The name "pipa" is made up of two Chinese syllables, "p" () and "p" (). The short neck of the Tang pipa also became more elongated. Kaeshibachi: The performance of arpeggio with an up-ward motion of the plectrum, and it is always soft. HornbostelSachs 1 Hornbostel - Sachs 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. This may be due to the fact that the word pipa was used in ancient texts to describe a variety of plucked chordophones of the period from the Qin to the Tang dynasty, including the long-necked spiked lute and the short-necked lute, as well as the differing accounts given in these ancient texts. This instrument was also used many times as an accompanying instrument in larger ensembles. Typically, the lowest notes of the arpeggios are open strings, while the highest ones can either be fingered pitches or an open string. [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. By the Ming dynasty, fingers replaced plectrum as the popular technique for playing pipa, although finger-playing techniques existed as early as Tang. 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 an instrument in China, its mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes. It is however possible to produce the tremolo with just one or more fingers. Figure 4 introduces the biwas six traditional tunings. 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. In previous centuries, the predominant biwa musicians would have been blind monks (, biwa hshi), who used the biwa as musical accompaniment when reading scriptural texts. The method of holding the plectrum is different when performing kaeshibachi or kakubachi, and consequently composers need to allow a few seconds for the repositioning of the hand when using the two techniques in sequence. 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. This seeming shortcoming is compensated for by the frets height and the low tension of the strings. [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. Yoko Hiraoka, a member of the Yamato Komyoji ryu, presents a lecture/recital of Japanese Biwa music. The biwa is a four stringed lute and it is approximately 106 cm long (42 inches). to the present. The body is narrower and smaller than the other types of biwa. A string instrument which is made of Paulownia wood that is used in an ensemble in gagaku or a solo instrument. to the present. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. In gagaku, it is known as the gaku-biwa (). On the plectrum, figure of a golden phoenix with flowers in its beak, 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). The narrative biwa music adopts a relative tuning; the pitch is decided to match with the players range of voice. Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted, Credit Line: Heike-biwa is an accompaniment instrument specifically used to chant the Tale of Heike stories () in the traditional way dating from the medieval era. Interest in the biwa was revived during the Edo period (16001868), when Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established the Tokugawa shogunate. The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. Reflecting its history as an instrument for samurai, its music is often described as dynamic and heroic. [10] In solo performances, a biwa performer sings monophonically, with melismatic emphasis throughout the performance. The exception for these methods is for when hazusu or tataku are performed on the 4th string. It was originally used by traveling biwa minstrels, and its small size lent it to indoor play and improved portability. The wu style was associated more with the Northern school while the wen style was more the Southern school. This seeming shortcoming is compensated for by the frets height and the low tension of the strings. [66] Some other notable pipa players in China include Yu Jia (), Wu Yu Xia (), Fang Jinlong () and Zhao Cong (). They recorded the critically acclaimed CD "Eagle Seizing Swan" together. 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. Of the remaining post-war biwa traditions, only higo-biwa remains a style almost solely performed by blind persons. [14], Biwa usage in Japan has declined greatly since the Heian period. The strings are tuned in fourths, and the melody is played almost exclusively on the highest pitched string. Through the next several centuries, players of both traditions intersected frequently and developed new music styles and new instruments. A rapid strum is called sao (), and strumming in the reverse direction is called fu (). [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]. 20002023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The body is often made of stretched snakeskin, and come in varying sizes. The four fret type is tuned to E, B, E and A, and the five fret type is tuned to B, e, f and f. Another often-used technique is rubbing the long side of the bachi on the strings to get wind-like sounds. 89.4.123. These monophonic do not follow a set harmony. This music was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14th-15th centuries. The biwas shallow body is a bouncing board that sharply projects its sound forward. The biwa ( Japanese: ) is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute ", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. This type of biwa, known as the gaku-biwa, was later used in gagaku ensembles and became the most commonly known type. Carlo Forlivesi's compositions Boethius () and Nuove Musiche per Biwa () were both written for performance on the satsuma-biwa designed by Tsuruta and Tanaka. Non-traditional themes may be used in these new compositions and some may reflect the political landscape and demands at the time of composition, for example "Dance of the Yi People" which is based on traditional melodies of the Yi people, may be seen as part of the drive for national unity, while "Heroic Little Sisters of the Grassland" extols the virtue of those who served as model of exemplary behaviour in the People's commune.[48]. [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. [24] However, it continued to be played as a folk instrument that also gained the interest of the literati. The nut is a rounded edge at the 90-degree bend where the neck meets the peg box, and the broad flat surface just below the bend has a very shallow trough carved into it perpendicular to the course of the strings (see detail #5). Played with a large wooden plectrum, the instrument has four or five strings of twisted silk stretched over four or more . 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. Waribachi: This is a downward sweeping of the four strings, dividing the motion into two groups of two notes. 5-string: biwa (gallery #2): 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]. The biwa may be used to accompany various types of narrative, as part of a gagaku (court music) ensemble, or as a solo instrument. 2000. The performers left hand is used both to steady the instrument, with the thumb hooked around the backside of the neck, and to depress the strings, the index finger doing most of the work but sometimes aided by the middle finger. The left hand techniques are important for the expressiveness of pipa music. 1969. 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. Yamashika, born in the late Meiji period, continued the biwa hshi tradition until his death in 1996. The biwa player with whom we worked, NAKAMURA Kahoru, improvised ten different versions of this rhythm. The instrument is plucked with a pick made out of animal horn. Shakuhachi One of the most popular traditional Japanese wind instruments is the shakuhachi. [citation needed], In 2014, an industrial designer residing in the United States Xi Zheng () designed and crafted an electric pipa "E-pa" in New York. The ms-biwa (), a biwa with four strings, is used to play Buddhist mantras and songs. Biwa. NGDMI v.1: 234-237. It had close association with Buddhism and often appeared in mural and sculptural representations of musicians in Buddhist contexts. There are some confusions and disagreements about the origin of pipa. This music called heikyoku () was, cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14-15. 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. General tones and pitches can fluctuate up or down entire steps or microtones. Written by Nobuko Fukatsu 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. The full vibrating lengths of the strings, the distance between their bend over the nut and the knots that secure their lower ends to the string holder, are all 27.7 inches. . 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). [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. (92.7 20 12.7 cm), Classification: 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). Like the heike-biwa, it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. Modern biwa music is based on that medieval narrative biwa music. The pipa, pp, or p'i-p'a (Chinese: ) is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. As part of, Mamoru Ohashi (Japanese, active Ogasa, Shizouka Prefecture 1953). 20002023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The basic technique is to pluck down and up with the sharp corner. By the middle of the Meiji period, improvements had been made to the instruments and easily understandable songs were composed in quantity. The Met Fifth Avenue 1000 Fifth Avenue (80 30 3.4 cm), The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889, "Musical Instruments in the Metropolitan Museum": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 35, no. 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. And thanks to the low tension of the strings, it is easy to bend the strings by adding pressure. The chikuzen-biwa was used by Buddhist monks visiting private residences to perform memorial services, not only for Buddhist rites, but also to accompany the telling of stories and news. 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. 2. The instrument is also held vertically while playing. 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. (92.7 20 12.7 cm), The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889. used only as a drone, and usually tuned to the same note as the third string, making the second the lowest. 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 (). This is the original form of biwa that came to Japan in the 8th century. the finger and thumb separate in one action), it is called fen (), the reverse motion is called zhi (). Shakuhachi 2. In the performers right hand the bachi (plectrum) is held, its upward-pointing tip used to pluck the strings near the string holder. The plectrum also contributes to the texture of biwa music. A player holds it horizontally, and mostly plays rhythmic arpeggios in orchestra or ensemble. 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]. 1984. [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. Its plectrum is the same as that used for the satsuma-biwa. 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. Its size and construction influences the sound of the instrument as the curved body is often struck percussively with the plectrum during play. are crucial techniques to create the biwas subtle in-between notes that are unique for fretted instruments. 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. Different schools however can have sections added or removed, and may differ in the number of sections with free meter. [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. 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. Resonator design, chordophone: bowl with wood soundboard, Vibrational length: tension bridge to ridge-nut, Pitches per string course: multiple (by pressure stopping against fretted fingerboard), 4-string biwa (gallery #1): Ms Biwa () Japanese. ________. Title: Satsuma Biwa () Date: ca. In Satsuma-biwa classical pieces, the thickest string (the first) is in principle. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. Example 4 also shows the biwa's standard one-measure motive. We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. The pipa has also been used in rock music; the California-based band Incubus featured one, borrowed from guitarist Steve Vai, in their 2001 song "Aqueous Transmission," as played by the group's guitarist, Mike Einziger. With the abolition of Todo in the Meiji period, biwa players lost their patronage. 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. [13] What the plectrum is made of also changes the texture, with ivory and plastic plectrums creating a more resilient texture to the wooden plectrum's twangy hum. Chikuzen biwa music is narrative music much beholding to narrative shamisen music. A pipa player playing with the pipa behind his back. greatest depth of resonator 36 1/2 7 7/8 5 in. Western performers of pipa include French musician Djang San, who integrated jazz and rock concepts to the instrument such as power chords and walking bass.[70]. The biwa strings are plucked with large wooden pick called bachi () that requires a full-handed grip. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. Fine strings murmur like whispered words, Japanese Music and Musical Instruments. [69] The instrument is also played by musician Min Xiaofen in "I See Who You Are", a song from Bjrk's album Volta. Telling stories and holding religious practices with biwa accompaniment became a profession for blind monks, and it was these wandering blind monks who carried on the tradition. The 4 wedge-shaped frets on the neck became 6 during the 20th century. 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. So, here are six traditional Japanese instruments you can listen to today! 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. Pipa has been played solo, or as part of a large ensemble or small group since the early times. The most basic technique, tantiao (), involves just the index finger and thumb (tan is striking with the index finger, tiao with the thumb). She lives in San Diego, California and works extensively with Chinese, cross-cultural, new music, and jazz groups. 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. https://japanese-music.com/profile/nobuko-fukatsu/. 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. . Wood, leather, Dimensions: The open strings are shown in the first measures, and the pitches assigned the left-hand fingered notes in the following four measures. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ueda Junko and Tanaka Yukio, two of Tsuruta's students, continue the tradition of the modern satsuma-biwa. 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. Life in post-war Japan was difficult, and many musicians abandoned their music in favor of more sustainable livelihoods. 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. A new way to classify the acoustical properties of woods and clearly separate these two groups is proposed in this paper. greatest width of resonator This website uses cookies to improve your experience. 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. This article is about the Chinese instrument. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Biwa is a 4-stringed lute played with a large spectrum. [42] During the Qing dynasty there originally two major schools of pipathe Northern and Southern schools, and music scores for these two traditions were collected and published in the first mass-produced edition of solo pieces for pipa, now commonly known as the Hua Collection (). Bodmin, Cornwall, Great Britain: MPG Books, pp. These tunings are relative, the actual pitches a given biwa is tuned to being determined by the vocal range of the singer/player. 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 . Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item, Title: Because of this bending technique oshikan (. This next instrument seems to have some spiritual meaning behind it. length Example 4 shows that the biwa's melodic pitch doubles the basic melodic tone on the downbeat of almost every measure, except in measure 4 where the melodic tone 'E' is supported with a 'D' in the biwa's part. 105-126. 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. This is a type of biwa that wandering blind monks played for religious practice as well as in narrative musical performances during the medieval era, widely seen in the Kyushu area. 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. 38.5 in. The peg box is angled about 90 degrees from the neck, and the back of the body is flat, unlike the western lute. 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. It is one of the more popular Chinese folk music, often paired with singing. It is the most widely used system for classifying musical . The biwa is a pear-shaped instrument with four or five strings. In performance it was held sideways and played with a plectrum. Shamisen. The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. [2] Pear-shaped lutes have been depicted in Kusana sculptures from the 1st century AD. The pear-shaped biwa lute has enchanted listeners in Japan for centuries. 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 wen style is more lyrical and slower in tempo, with softer dynamic and subtler colour, and such pieces typically describe love, sorrow, and scenes of nature. Since the biwas pegs do not move smoothly, tuning the instrument to a different mode requires time. Heike Biwa (), Medium: 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). They included Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, and Su Shi. Biwa. 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. 89.4.2088. '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. [6] The strings were played using a large plectrum in the Tang dynasty, a technique still used now for the Japanese biwa. 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. This is the original form of biwa that came to Japan in the 8. century. 2. Cheng Yu researched the old Tang dynasty five-stringed pipa in the early 2000s and developed a modern version of it for contemporary use. The sanxian (Mandarin for 'three strings') is a type off fretless plucked Chinese lutes. Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item, Title: Chikuzen-biwa is another major type of biwa that is widely played today. However, false nails made of horn existed as early as the Ming period when finger-picking became the popular technique for playing pipa.[24]. 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). This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. [9] When singing in a chorus, biwa singers often stagger their entry and often sing through non-synchronized, heterophony accompaniment.