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 (). The main part of the music is vocal and the biwa part mostly plays short interludes. (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 [17][18] The pear-shaped pipa may have been introduced during the Han dynasty and was referred to as Han pipa. 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. 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. 77-103. Player - Instrument Interface and Sound Production. It produces distinctive ichikotsuch () and hyj (). often-used technique is rubbing the long side of the bachi on the strings to get wind-like sounds. They included Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, and Su Shi. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/502655, Mary Elizabeth Adams Brown ; Clara H. Rose (d. 1914), The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can now connect to the most up-to-date data and images for more than 470,000 artworks in The Met collection. [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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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 biwa is a plucked lute chordophone of Japan. [31] Celebrated performers of the Tang dynasty included three generations of the Cao familyCao Bao (), Cao Shancai () and Cao Gang (),[59][60] whose performances were noted in literary works. 1. In 1956, after working for some years in Shanghai, Lin accepted a position at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. A pipa player playing with the pipa behind his back. During the 1950s, the use of metal strings in place of the traditional silk ones also resulted in a change in the sound of the pipa which became brighter and stronger. Chikuzen was an historic northern province on Kyushu, the southern-most main island of Japan. The fourth and fifth strings, if 5-stringed, are tuned to the same note. The design and construction of the 5-string Chikuzen biwa pictured in gallery #2 is basically the same as for the 4-string model described above except accommodations need to be made to the pegbox (detail #7) and bridge (detail #8) for the additional string. Techniques that produce vibrato, portamento, glissando, pizzicato, harmonics or artificial harmonics found in violin or guitar are also found in pipa. It is an instrument in Japan, that is a two-stringed fiddle (violin). 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. However, another variant of the biwa known as the ms-biwa or the kjin-biwa also found its way to Japan, first appearing in the Kyushu region. [66] Some other notable pipa players in China include Yu Jia (), Wu Yu Xia (), Fang Jinlong () and Zhao Cong (). And thanks to the low tension of the strings, it is easy to bend the strings by adding pressure. 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. [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. Chikuzen Biwa. Formation: Japanese. Recently, this instrument, much like the konghou harp, has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. Its size and construction influences the sound of the instrument as the curved body is often struck percussively with the plectrum during play. 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. This overlap resulted in a rapid evolution of the biwa and its usage and made it one of the most popular instruments in Japan. An early depiction of pipa player in a group of musicians. Interest in the biwa was revived during the Edo period (16001868), when Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established the Tokugawa shogunate. Yamashika, born in the late Meiji period, continued the biwa hshi tradition until his death in 1996. Typically 60 centimetres (24 in) to 106 centimetres (42 in) in length, the instrument is . The loquat is in the family Rosaceae, and is native to the cooler hill regions of south-central China. The biwa ( Japanese: ) is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. In spite of its popularity, the nin War and subsequent Warring States Period disrupted biwa teaching and decreased the number of proficient users. The heike-biwa (), a biwa with four strings and five frets, is used to play The Tale of the Heike. 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). When Yamashika died in 1996, the era of the biwa hshi tutelage died with him, but the music and genius of that era continues thanks to his recordings. The biwa sounds as written, and it is tuned to an A-430Hz. 20002023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments. There are three small soundholes on the soundboard: two visible ones (hangetsu) partially covered with moon-shaped caps made of ivory and a hidden one (ingetsu) beneath the string holder. Noted contemporary pipa players who work internationally include Min Xiao-Fen, Yang Jin(), Zhou Yi, Qiu Xia He, Liu Fang, Cheng Yu, Jie Ma, Yang Jing(, Yang Wei (),[64] Guan Yadong (), Jiang Ting (), Tang Liangxing (),[65] and Lui Pui-Yuen (, brother of Lui Tsun-Yuen). Novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties such as Jin Ping Mei showed pipa performance to be a normal aspect of life in these periods at home (where the characters in the novels may be proficient in the instrument) as well as outside on the street or in pleasure houses.[24]. Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. [17][14] Starting about the 10th century, players began to hold the instrument "more upright", as the fingernail style became more important. [19], Other musicians, such as Yamashika Yoshiyuki, considered by most ethnomusicologists to be the last of the biwa hshi, preserved scores of songs that were almost lost forever. 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). Clattering and murmuring, meshing jumbled sounds, The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea.It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant.. [1] An English translation was published in the Galpin Society Journal in 1961. These works present a radical departure from the compositional languages usually employed for such an instrument. Clara H. Rose (d. 1914) Catalogue of the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments: Asia, Gallery 27. [29], There are many references to pipa in Tang literary works, for example, in A Music Conservatory Miscellany Duan Anjie related many anecdotes associated with pipa. The same piece of music can therefore differ significantly when performed by students of different schools, with striking differences in interpretation, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, playing techniques, and ornamentations. A. Odaiko B. Taiko C. Tsuridaiko D. Tsuzumi 2. 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 causes a sustained, buzzing noise called sawari () which adds a unique flavor to the biwa sound. [51] The music collections from the 19th century also used the gongche notation which provides only a skeletal melody and approximate rhythms sometimes with the occasional playing instructions given (such as tremolo or string-bending), and how this basic framework can become fully fleshed out during a performance may only be learnt by the students from the master. [39] The plectrum has now been largely replaced by the fingernails of the right hand. We speculate that being half-way in the section, the purpose of this clash may be to avoid a too strong feeling of cadence on the 'tonic E,' since there is one more phrase to come before completing this section. With the rounded edge of the resonator resting in the players lap and the peg box end of the instrument tilted to the left at about a 45-degree angle from vertical, the biwas soundboard faces forward. 36 1/2 7 7/8 5 in. Lin Shicheng (; 19222006), born in Shanghai, began learning music under his father and was taught by Shen Haochu (; 18991953), a leading player in the Pudong school style of pipa playing. The number of frets is considerably fewer than other fretted instruments. [10] In solo performances, a biwa performer sings monophonically, with melismatic emphasis throughout the performance. [20], Garfias, Gradual Modifications of the Gagaku Tradition 16, Garfias, Gradual Modifications of the Gagaku Tradition 18, Ferranti, Relations between Music and Text in "Higo Biwa", The "Nagashi" Pattern as a Text-MusicSystem 150, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biwa&oldid=1097578427, This page was last edited on 11 July 2022, at 14:28. Koto. Its classification is a type of an Aerophone. [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 (). Typically 60 centimetres (24in) to 106 centimetres (42in) in length, the instrument is constructed of a water drop-shaped body with a short neck, typically with four (though sometimes five) strings. Two basic types of wood are used to make stringed musical instruments: woods for soundboards (top plates) and those for frame boards (back and side plates). February 20, 2008. Continent: Asia. Sort by. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Sun performed in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and in 1956 became deputy director of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra. The satsuma-biwa is traditionally made from Japanese mulberry, although other hard woods such as Japanese zelkova are sometimes used in its construction. The biwa (Japanese: ) is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The origin of the Japanese biwa as a generic type of instrument dates back to around the year 700 CE when the pipa was first introduced to Japan from China as part of ensembles gifted to the Japanese Emperor. The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. 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. [14][15][16], The pear-shaped pipa is likely to have been introduced to China from Central Asia, Gandhara, and/or India. The Biwa is a four-stringed Japanese lute with a short neck that was commonly used in Japanese court music in the seventh and eighth centuries. The flowers fluttered, and from Heaven the phoenix trilled, 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. In the 9th century the Ms (blind monks') biwa began to be used by blind musicians as an accompaniment to chanted religious texts and sutras. 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. Brian Grimm placed the contact mic pickup on the face of the pipa and wedged under the bridge so he is able to plug into pedalboards, live computer performance rigs, and direct input (DI) to an audio interface for studio tracking. . [22] Some delicately carved pipas with beautiful inlaid patterns date from this period, with particularly fine examples preserved in the Shosoin Museum in Japan. The biwa is a plucked lute chordophone of Japan. The two-headed tacked drum hung in an elaborate circular frame in court music is a gaku-daiko or tsuri-daiko. 3 in. Pipa is also an important component of regional chamber ensemble traditions such as Jiangnan sizhu, Teochew string music and Nanguan ensemble. 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 minute design detail gives rise to sawari, the distinctive raspy tone of a vibrating string. biwa, Japanese short-necked lute, distinguished by its graceful, pear-shaped body. length [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. 1984. 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. , one can make two or three notes for each fret and also in-between notes. Classification (Sachs-Von Hornbostel revised by MIMO) 321.312 chordophone--spike box lute or spike guitar: the resonator is built up from wood, the body of the instrument is in the form of a box through which the handle/neck passes Chikuzen-biwa is another major type of biwa that is widely played today. The instrument was invented in China in the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, during the Jin dynasty. used only as a drone, and usually tuned to the same note as the third string, making the second the lowest. 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 plectrum also contributes to the texture of biwa music. Songs are not always metered, although more modern collaborations are metered. [41] Three Ming dynasty pieces were discovered in the High River Flows East (, Gaohe Jiangdong) collection dating from 1528 which are very similar to those performed today, such as "The Moon on High" (, Yue-er Gao). 4. The typical 5-stringed Satsuma-biwa classical tuning is: CGCG, from first string to fourth/fifth string, respectively. 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. Life in post-war Japan was difficult, and many musicians abandoned their music in favor of more sustainable livelihoods. [24] However, it continued to be played as a folk instrument that also gained the interest of the literati. Region: East Asia. The four and five-stringed pipas were especially popular during the Tang dynasty, and these instruments were introduced into Japan during the Tang dynasty as well as into other regions such as Korea and Vietnam. The first and second strings are generally tuned to the same note, with the 4th (or doubled 4th) string is tuned one octave higher. The main part of the music is vocal and the biwa part mostly plays short interludes. 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. Nation: Japan. 11.7 in. During the Qing dynasty, apart from those of the various schools previously mentioned, there was Chen Zijing (), a student of Ju Shilin and known as a noted player during the late Qing dynasty. It is similar in shape to the chikuzen-biwa, but with a much more narrow body. 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. Because of this tradition as a narrative music, the biwa is mostly played solo and is less commonly played with other types of instruments, except in gagaku () or the court orchestra where it is used in its original instrumental role, and in modern instrumental repertoire. 5.5 in. 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]. [17] Even higo-biwa players, who were quite popular in the early 20th century, may no longer have a direct means of studying oral composition, as the bearers of the tradition have either died or are no longer able to play. 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. It is one of the most enduring work in Chinese theatre, and one that became a model for Ming dynasty drama as it was the favorite opera of the first Ming emperor. As a point of clarification, the highest and last pitch of the biwa's arpeggio is considered as its melodic pitch. This causes a sustained, buzzing noise called, which adds a unique flavor to the biwa sound. These monophonic do not follow a set harmony. Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted, Credit Line:
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. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Hazusu: This is a sequence of two pitches, where the first one is attacked, and leades to a second one which is not attacked. Therefore the sound of the biwa is very strong at the attack but it has almost no resonance, and in that sense, its contribution to the overall sound of the orchestra is more rhythmic than harmonic. 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. 5-string: biwa (gallery #2): Instrument Information Origins. 5, period of the Northern Wei (384-441 A.D.), A Song dynasty fresco depicts a female pipa player among a group of musicians, Group of female musician from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960 AD), A mural from a Yuan dynasty tomb found in Hengshan County, Shaanxi, showing a man playing the pipa, A group of Qing dynasty musicians from Fuzhou. Shanghai-born Liu Guilian graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and became the director of the Shanghai Pipa Society, and a member of the Chinese Musicians Association and Chinese National Orchestral Society, before immigrating to Canada. This type of biwa music has been preserved until now in gagaku (), or the court orchestra. A player holds it horizontally, and mostly plays rhythmic arpeggios in orchestra or ensemble. The biwa is a relative of Western lutes and guitars, as well as of the Chinese pipa. 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. The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. [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. These two modern styles came to Tokyo with the local reformists who led the Meiji Restoration, and became the center of the contemporary music scene in the late 19th to early 20th century. The pipa reached a height of popularity during the Tang dynasty, and was a principal musical instrument in the imperial court. Figure 5 shows examples of harmonic structures of, 2, 3, and 4 pitches in Ichikotsu-ch. later versions were played by the blind Japanese lute priests of the Heian period and it was also played as background music for story-telling This type of biwa, known as the gaku-biwa, was later used in gagaku ensembles and became the most commonly known type. This music called heikyoku () was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14-15th centuries. Through the next several centuries, players of both traditions intersected frequently and developed new music styles and new instruments. 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. Instead, biwa singers tend to sing with a flexible pitch without distinguishing soprano, alto, tenor, or bass roles. 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. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. greatest width of plectrum Yo-sen has 2 tones regarded as auxiliary tones. She now performs with Red Chamber and the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble. During the war time in early 20th century, biwa music was easily adapted to the nationalism of Imperial Japan, and many songs that emphasized the virtue of loyalty and sacrifice for the country were created and widely played. Typically, the duration of each group subdivides the measure into two equal durations. 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. Further, the frets and the nut are wide, which provides a surface, not a point, for a string to touch. The biwas sound at the attack (top) at one second later (bottom). Modern biwa music is based on that medieval narrative biwa music. 1800 Geography: Japan Culture: Japanese Medium: Wood, mother-of-pearl and ivory Dimensions: 35 12 1/8 11 1/2 in. By the Song dynasty, the word pipa was used to refer exclusively to the four-stringed pear-shaped instrument. 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. This music called heikyoku () was, cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14-15. Biwa is a 4-stringed lute played with a large spectrum. [49] In Nanguan music, the pipa is still held in the near-horizontal position or guitar-fashion in the ancient manner instead of the vertical position normally used for solo playing in the present day. Considering that the metronome marking of this music rarely exceeds the quarter-note at 54, and that the biwa plays mostly on the 1st beat of each measure, it is the authors impression that hazusu and/or tataku may help the biwa player keep time by providing material/action that cuts the duration of a measure in two, even if it cannot be heard. By the Ming dynasty, fingers replaced plectrum as the popular technique for playing pipa, although finger-playing techniques existed as early as Tang. Players hold the instrument vertically. to the present. The instrument has seen a great decline . 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. 3 (Winter, 19771978). [3][4][5], The earliest mention of pipa in Chinese texts appeared late in the Han dynasty around the 2nd century AD. So, here are six traditional Japanese instruments you can listen to today! Figure 6 shows a spectral analysis of the arpeggio read at the attack and one second later. The instrument itself resembles gaku-biwa but is slightly smaller, and is held horizontally. The sanxian (Mandarin for 'three strings') is a type off fretless plucked Chinese lutes. [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. It had close association with Buddhism and often appeared in mural and sculptural representations of musicians in Buddhist contexts. 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, originally an instrument of high society, gradually spread among wandering blind monks who used this instrument to tell stories. Its tuning is A, c, e, a or A, c-sharp, e, a. Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API. The strings are depressed not directly against the frets, but between them, and by controlling the amount of applied pressure the performer can achieve a range of pitches and pitch inflections. 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. Thought to be of Persian origin, the biwa was brought to Japan in the 8th century via Central Asia, China and the Korean Peninsula. These players had considerable influence on the development of pipa playing in China. All rights reserved. The fingers normally strike the strings of pipa in the opposite direction to the way a guitar is usually played, i.e. These styles emphasized biwa-uta () vocalisation with biwa accompaniment and formed the foundation for edo-uta () styles of playing, such as shinnai and kota.[2]. Shamisen 5. Biwa Description The biwa is a four stringed lute and it is approximately 106 cm long (42 inches). Traditionally, the 2nd pitch either acts as a lower neighboring tone or a descending passing tone. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [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.
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