kasia
06-10-2003, 11:39 PM
k, i'll admit that i'm obsessed with traditional chinese music. so i have to share this with you guys.
so they're always showing concubines in traditional chinese films playing the guzheng - which is sometimes known as the chinese piano. i know there is a korean equivalent that is smaller in size.
Description of the Guzheng
The Zheng, commonly known as "Guzheng, (pronounced "Goo-Zheng"), is a plucked string instrument that is part of the zither family, related to the Japanese koto, the Vietnamese dan tranh and the Korean kayagum. In fact, the guzheng is one of the most ancient Chinese musical instruments that recorded in written documents in the Qin dynasty (about 220 BC). Due to its lang history, the zheng has been called guzheng or Gu-Zheng where "Gu" stands for "ancient" in Chinese.
The Chinese character for "zheng" composed of two parts: the upper part means "bamboo" and the lower part is "argue" (see the above character). According to a legend, there was a master of se, 25-stringed zither, who had two talented daughters who love playing the instrument. Now there came a time that the master became too old, and wanted to pass his instrument over to one of them. However, both daughters wanted to have it. The master felt miserable and finally, out of desperate, he decided to split the instrument into two - one got 12 strings, and the other 13. To his amazement, the new instrument sounds mellow and even more beautiful than its original. The happy master gave the new instrument a new name "zheng" by making up the character with the symbolisms representing "bamboo" and "argue". The word "zheng", the name of this instrument, pronounces the same as the word "zheng" which means "argue" or "dispute". The origin of the Chinese character representing this instrument seems to indicate that the early version of the instrument was made of bamboo, which is different from that of today. However, this legendary story, though it might be true according to the origin of the Chinese character for this instrument, should not be taken too seriously.
Zheng (Guzheng) is build with a special wooden sound body with strings arched across movable bridges along the length of the instrument for the purpose of tuning. In the early times the zheng had 5 string; later on developed into 12 to 13 strings in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907AD) and 16 strings in the Song and Ming dynasty (from the 10th to 15th century). The present day zheng usually has 21-25 strings. The instrumentalist plucks the strings with the right hand and touches the strings with the left hand to produce the desired pitch and create subtil tones and ornaments. The guzheng has been a popular instrument since ancient times and is considered as one of the main chamber as well as solo instruments of Chinese traditional music. Since the mid-19th century, guzheng solo repertoire has been growing and evolving towards an increasing technical complexity.
my favorite is the pipa.
Description of the Pipa
The pipa is a four stringed lute with a pear-shaped body. Its short, bent neck has 30 frets which extend onto the soundboard, offering a wide range. This instrument appears in texts dating up to the second century B.C. There are a lot of written texts of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) about pipa music played and the stories that inspired the composition for those pipa pieces. Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments, and has maintained its appeal in solo as well as chamber genres. The pipa technique is characterised by spectacular finger dexterity and virtuosi programmatic effects. Rolls, slaps, pizzicato, harmonics and noises are often combined into extensive tone poems vividly describing famous battles or other exciting scenes. The instrument is also capable of more lyrical effects in pieces inspired by poetry, landscapes and historical themes. Pipa music has been loved by Chinese people through centuries and there used to be a large repertoire of pipa music, a lot of them were lost, and some of them were handed down from generation to generation through individual artists and scholars.
if you have time, you should check out the music of min xiao fen at MSN Entertainment (http://entertainment.msn.com/Artist/?artist=128157). her music is pretty amazing. she's also my former voice instructor. :D
which leads me to ask - is anybody else here into chinese opera? Peking Opera (http://deall.ohio-state.edu/bender.4/perform/pg1opera/default.htm) their performances would take your breath away. some people find their style of singing a little hard on the ears, but my belief is - it'll grow on you and you come to love it.
there's also the yang qing - which i have not yet learned to appreciate. and the er wu - which i also don't know much about...aside from the fact that there used to be this old man in san francisco chinatown that played it everyday...and he's not there anymore. :( he was very good, though.
what else is there?
so they're always showing concubines in traditional chinese films playing the guzheng - which is sometimes known as the chinese piano. i know there is a korean equivalent that is smaller in size.
Description of the Guzheng
The Zheng, commonly known as "Guzheng, (pronounced "Goo-Zheng"), is a plucked string instrument that is part of the zither family, related to the Japanese koto, the Vietnamese dan tranh and the Korean kayagum. In fact, the guzheng is one of the most ancient Chinese musical instruments that recorded in written documents in the Qin dynasty (about 220 BC). Due to its lang history, the zheng has been called guzheng or Gu-Zheng where "Gu" stands for "ancient" in Chinese.
The Chinese character for "zheng" composed of two parts: the upper part means "bamboo" and the lower part is "argue" (see the above character). According to a legend, there was a master of se, 25-stringed zither, who had two talented daughters who love playing the instrument. Now there came a time that the master became too old, and wanted to pass his instrument over to one of them. However, both daughters wanted to have it. The master felt miserable and finally, out of desperate, he decided to split the instrument into two - one got 12 strings, and the other 13. To his amazement, the new instrument sounds mellow and even more beautiful than its original. The happy master gave the new instrument a new name "zheng" by making up the character with the symbolisms representing "bamboo" and "argue". The word "zheng", the name of this instrument, pronounces the same as the word "zheng" which means "argue" or "dispute". The origin of the Chinese character representing this instrument seems to indicate that the early version of the instrument was made of bamboo, which is different from that of today. However, this legendary story, though it might be true according to the origin of the Chinese character for this instrument, should not be taken too seriously.
Zheng (Guzheng) is build with a special wooden sound body with strings arched across movable bridges along the length of the instrument for the purpose of tuning. In the early times the zheng had 5 string; later on developed into 12 to 13 strings in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907AD) and 16 strings in the Song and Ming dynasty (from the 10th to 15th century). The present day zheng usually has 21-25 strings. The instrumentalist plucks the strings with the right hand and touches the strings with the left hand to produce the desired pitch and create subtil tones and ornaments. The guzheng has been a popular instrument since ancient times and is considered as one of the main chamber as well as solo instruments of Chinese traditional music. Since the mid-19th century, guzheng solo repertoire has been growing and evolving towards an increasing technical complexity.
my favorite is the pipa.
Description of the Pipa
The pipa is a four stringed lute with a pear-shaped body. Its short, bent neck has 30 frets which extend onto the soundboard, offering a wide range. This instrument appears in texts dating up to the second century B.C. There are a lot of written texts of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) about pipa music played and the stories that inspired the composition for those pipa pieces. Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments, and has maintained its appeal in solo as well as chamber genres. The pipa technique is characterised by spectacular finger dexterity and virtuosi programmatic effects. Rolls, slaps, pizzicato, harmonics and noises are often combined into extensive tone poems vividly describing famous battles or other exciting scenes. The instrument is also capable of more lyrical effects in pieces inspired by poetry, landscapes and historical themes. Pipa music has been loved by Chinese people through centuries and there used to be a large repertoire of pipa music, a lot of them were lost, and some of them were handed down from generation to generation through individual artists and scholars.
if you have time, you should check out the music of min xiao fen at MSN Entertainment (http://entertainment.msn.com/Artist/?artist=128157). her music is pretty amazing. she's also my former voice instructor. :D
which leads me to ask - is anybody else here into chinese opera? Peking Opera (http://deall.ohio-state.edu/bender.4/perform/pg1opera/default.htm) their performances would take your breath away. some people find their style of singing a little hard on the ears, but my belief is - it'll grow on you and you come to love it.
there's also the yang qing - which i have not yet learned to appreciate. and the er wu - which i also don't know much about...aside from the fact that there used to be this old man in san francisco chinatown that played it everyday...and he's not there anymore. :( he was very good, though.
what else is there?