biwa instrument classification
This seeming shortcoming is compensated for by the frets height and the low tension of the strings. Koizumi, Fumio. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. [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. 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). 20002023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The satsuma-biwa is traditionally made from Japanese mulberry, although other hard woods such as Japanese zelkova are sometimes used in its construction. 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. 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). Description. (92.7 20 12.7 cm), The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889. Yoko Hiraoka, a member of the Yamato Komyoji ryu, presents a lecture/recital of Japanese Biwa music. Also, thanks to the possibility of relying on a level of virtuosity never before attempted in this specific repertory, the composer has sought the renewal of the acoustic and aesthetic profile of the biwa, bringing out the huge potential in the sound material: attacks and resonance, tempo (conceived not only in the chronometrical but also deliberately empathetical sense), chords, balance and dialogue (with the occasional use of two biwas in Nuove Musiche per Biwa), dynamics and colour.[4]. [18], As biwa music declined in post-Pacific War Japan, many Japanese composers and musicians found ways to revitalize interest in it. Japanese Musical Instruments. [8][9] Liu Xi also stated that the instrument called pipa, though written differently (; pp or ; pb) in the earliest texts, originated from amongst the Hu people (a general term for non-Han people living to the north and west of ancient China). Heike-biwa is an accompaniment instrument specifically used to chant the Tale of Heike stories () in the traditional way dating from the medieval era. [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. This type of biwa is used for court music called gagaku (), which has been protected by the government until today. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Rubbing the strings: The plectrum is used to rub an open string. [8] The varying string thickness creates different timbres when stroked from different directions. Wu Man is probably the best known pipa player internationally, received the first-ever master's degree in pipa and won China's first National Academic Competition for Chinese Instruments. One of these, the new chikuzen biwa tradition, became popular amongst many thousands of amateurs between c.1900 and 1920. Northern Wei dynasty (386534 AD). Played with a large wooden plectrum, the instrument has four or five strings of twisted silk stretched over four or more . Biwa (Japanese instrument) - MIT Global Shakespeares Biwa (Japanese instrument) The Biwa is a Japanese teardrop lute, similar to the lute and the oud, with a short neck and frets. 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. 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 . [51][52] Different schools have different repertoire in their music collection, and even though these schools share many of the same pieces in their repertoire, a same piece of music from the different schools may differ in their content. The most eminent 20th century satsuma-biwa performer was Tsuruta Kinshi, who developed her own version of the instrument, which she called the tsuruta-biwa. Carlo Forlivesi's compositions Boethius () and Nuove Musiche per Biwa () were both written for performance on the satsuma-biwa designed by Tsuruta and Tanaka. Hitting the body of the instrument: The plectrum is used to hit the black protective part on the front of the instrument. Biwa. NGDMI v.1: 234-237. We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. During the Yuan dynasty, the playwright Gao Ming wrote a play for nanxi opera called Pipa ji (, or "Story of the Pipa"), a tale about an abandoned wife who set out to find her husband, surviving by playing the pipa. Shamisen players and other musicians found it financially beneficial to switch to the biwa, bringing new styles of biwa music with them. [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. 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.. The name "pipa" is made up of two Chinese syllables, "p" () and "p" (). 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. Like pearls, big and small, falling on a platter of jade. Updates? It is a big percussion instrument of Japanese that plays integral part of many Japanese Matsuri (festival). It had a pear-shaped wooden body with two crescent-shaped sound holes, a curved neck, four strings, and four frets. 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. Generally speaking, biwa have four strings, though modern satsuma- and chikuzen-biwa may have five strings. 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. Like the heike-biwa, it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. 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. However, false nails made of horn existed as early as the Ming period when finger-picking became the popular technique for playing pipa.[24]. [21] The pipa underwent a number of changes over the centuries. Its plectrum varies in both size and materials. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. The instrument itself resembles gaku-biwa but is slightly smaller, and is held horizontally. 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. 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. [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. 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. 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. Omissions? Not to be confused with the five-stringed variants of modern biwa, such as chikuzen-biwa. 4. Although this instrument is quite large and a very substantial plectrum is used to excite its strings, its sound is surprisingly soft and meant more for intimate settings rather than concert halls. As in shamisen music, vocal and instrumental parts are sometimes combined and played at the same time. The biwa is a plucked lute chordophone of Japan. It has the largest body and relatively short neck among biwas. 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. 2008. 5.5 in. Figure 6 shows a spectral analysis of the arpeggio read at the attack and one second later. While blind biwa singers no longer dominate the biwa, many performers continue to use the instrument in traditional and modern ways. Its plectrum is the same as that used for the satsuma-biwa. Its size and construction influences the sound of the instrument as the curved body is often struck percussively with the plectrum during play. 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. 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. 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). This music was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14th-15th centuries. The ms-biwa (), a biwa with four strings, is used to play Buddhist mantras and songs. 1984. Its tuning is A, c, e, a or A, c-sharp, e, a. Even though the system has been criticized and revised over the years, it is the most widely accepted system of musical instrument classification used by organologists and . The Koto came from the Chinese zither "Gu Zheng" during the Nara period in Japan. Traditionally, the 2nd pitch either acts as a lower neighboring tone or a descending passing tone. This scale sometimes includes supplementary notes, but the core remains pentatonic. The biwa is a relative of Western lutes and guitars, as well as of the Chinese pipa. 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. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. In gagaku, it is known as the gaku-biwa (). to the present. [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. Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded. , one can make two or three notes for each fret and also in-between notes. There, they assumed the role of Buddhist monks and encountered the ms-biwa. Different schools however can have sections added or removed, and may differ in the number of sections with free meter. [citation needed]. This music called heikyoku () was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14-15th centuries. 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 We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website.
