which arrived in Japan in two forms;[further explanation needed] following its introduction to Japan, varieties of the biwa quadrupled. The instrument initially used for this practice was the four-stringed chikuzen biwa (gallery #1), which was produced and sold cheaply--a fact attested to by the numbers of such instruments taken overseas by working-class emigrants. (de Ferranti, p. 122) [The instrument pictured in gallery #1 is very likely one of those many biwas taken overseas--it was purchased in a Honolulu shop specializing in Japanese antiques many of which were brought to Hawaii by Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century.]