Chinese Musical Instruments
中国民族乐器
History
According to
incomplete
statistics, China
now has more than
600 varieties of
National musical
instruments with
unique
characteristics.The
se traditional
National musical
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Twelve Girls Band
女子十二乐坊
Jasmine Flower
茉莉花
(0:27-1:43)
COMPOSITION OF INSTRUMENTS
IN TWELVE GIRLS BAND
★ Four Erhu 二胡
★ Three Chinese Lute(Pipa) 琵琶
★ Two Bamboo Raft 竹笛
★ Two Dulcimer(Yang-chin) 扬琴
★ One Ancient Zither(Gu’zheng) 古筝
CATEGORY
according to the style of performing
• Bowed
• Plucked Strings
• Wind
• Percussion
Erhu
• Erhu is a Chinese musical
instruments, the youngest
.But the Erhu is a bowed
instrument that has become
the most widely spread and
most representative in
China.The Erhu has a soft
sound.It is suitable for
playing soft and meticulous
lyrical music.It is a solo
musical instrument with rich
impressive forces。
• The erhu consists of a long vertical
stick-like neck, at the top of which
are two large tuning pegs, and at
the bottom is a small resonator
body (sound box) which is covered
with python skin on the front
(playing) end. Two strings are
attached from the pegs to the
base, and a small loop of string
(qian jin) placed around the neck
and strings acting as a nut pulls
the strings towards the skin,
holding a small wooden bridge in
place.
Plucked string instrument
• Plucked string
instruments，
according to the
shapes，
performance，and
playing methods of
musical instruments
，plucked string
instruments can be
divided into two
categories：one
represented by the
pipa，and the other
the guqin and
guzheng。
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The earliest guqin had five
string.Emperors Wenwang and
Wuwang of Zhou Dynasty knew
music well enough to add two
strings to guqin. That’s why the
guqin usually has seven strings.
The guzheng is one of
the oldest Chinese
plucked string
instrument.The most
commonly used one has
21 strings.
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• 琵琶 pipa
When it is played，the
left hand controls the
strings，and the right
hand plays it.
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Ruan
The ruan (阮) is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute
with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its four
strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century
they have been made of steel (flatwound for the lower strings).
The modern ruan has 24 frets with 12 semitones on each string,
which has greatly expanded its range from a previous 13 frets.
In Chinese orchestras, only the zhongruan and daruan are
The ruan comes in a family of five commonly used, to fill in the tenor and bass section of the
sizes:
plucked string section. Occasionally the gaoyinruan is used to
•Soprano: Gaoyinruan (高音阮, lit. substitute the high-pitched liuqin.
"high pitched ruan"; tuning: G3-D4G4-D5)
•Alto: Xiaoruan (小阮, lit. "small
ruan"; tuning: D3-A3-D4-A4)
•Tenor: Zhongruan (中阮, lit.
"medium ruan"; tuning: G2-D3-G3D4)
•Bass: Daruan (大阮, lit. "large ruan";
tuning: D2-A2-D3-A3)
•Contrabass: Diyinruan (低音阮, lit.
"low pitched ruan"; tuning: G1-D2G2-D3)
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Chinese Wind instruments
• Bone flutes Unearthed from remains of the neolithic
Age at Jiahu Village，Henan Province between 1986
and 1987，are the most ancient musical instrument
discovered by archeologists in china。About 7500
years ago。
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The flute is also known as the cross flute
or bamboo flute. Traditional flute are
mainly made from bamboo. The flute has
six tone holes, one blowing hole and one
flute diaphragm hole.
Hulusi (葫芦丝) – free-reed wind
instrument with three bamboo pipes
which pass through a gourd wind
chest; one pipe has finger holes and
the other two are drone pipes; used
primarily in Yunnan province
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The paixiao (排箫)
is an ancient
Chinese wind
instrument, a form
of pan pipes.
Sheng (笙) – free reed mouth organ
consisting of varying number of bamboo
pipes inserted into a metal (formerly
gourd or hardwood) chamber with finger
holes
The Xun (埙) is a globular, vessel flute from China.
It is one of the oldest musical instruments in China
and has been in use for approximately seven thousand
years. The xun was initially made of baked clay or
bone, and later of clay or ceramic.
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Paigu (排鼓) – set
of three to seven
tuned drums played
with sticks
Percussion
-Made with Hide
Dagu – (大鼓) – large drum
played with two sticks
Bangu (板鼓) –
small, high
pitched drum
used in Beijing
opera
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Percussion
-Made with Metal
Yunluo ( 云锣) – literally
"cloud gongs"; 10 or more
small tuned gongs in a
frame
Bianzhong (编钟) – 16 to 65 bronze
bells hung on a rack, struck using
poles
Dulcimer (Yangqin)
Belongs to Plucked string and Percussion instruments
Strings
Modern yangqin usually have 144 strings in total, with each
pitch running in courses, with up to 5 strings per course, in
order to boost the volume. The strings come in various
thicknesses, and are tied at one end by screws, and at the
other with tuning pegs. The pegs and screws are covered
during playing by a hinged panel/board. This panel is
opened up during tuning to access the tuning pegs.
Bridges
There are usually four to five bridges on a yangqin.
From right to left, they are: bass bridge, "right bridge",
tenor bridge, "left bridge", and the chromatic bridge.
During playing, one is supposed to strike the strings on
the left side of the bridges. However, the strings on the
"chromatic bridge" are struck on the right, and strings on
the "left bridge" can be struck on both sides of the
bridge.
Hammers
The hammers are made of flexible bamboo, and one end is
half covered by rubber. Due to their unique construction,
there are two ways to play: with the rubber side for a softer
sound, and with the bamboo side for a crisper, more
percussive sound. This technique, known as (fǎnzhǔ), is
best utilized in the higher ranges of the yangqin. Additionally,
the ends of the sticks can be used to pluck the strings,
producing a sharp, clear sound. Glissandos can also be
achieved in this way by running the ends of the sticks up or
down the strings
Cylindrical
nuts
On both sides of the yangqin,
aside from the tuning screws,
are numerous cylindrical
metal Nuts that can be
moved for fine tuning the
strings or to raise the strings
slightly to eliminate
unwanted vibrations that may
occur.
Manner of Performance
• The sticks are held, one in each hand, and hit the
strings alternately. In the orchestra, the yangqin often
adds to the harmony by playing chords or arpeggios.
As the yangqin is softer than other Chinese
instruments, it is usually positioned at the front of the
orchestra, in the row just in front of the conductor.
The yangqin has been called the "Chinese piano" as it
has an indispensable role in the accompaniment of
Chinese string and wind instruments.
The yangqin is a chromatic instrument with a range of slightly over
four octaves. Middle C is located on the tenor bridge, third course
from the bottom.
The pitches are arranged so that in general, moving one section away
from the player's body corresponds to a transposition of a whole tone
upwards. Similarly, moving one section towards the left of the
performer generally corresponds to a transposition of a perfect fifth
upwards. These are only rules of thumb since the arrangement has to
be modified towards the extremes of the pitch range to fill out notes in
the chromatic scale. Such an arrangement facilitates transposition.
Moonlit River In Spring
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