Guqin is a long and narrow sound box made of wood, 130cm long, 20cm wide, and 5cm thick. It has seven strings and thirteen marked pitch positions. By attaching the strings in ten different ways, players can obtain a range of four octaves.
The three basic playing techniques are known as san (open string), an (stopped string), and fan (harmonics). San is played with the right hand and involves plucking open strings individually or in groups to produce strong and clear sounds for important notes. To play fan, the fingers of the left hand touch the string lightly at positions determined by the inlaid markers, and the right hand plucks, producing a light floating sound. An is also played with both hands: While the right hand plucks, a left-hand finger presses the string firmly and may slide to other notes or create a variety of ornaments and vibratos, resulting in delicate and expressive sounds.
Guqin is a typical musical instrument, representing both Chinese philosophy and traditional musical culture. It combines a vast repertory of refined melodies and playing techniques. According to tradition, twenty years of training are required to attain proficiency. The fingering techniques are known as recital, rubbing, plucking, concentration, floating notes, and harmonious notes (same measure, five measure, and octave). When Guqin is played, one can easily get the message of the traditional cultural values of clarity, fineness, simplicity, and far-sightedness.
Pipa
The earliest form ofpipaknown appeared in the Qin Dynasty (221-207BC). It had a long neck, leather surface and circular sound box, and was held upright. Around the time the Qin was succeeded by the Han Dynasty, this instrument underwent a number of modifications and it evolved into the ruan qinqin, three-string, yueqin, etc. All these forms of the pipa had the common characteristics of a straight neck and circular sound box. The crooked neck was in fashion from the time of the Wei Dynasty to that of the Tang Dynasty. Similar instruments, such as the guizi pipa, five-string and hulei were all-semi-pear-shaped, and were all referred to as "huqin".
From the Tang and Song dynasties, the pipa underwent unceasing development, until it attained the form it has today: a semi-pear-shaped sound box, paulownia-wood top board, the neck curved backwards, "xiang" and "pin" frets on the body and neck, four strings and four- or five-octave intervals. Two major changes which took place in the course of the pipa's evolution were the practice of holding the instrument upright instead of horizontally while playing it, and the use of five fingers to pluck the strings, instead of using a plectrum. In the 20th century, through the unremitting efforts of a large number of performing artists and composers, a plethora of techniques and compositions has emerged, with the result that the pipa is now one of China's most important national instruments for solo, accompaniment and ensemble recital.
