Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Korean plucked lute
Dang-bipa and hyang-bipa
Dang-bipa
Hyang-bipa
Illustrations from the 15th century Korean work Akhak Gwebeom showing the Tang-styledang-bipa on left and the Silla-style hyang-bipa on right used during the Joseon dynasty. Dang-bipa was played with a plectrum, while the hyang-bipa was played with fingers (or finger-attachments).
The bipa is a pear-shaped lute that is a traditional Korean musical instrument. It is derived from Chinesepipa and was introduced through the Silk Road to Goguryeo and Silla. There are two major types of bipa: the four stringed dang-bipa (당비파 / 唐琵琶) and the five stringed hyang-bipa (향비파 / 鄕琵琶). While dang-bipa was a Tang-style pipa first introduced from the Chinese Tang dynasty and localized over time to have Korean characteristics, hyang-bipa was created in the Korean Kingdom of Silla. The instrument is also related to other derivatives such as Vietnameseđàn tỳ bà and the Japanesebiwa.
The bipa was popular in court music until it fell out of use in the early 20th century during the Japanese Colonial period. In 1988–1989, there was the first attempt to revive the two bipa that was unsuccessful in commercialization. This revived bipa used the existing modern Chinese pipa as a basis but was modified to the Korean form, and followed Joseon style and Chinese style use of fake nails and Chinese techniques. It also reintroduced the two sound holes on the front characteristic of the two Korean bipa as well as the five strings characteristic of the hyang-bipa. The strings used are of twisted silk, rather than the metal-nylon used for the Chinese pipa. Following this recreation, there were many reinvented modern bipa.
Both the traditional Dang Bipa and Hyang Bipa had double crescent moons on body and had from 8 to 13 monolithic old bamboo frets (there are types up to 19 frets), especially the Hyang Bipa is painted with floral motifs on the top. The modern multi-frets Hyang Bipa is mostly influenced by the Chinese Pipa frets. In the past, two types of Bipa used twisted silk strings, but nowadays they are rarely used, but instead are made from chemical silk or polyester strings.
Hyang bipa
The Hyang bipa is a five-stringed pipa, played with a plectrum – the standard type from the Goguryeo dynasty (고구려, 37–668) to the Silla dynasty (신라, −935). It is one of the three types of stringed lutes of the Silla dynasty (besides the geomungo and the gayageum). Apart from the five-stringed, straight-necked and had five pegs; the front side is made of paulownia, the back side is chestnut. Until the Joseon dynasty (조선, 1392–1897), it increased to 10 frets, but modern versions can have up to 12 frets (voice close to three octaves). When performing, musician usually sit, put the lute on their lap in an upright position (slightly leaning to the left), the left hand holds the neck or the body and presses the strings, the right hand uses five fake nails (gajogak) (가조각;假爪角) to pluck the strings. In the past, people plucked the lute with a suldae – a bamboo stick (influenced from the geomungo), but today the person who preserves the Hyang bipa way of playing is the female musician Go Boseok (고보석) – who can also play Hyang bipa, wolgeum (moon lute), yanggeum and geomungo. Today, most hyang bipa players use the improved hyang bipa from the Chinese pipa, and most of them use techniques from the Chinese pipa, had more frets and especially in new musical compositions.
Dang bipa
The Dang bipa is a four-stringed lute, with a curved neck with 12 frets, the modern version has a wider range of three octaves. According to the Chinese character Dang (Hangul:唐, pinyin: táng) is a word referring to the Tang dynasty, which means that this type of instrument originated in China and was introduced to Korea during the Tang dynasty. During the Goryeo period (918–1392), it was used in Dangak music. However, since the Korean era, it has also been used in Hyangak.[citation needed] The name Hyangak means "village music", a form of traditional Korean court music that originated during the Three Kingdoms period (삼국시대). In the past, people have tried to restore the way to play Dang-bipa, but it seems to have failed because there are no professional musicians for this type of instrument. Currently, the Dang Bipa is restored in both shape and play. It is plucked with the mokbal plectrum (목발;木撥) (small than bachi – plectrum of Japanesebiwa) or play with gajogak like Hyang Bipa.
Notes
^ Professor Lee Sung-chun (1936–2003) made an attempt in 1989
The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in China as early as the Han dynasty, and although historically the term pipa was once used to refer to a variety of plucked chordophones, its usage since the Song dynasty refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument.
Korean court music comprises three main musical genres: aak, an imported form of Chinese ritual music; a pure Korean form called hyangak; and a combination of Chinese and Korean styles called dangak.
Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. Gagaku was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) around the 10th century. Today, it is performed by the Board of Ceremonies in the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
The biwa is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. 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). Typically 60 centimetres (24 in) to 106 centimetres (42 in) in length, the instrument is constructed of a water drop-shaped body with a short neck, typically with four strings. In Japan, the biwa is generally played with a bachi instead of the fingers, and is often used to play gagaku. One of the biwa's most famous uses is for reciting The Tale of theHeike, a war chronicle from the Kamakura period (1185–1333). In previous centuries, the predominant biwa musicians would have been blind monks, who used the biwa as musical accompaniment when reading scriptural texts.
The geomungo or hyeongeum is a traditional Korean plucked zither with both bridges and frets. Geomungo is a representative stringed instrument made in Goguryeo before the 5th century. Scholars believe that the name refers to Goguryeo and translates to "Goguryeo zither" or that it refers to the colour and translates to "black crane zither".
The liuqin is a three, four or five -stringed Chinese mandolin with a pear-shaped body. The range of its voice is much higher than the pipa, and it has its own special place in Chinese music, whether in orchestral music or in solo pieces. This has been the result of a modernization in its usage in recent years, leading to a gradual elevation in status of the liuqin from an accompaniment instrument in folk Chinese opera, to an instrument well-appreciated for its unique tonal and acoustic qualities. The position of the instrument is lower than the pipa, being held diagonally like the Chinese ruan and yueqin. Like the ruan and unlike the pipa its strings are elevated by a bridge and the soundboard has two prominent soundholes. Finally, the instrument is played with a pick with similar technique to both ruan and yueqin, whereas the pipa is played with the fingers. Therefore, the liuqin is most commonly played and doubled by those with ruan and yueqin experience.
12 Girls Band are an all female Chinese musical group that initially consisted of twelve members before the addition of a thirteenth. Twelve Girls Band use traditional Chinese instruments to play both traditional Chinese and Western music. Formed on June 18, 2001, the women were selected by audition from more than 4,000 contestants. Each woman is classically-trained, and the band members come from various conservatories in the People's Republic of China (PRC), including the China Academy of Music, the Chinese National Orchestra, and the Central Conservatory of Music.
The term Chinese orchestra is most commonly used to refer to the modern Chinese orchestra that is found in China and various overseas Chinese communities. This modern Chinese orchestra first developed out of Jiangnan sizhu ensemble in the 1920s into a form that is based on the structure and principles of a Western symphony orchestra but using Chinese instruments. The orchestra is divided into four sections – wind, plucked strings, bowed strings, and percussion, and usually performs modernized traditional music called guoyue. The orchestra may be referred to as Minzu Yuetuan or Minyuetuan in mainland China, Chung Ngok Tuen in Hong Kong, Huayuetuan in Southeast Asia, or Guoyuetuan in Taiwan.
The ruan is a traditional 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. The modern ruan has 24 frets with 12 semitones on each string, which has greatly expanded its range from a previous 13 frets. The frets are commonly made of ivory or in recent times of metal mounted on wood. The metal frets produce a brighter tone as compared to the ivory frets. It is sometimes called ruanqin, particularly in Taiwan.
The sanxian is a three-stringed traditional Chinese lute. It has a long fretless fingerboard, and the body is traditionally made from snake skin stretched over a rounded rectangular resonator. It is made in several sizes for different purposes and in the early 20th century a four-stringed version, the jiaxian sanxian (加弦三弦), was developed. The northern sanxian is generally larger, at about 122 cm (48 in) in length, while southern versions of the instrument are usually about 95 cm (37 in) in length.
The yueqin, also called a moon lute or moon guitar, is a traditional Chinese string instrument. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, and usually four strings. It is an important instrument in the Peking opera orchestra, often taking the role of main melodic instrument in lieu of the bowed string section.
The đàn tỳ bà is a Vietnamese traditional plucked string instrument derived form the Chinese pipa, That first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Vietnam sometime during the Trần dynasty.
The đàn nguyệt also called nguyệt cầm, đàn kìm, is a two-stringed Vietnamese traditional musical instrument. It is used in both folk and classical music, and remains popular throughout Vietnam. It may be descended from the Ruan, a Chinese instrument.
The zhongruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. The zhongruan has a straight neck with 24 frets on the fingerboard and 4 strings. It is usually played with a plectrum. It can also be played with fingers, which is similar to the way of playing the pipa (琵琶). The zhongruan is a tenor-ranged instrument in the family of ruan (阮). In ancient China, the ruan was called Qin pipa or Ruan xian (阮咸). Now the ruan has expanded to different sizes and the zhongruan is the "medium" one.
The konghou is a Chinese plucked string instrument. In ancient China, the term konghou came to refer to three different musical instruments: a zither and two different types of harp.
Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. Many traditional Korean musical instruments derive from Chinese musical instruments.
Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucking can be done with either a finger or a plectrum.
琵琶 is an East Asian string instrument.
Wang Han was an early eighth century Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty, who had one of his poems included in the famous anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems.
Lutes are stringed musical instruments that include a body and "a neck which serves both as a handle and as a means of stretching the strings beyond the body".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
