The archlute ( Spanish: archilad, Italian: arciliuto, German: Erzlaute) is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissance tenor lute, which lacked the bass range of the [56], Texts from Tang dynasty mentioned many renowned pipa players such as He Huaizhi (), Lei Haiqing (), Li Guaner (), and Pei Xingnu (). Biwa is a 4-stringed lute played with a large spectrum. [38] It has however been suggested that the long plectrum depicted in ancient paintings may have been used as a friction stick like a bow. 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. Reflecting its history as an instrument for samurai, its music is often described as dynamic and heroic. [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. A. Biwa B. Koto C. Shakuhachi D. Shamisen 3. The typical 5-stringed Satsuma-biwa classical tuning is: CGCG, from first string to fourth/fifth string, respectively. 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. Chikuzen-biwa is another major type of biwa that is widely played today. Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API. Modern biwa music is based on that medieval narrative biwa music. The stroking motion always starts from the 1st string, sequentially sweeping toward the others until it reaches the arpeggios last string. Japanese lute with 4-5 strings and frets. 3 in. She lives in San Diego, California and works extensively with Chinese, cross-cultural, new music, and jazz groups. These monophonic do not follow a set harmony. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. The biwa is a stringed instrument used in Japan as a sort of story telling method. It is the most widely used system for classifying musical instruments by ethnomusicologists and organologists . There are some confusions and disagreements about the origin of pipa. A number of Western pipa players have experimented with amplified pipa. The pipa reached a height of popularity during the Tang dynasty, and was a principal musical instrument in the imperial court. Heike-biwa is an accompaniment instrument specifically used to chant the Tale of Heike stories () in the traditional way dating from the medieval era. By the Kamakura period (11851333), the heike-biwa had emerged as a more popular instrument, a cross between both the gaku-biwa and ms-biwa, retaining the rounded shape of the gaku-biwa and played with a large plectrum like the ms-biwa. It is however possible to produce the tremolo with just one or more fingers. The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889, Accession Number: The left hand techniques are important for the expressiveness of pipa music. The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. 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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In order to boost the volume of its sound the biwa player rarely attacks a single string, and instead arpeggios 2, 3, or 4 pitches, with one note per string. Sun performed in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and in 1956 became deputy director of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra. The 14- or 16-fret pipa had frets arranged in approximately equivalent to the western tone and semitone, starting at the nut, the intervals were T-S-S-S-T-S-S-S-T-T-3/4-3/4-T-T-3/4-3/4, (some frets produced a 3/4 tone or "neutral tone"). Biwa. NGDMI v.1: 234-237. General tones and pitches can fluctuate up or down entire steps or microtones. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments. With the abolition of Todo in the Meiji period, biwa players lost their patronage. Kishibe, Shigeo. By the middle of the Meiji period, improvements had been made to the instruments and easily understandable songs were composed in quantity. 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. 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. The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in China as early as the Han dynasty, and although historically the term pipa was once used to refer to a variety of plucked chordophones, its usage since the Song dynasty refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument. Cheng Yu researched the old Tang dynasty five-stringed pipa in the early 2000s and developed a modern version of it for contemporary use. 2.2 in. ________. This seeming shortcoming is compensated for by the frets height and the low tension of the strings. Each group can include either two open strings or one open and one fingered string. Though its origins are unclear, this thinner variant of the biwa was used in ceremonies and religious rites. The scores were written in tablature form with no information on tuning given, there are therefore uncertainties in the reconstruction of the music as well as deciphering other symbols in the score. 'five-stringed biwa'), a Tang variant of biwa, can be seen in paintings of court orchestras and was used in the context of gagaku; however, it was removed with the reforms and standardization made to the court orchestra during the late 10th century. CLASSIFICATION DIAGRAM OF WOOD A fundamental structure of string instruments in the Asia and Western is a box-sound hole structure [4,5] as seen in the harpsichord, guitar, violin, and biwa . It is an arpeggio that is always starting from the first string (the lowest) and swepping upwards to either the second, third or fourth string. The Traditional Music of Japan. It was originally used by traveling biwa minstrels, and its small size lent it to indoor play and improved portability. The biwa is a relative of Western lutes and guitars, as well as of the Chinese pipa. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. During the 1910s a five-string model was developed that, since the 1920s, has been the most common form of the instrument (gallery #2). Its boxwood plectrum is much wider than others, often reaching widths of 25cm (9.8in) or more. Dunhuang, Mogao Caves. Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded. 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. As part of, Metalwork by Goto Teijo, 9th generation Goto master, Japan (16031673). The chikuzen-biwa (), a biwa with four strings and four frets or five strings and five frets, was popularised in the Meiji period by Tachibana Satosada. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, and usually four strings. Clara H. Rose (d. 1914) Catalogue of the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments: Asia, Gallery 27. Its plectrum is much smaller than that of the satsuma-biwa, usually about 13cm (5.1in) in width, although its size, shape, and weight depends on the sex of the player. An early depiction of pipa player in a group of musicians. Its plectrum is slightly larger than that of the gagaku-biwa, but the instrument itself is much smaller, comparable to a chikuzen-biwa in size. 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, The narrative biwa music adopts a relative tuning; the pitch is decided to match with the players range of voice. Painted panel of the sarcophagus of Y Hung, depicts one of the Persian or Sogdian figures playing pipa. In Satsuma-biwa classical pieces, the thickest string (the first) is in principle. The typical 5-stringed Satsuma-biwa classical tuning is: CGCG, from first string to fourth/fifth string, respectively. The instrument itself also varies in size, depending on the player. In the 18th century, samurai in the Satsuma area (southern part of Kyushu island) adopted the blind monks biwa music into their musical practices. [74], Modern pipa player, with the pipa held in near upright position. After almost dying out post-World War II, the tradition was revived in part due to interest shown in the instrument by the internationally known contemporary composer Tru Takemitsu, who wrote instrumental compositions for the instrument. [67] It is very much the same as the modern pipa in construction save for being a bit wider to allow for the extra string and the reintroduction of the soundholes at the front. 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. The pipa pieces in the common repertoire can be categorized as wen (, civil) or wu (, martial), and da (, large or suite) or xiao (, small). The fish is an auspicious symbol of Buddhism signifying wakeful attention since most fish lack eyelids and remain alert. 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. 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 (). This causes a sustained, buzzing noise called sawari () which adds a unique flavor to the biwa sound. Shamisen 5. 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. Most prominent among these are Minoru Miki, Thring Brm, YANG Jing, Terry Riley, Donald Reid Womack, Philip Glass, Lou Harrison, Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Bun-Ching Lam, and Carl Stone. One of these, the new chikuzen biwa tradition, became popular amongst many thousands of amateurs between c.1900 and 1920. She now performs with Red Chamber and the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble. [31] The pipa is mentioned frequently in the Tang dynasty poetry, where it is often praised for its expressiveness, refinement and delicacy of tone, with poems dedicated to well-known players describing their performances. Other noted players of the early 20th century include Liu Tianhua, a student of Shen Zhaozhou of the Chongming school and who increased the number of frets on the pipa and changed to an equal-tempered tuning, and the blind player Abing from Wuxi. Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted, Credit Line: The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. . 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). Sort by. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Yo-sen has 2 tones regarded as auxiliary tones. This is the original form of biwa that came to Japan in the 8. century. 36 in. The instrument itself resembles gaku-biwa but is slightly smaller, and is held horizontally. Most ms biwas have tear-shaped bodies, but this rustic fish-shaped example was probably used by a wandering Buddhist monk. Pipa has been played solo, or as part of a large ensemble or small group since the early times. to divide instruments into eight categories determined by materials. It may be played as a solo instrument or as part of the imperial orchestra for use in productions such as daqu (, grand suites), an elaborate music and dance performance. Because of its traditional association with silk strings, the pipa is classified as a silk instrument in the Chinese bayin (eight-tone) classification system, a system devised by scholars of the Zhou court (1046-256 B.C.) Each school is associated with one or more collections of pipa music and named after its place of origin: These schools of the solo tradition emerged by students learning playing the pipa from a master, and each school has its own style, performance aesthetics, notation system, and may differ in their playing techniques. Waribachi: This is a downward sweeping of the four strings, dividing the motion into two groups of two notes. We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. Clattering and murmuring, meshing jumbled sounds, 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 sanxian is made in several sizes. Its tuning is C, G, c, g, g. Gaku-biwa, chikuzen-biwa, heike-biwa, ms-biwa, satsuma-biwa and their plectra. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. length With this, the biwa entered a period of popularity, with songs reflecting not just The Tale of the Heike, but also the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, with songs such as Takeo Hirose, Hitachimaru and 203 Hill gaining popularity. The flowers fluttered, and from Heaven the phoenix trilled, Recently, this instrument, much like the konghou harp, has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. https://japanese-music.com/profile/nobuko-fukatsu/. In the late 20th century, largely through the efforts of Wu Man (in USA), Min Xiao-Fen (in USA), composer Yang Jing (in Europe) and other performers, Chinese and Western contemporary composers began to create new works for the pipa (both solo and in combination with chamber ensembles and orchestra). Male players typically play biwa that are slightly wider and/or longer than those used by women or children. Played with a large wooden plectrum, the instrument has four or five strings of twisted silk stretched over four or more . The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889, Accession Number: This next instrument seems to have some spiritual meaning behind it. The biwa (Japanese: ) is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. There are a number of different traditions with different styles of playing pipa in various regions of China, some of which then developed into schools. Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API. Biwa Description The biwa is a four stringed lute and it is approximately 106 cm long (42 inches). Lingering, filling the palace hall, spring snow flew. 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). This music called heikyoku () was, cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14-15. 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. 1. The Edo period proved to be one of the most prolific and artistically creative periods for the biwa in its long history in Japan. With turned wrist, he gathered the strings to pluck and strum faster. (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 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. 5. This type of biwa music has been preserved until now in gagaku (), or the court orchestra. Due to the slow growth of the Japanese mulberry, the wood must be taken from a tree at least 120 years old and dried for 10 years before construction can begin. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Though formerly popular, little was written about the performance and practice of the biwa from roughly the 16th century to the mid-19th century. Type. 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. Updates? A rapid strum is called sao (), and strumming in the reverse direction is called fu (). Fine strings murmur like whispered words, [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. [6][7] According to Liu Xi's Eastern Han dynasty Dictionary of Names, the word pipa may have an onomatopoeic origin (the word being similar to the sounds the instrument makes),[6] although modern scholarship suggests a possible derivation from the Persian word "barbat", the two theories however are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For a long time, the biwa tradition was carried on by wandering blind monks who used the instrument to tell stories such as the Tale of Heike (). What is the hornbostelsachs classification of biwa instrument - 9005546 [3][4][5], The earliest mention of pipa in Chinese texts appeared late in the Han dynasty around the 2nd century AD. The strings are usually tuned to A2 D3 E3 A3 , although there are various other ways of tuning. 13 in. In modern biwa, particularly in Satsuma-biwa, one sometimes strikes the soundboard sharply to get percussive effects. There are some types of traditional string instrument. Biwa Four frets Figure 1 NAKAMURA Kahoru Biwa's back is flat Biwa's plectrum Figure 2 Although shaped like a Western lute, the Biwa 's back is flat and it has a shallower body. Chikuzen was an historic northern province on Kyushu, the southern-most main island of Japan. These parts can be seen in detail #1: peg box (hanju) with lobster tail-shaped finial (kairbi) [upper left]; four laterally mounted friction tuning pegs (tenju) [lower left]; neck (shikakubi) [right] with a tenon cut at each end (one fitting into a mortise cut into the peg box, the other into a mortise in the narrow end of the resonator) and five high frets (j); and a resonator made of a shallow, teardrop-shaped hollowed out wood shell (k) covered with a flat, thinly-shaven wood soundboard (fukuban) to which is glued a string holder tension bridge (fukuju) just above its rounded end [center]. Koizumi, Fumio. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Because of this bending technique oshikan (. A distinctive sound of pipa is the tremolo produced by the lunzhi () technique which involves all the fingers and thumb of the right hand. Chikuzen Biwa. [1] An English translation was published in the Galpin Society Journal in 1961. A. Odaiko B. Taiko C. Tsuridaiko D. Tsuzumi 2. By the late 1940s, the biwa, a thoroughly Japanese tradition, was nearly completely abandoned for Western instruments; however, thanks to collaborative efforts by Japanese musicians, interest in the biwa is being revived. The fourth and fifth strings, if 5-stringed, are tuned to the same note. Like with the shamisen, a distinctive raspy tone quality called sawari is associated with the chikuzen biwa. 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. Pieces in the Wu style are generally more rhythmic and faster, and often depict scenes of battles and are played in a vigorous fashion employing a variety of techniques and sound effects. From the Dingjiazha Tomb No. 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. [citation needed]. Shamisen players and other musicians found it financially beneficial to switch to the biwa, bringing new styles of biwa music with them. 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.] While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [14][15][16], The pear-shaped pipa is likely to have been introduced to China from Central Asia, Gandhara, and/or India. Its classification is a type of an Aerophone. Kakubachi: This is the performance of arpeggio with a downward motion of the plectrum, and it is always loud. L 31 1/2 W. 11 13/16 D. 1 5/16 in. The biwa is a pear-shaped instrument with four or five strings. [2][29] Wang Zhaojun in particular is frequently referenced with pipa in later literary works and lyrics, for example Ma Zhiyuan's play Autumn in the Palace of Han (), especially since the Song dynasty (although her story is often conflated with other women including Liu Xijun),[30][29] as well as in music pieces such as Zhaojun's Lament (, also the title of a poem), and in paintings where she is often depicted holding a pipa. The strings are tuned in fourths, and the melody is played almost exclusively on the highest pitched string. Examples of popular modern works composed after the 1950s are "Dance of the Yi People" and "Heroic Little Sisters of the Grassland" (). Ms Biwa () Japanese. In biwa, tuning is not fixed. The biwa strings are plucked with large wooden pick called bachi () that requires a full-handed grip. String-bending for example may be used to produce a glissando or portamento. Plucking in the opposite direction to tan and tiao are called mo () and gou () respectively. Options are limited when considering that a fingered string between two open strings must be fingered on the 4th fret to avoid damping. 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). While blind biwa singers no longer dominate the biwa, many performers continue to use the instrument in traditional and modern ways. The biwa developed into five different types in its long history: . The main part of the music is vocal and the biwa part mostly plays short interludes. By the Song dynasty, the word pipa was used to refer exclusively to the four-stringed pear-shaped instrument. 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). 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. 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 (710794). [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]. There is also evidence that other biwa instruments came from the Indian lute tradition. The biwa strings are plucked with large wooden pick called bachi (, The basic technique is to pluck down and up with the sharp corner. Popular Japanese three-stringed lute. The higo-biwa is closely related to the heike-biwa and, similarly, relies on an oral narrative tradition focusing on wars and legends. It has the largest body and relatively short neck among biwas. Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted. In both cases, the sound of the non-struck pitches is not hearable when performed with the orchestra, but the gesture itself might help the biwa player keep time. Notes played on the biwa usually begin slow and thin and progress through gradual accelerations, increasing and decreasing tempo throughout the performance. The interval between the pitches of the open string and first fret is a major second, while the interval between pitches on two adjacent frets is a minor second. Among ethnomusicologists, it is the most widely used system for classifying musical instruments. The artist Yang Jing plays pipa with a variety of groups. Formation: Japanese. Like the heike-biwa, it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. 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. As a point of clarification, the highest and last pitch of the biwa's arpeggio is considered as its melodic pitch. This instrument also disappeared in the Chinese court orchestras. With the end of the wars, unsurprisingly, the biwa music became less popular, and the number of biwa musicians dropped significantly. The 5-string specimen is larger (the vibrating length of its strings is 30.3 inches) and heavier than the 4-string specimen and also has some delicate decorative detail added that is carved out of mother-of-pearl (detail #8 and #9). 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. In the beginning of the Taish period (19121926), the satsuma-biwa was modified into the nishiki-biwa, which became popular among female players at the time. Figure 4 introduces the biwas six traditional tunings. Ieyasu favored biwa music and became a major patron, helping to strengthen biwa guilds (called Todo) by financing them and allowing them special privileges. [10] An instrument called xiantao (), made by stretching strings over a small drum with handle, was said to have been played by labourers who constructed the Great Wall of China during the late Qin dynasty. Influenced by the shamisen, its music is rather soft, attracting more female players.
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