Chinese musical instruments

traditional chinese music

In the long history of China all the arts have been cultivated. The music too. It served as an accompaniment in all kinds of ceremonies, festivals and celebrations throughout the centuries. Many of the ancients chinese musical instruments they have survived to this day, more or less modified. They are the witnesses of a millenary culture and the demonstration that the country's musical tradition is still alive.

Ancient Chinese philosophers and thinkers, such as Confucius, already established a complex theory that linked music with different ritual aspects of life and civilization. They also devised the ideal instruments for each moment and each piece of music.

Unlike the Western world, in old China the following were established instrument categories, taking into account the main material with which they were manufactured: metal, stone, silk, bamboo, pumpkin, clay, leather and wood.

However, we will stick to the usual classification of wind, string and percussion. These are the most representative Chinese musical instruments:

Wind instruments

At Book of Odes, the ancient Chinese book dedicated to poetic art, some wind instruments are already mentioned that are still made and played in the Asian giant today, almost all of them flutes and organs like these:

    • Dizi. Six hole bamboo flute. There is a variant with only three holes called hee. It was played to interpret musical backgrounds during ceremonial banquets and in military parades.
    • huluzi. One of the most curious Chinese musical instruments. It is made up of three bamboo poles and a hollow gourd that acts as a sounding board. The central bamboo stem has holes to produce the different notes.
    • jiao. Long bronze tube whose sound is similar to that of the cornet.
    • Sheng. Complex wind instrument formed by a set of bamboo tubes of different lengths placed in a circle in a circle. It used to be played (and the custom still remains today) at weddings and funerals.
    • It sounds. The «Chinese oboe», very widespread in most of the country. It is shaped like a very long trumpet.
    • Xiao. The traditional six-hole vertical flute. It differs from the Dizi by its "V" shaped mouthpiece due to its characteristic sweet sound. The differences are well explained in the video above.
    • xun. Round shaped fired clay ocarina.

String instruments

Chinese stringed musical instruments are usually divided into two large groups: with or without bow. Among the first, we highlight the following:

  • Banhu, a kind of two-stringed violin and a wooden box for the sound. It is typical of the north of the country and is played in pairs.
  • erhu. Similar to the Banhu, but without a soundboard. There is a variant called gaohu that emits higher sounds and another with the name of zhonghu that instead emits more serious sounds.
  • Geh. Four-string cello.
  • matouqin, the famous Chinese violin with a long neck and a horse-head-shaped case.
china stringed instrument

Chinese woman playing the gunqin

As for stringed instruments without bow, we find them of two types: vertical and horizontal. Among the most traditionally used in China are:

  • Dongbula, XNUMX-string lute.
  • duxianqin. A curious single-stringed zither.
  • gun qin, the classical Chinese seven-string citara. Like the rest of the instruments in its family, it is often played with a plectrum, the equivalent of the reed on Western guitars.
  • konghou, a kind of Chinese lyre that is played by stroking the strings very gently.
  • Pipa, domed lute with four strings.
  • Ruan fabric, lute in the shape of a crescent moon.
  • sanxiang, oval three-stringed lute.
  • yangqing. A larger harp and many more strings than the kong hou.

Percussion instruments

They are widely used in the musical pieces of the traditional chinese opera, as well as a rhythmic or accompaniment base for various traditional compositions. They are usually grouped into two categories: fixed pitch and variable pitch. The most popular Chinese percussion instruments are as follows:

Chinese music

Typical chinese drum

  • Ban. A kind of bamboo clapper, although there are some similar wooden models.
  • Bo, small brass cymbals that collide to offer a fine tune.
  • dingyingdangu. Fixed-pitch drum that is beaten with a single stick.
  • Gu. Double head drum that was originally used as an instrument of war. Those who play this instrument usually wear it around their neck by a ribbon and use two drumsticks to achieve the sound.
  • Ling or little bell.
  • luó, better known in the West as «gong». It is a large metal plate suspended vertically that hangs from an arch-shaped structure by means of ropes. The reason for having it in suspension is to achieve a greater and more lasting resonance.
  • Paigu. Set of small drums, between three and seven units, all of different sizes and sounds.
  • Yung-huo. Set of small gongs tied to the same frame.

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