Chinese Orchestra

Dizi



















One of China’s oldest and most popular instruments, the dizi is made from bamboo and has six holes not including a separate hole for the mouthpiece and another hole over which a piece of dimo (membranes from a bamboo shoot).
When being played, the sound from the instrument is produced by the vibration of air columns within its bamboo body.
There are many types of dizi, with bangdi, qudi and xindi being the three most common. In the Chinese orchestra, a series of dizi are used for different keys. Thebangdi has a relatively higher pitch while the qudi pitch range is about a fourth or fifth lower than the bangdi. The xindi has a range of about an octave below the bangdi, and is an instrument without the dimo. As a result, its tone colour of the xindi is relatively more mellow.

Small Gong


















Of a considerably smaller size when compared to the big gong, the small gong has a circular face in the center of the instrument.
This gong is played using a wooden stick in the shape of a plank.




Bo (Also known as cymbals)















Often remembered as circular discs with red-ribbon handles, the cymbal is an important instrument in operas, religious processions and the accompaniment of folk songs.
Today, the Chinese orchestra uses numerous variations of cymbals including the Western crash cymbals. There are four common cymbals: xiaobo (small cymbals), zhongbo (mid-sized cymbals), shuibo (water cymbals) and dabo (large cymbals).
Cymbals are instruments with no definite pitch. In terms of pitch relativity, the small cymbals command the highest pitch, followed by the mid-sized cymbals, water cymbals and large cymbals.
Also called xiaocha or chaguo, the small cymbals have a diameter of approximately four inches. They produce crisp sounds, and are often accompanied by small gongs to create delicate, joyous atmospheres.

Sanxian




















The sanxian (or xianzi), having been passed down for generations, is one of China’s most traditional plucked stringed instruments.
Aptly named, the instrument hassan (three) xian (strings). Due to its fretless long neck, the sanxian is capable of expressive glissando.
The sanxian was already used to accompany opera during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368). The large sanxian is usually used to accompany large drums of Northern China, and also in shuochang, which is a narrative, story-singing genre. The small sanxian can be found in the Southern genre of Suzhou Pingtan, another kind of story singing, as well as Silk and Bamboo Music. In the Chinese orchestra, the large sanxian is usually used; it is capable of producing a very characteristic sound with strong projection.

Gaohu




















Before being officially adapted for the orchestra, the gaohu was also known as a yuehu (Cantonese huqin) or nanhu (southern huqin).
The gaohu is often considered the higher-pitched version of the erhu. With its sweet and delicate tone, the gaohu is the soprano voice for the bowed strings section of the modern Chinese orchestra.

Feng Luo



























The feng luo is a large gong of about 60 cms in diameter, and is relatively thin.
When rolls are played upon it, it simulates the sound of wind.



YANG QIN

























The word yangqin describes a dulcimer played with rubber-tipped sticks.
Essentially a hammered instrument rather than a plucked one, the yangqin has strings that come in sets. A set of strings comprises four or five individual strings that have been tuned to the same pitch.
It is believed that the instrument originated in Central Asia but was introduced to China at the end of the Ming Dynasty (around AD 1600). The instrument later became common throughout China.




Yunluo (Pitched Gongs)


































Like the ten-faced gong, the pitched gongs are also various small gongs with fixed pitches, fixed on a stand and are normally played with mallets.
Often referred to as a ten-faced gong in some provinces, the names of the ten-faced gongs and the pitched gongs have been used interchangeably.
The gongs on the pitched gongs are usually smaller and have tighter but brighter tonal colours.
As a result of the number of gongs, pitches or types of gongs used in the instrument not being standardised, there have been a multitude of variations for the pitched gongs.






Zhonghu































This instrument, alongside the gaohu, is a common double for the erhu.
The zhonghu plays the alto voice in the bowed stringed section of the Chinese orchestra. Its size is a little larger than the erhu. The instrument has a thick timbre and a deep tone.





Zheng




















The zheng is also referred to as guzheng. During the days of the Warring States in the Qin kingdom, it had attained a degree of popularity.
The zheng, although considered an ancient instrument, has also been subjected to reform and change. The adapted zheng used the 16-stringed silk string zheng as a foundation and adopted the characteristic features of other zheng, increasing the instrument’s string count to eventually 21 in the 1970s. Besides being used in Chinese orchestras or as an accompanying instrument, the guzheng has a huge repertoire of solo pieces.

Ruan







































The term ruan refers to one of China’s ancient but extinct plucked stringed instruments.
It is also known as ruanxian, and is a four-stringed, round-bodied plucked lute. Its history can be traced to the Han Dynasty (202 BC to 220 AD).
During the evolution of the Chinese orchestra in the 1970s, the ruan, a once obsolete instrument, was recreated as the lower-pitched instrument among the plucked string family. Variations of the ruan, like the gaoyin ruan (soprano ruan), xiaoruan (small ruan), zhongruan (alto ruan), daruan (bass ruan) and diruan (also known as bass ruan), were also created based on the need of sound balance in orchestra.
Amongst the above, most Chinese orchestras use the zhongruan and daruan as a standard.

Pipa

































The grand dame of plucked string instruments, the pipa is one of the technically most comprehensive instruments in the Chinese orchestra.
The pipa is not native to China; the instrument was introduced to China through Asia Minor over 2000 years ago. As the instrument was foreign, its counterparts in the forms of lutes and mandolins can still be found in other parts of Asia and Europe.
In the 1950s, the pipa was adapted to meet up with the demands of a Western scale system. As such, more frets were added – a total of 24 (possibly more) frets and six xiang (bridge) frets. The steel string replaced the original silk string and artificial acrylic nails were introduced to pipa performance, creating much larger tonal colour and dynamic range.



Percussion Section
















Percussion, to the Chinese orchestra, is a term that refers to an eclectic mix of Western and Chinese instruments.
In recent years, the Chinese Orchestra has adopted, among other western percussion instruments, the timpani, glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone and snare drum for use in its ensemble.
Chinese percussion instruments are usually made of:
(i)Wood: e.g. zhuban (bamboo clogs), muyu (temple blocks)
(ii)Skin: e.g. dagu (Chinese bass drum)
(iii)Stone: e.g. qing (ancient chimes)
(iv) Metal: e.g. luo (gongs), bo (cymbals)
Based on sound and performance technique, one can categorise percussion instruments into the following genres:
(a)Ban lei (board category): e.g. Chinese claves, temple blocks
(b)Gu lei (drum category): e.g. Chinese bass drum, timpani, Chinese tom toms
(c)Bo lei (cymbal category): e.g. bells, xiaobo (small cymbals)
(d)Luo lei (gong category): e.g. pitched gongs, xiaoluo (small gongs) etc.
Percussion instruments can also be categorised according to definite pitch or indefinite pitch:
(i) Definite pitch instruments include yunluo (pitched gongs) and bianzhong (bronze bells);
(ii)Indefinite pitch instruments are usually sub-categorised into instruments of high, middle or low-pitch because of their indefinite values.
High-pitched instruments include temple blocks and pengling (bells);
Mid-pitched instruments include jingluo (opera gongs), jingbo (opera cymbals) and paigu (Chinese tom toms);
Low-pitched instruments include dagu (Chinese bass drum).


Muyu



































The muyu, a kind of woodblock, can be found in cubic or spherical shapes.
Usually, muyu appear in pairs of high and low-pitched instruments such as the double-headed muyu. It’s also common to find differently tuned muyu in the orchestra, such as the five-note muyu.



Liuqin







































Also termed liu ye qin (willow leaf lute), tu pipa, or jin gang tui, the liuqin looks like a small pipa and is known for its large projection and bright sounds in the Chinese orchestra.
With a history dating more than a hundred years, this folk instrument was adapted in 1958 and incorporated into the Chinese Orchestra.


Konghou






































Also known as the kanhou, this ancient plucked stringed instrument is similar to the western harp.
During the Han Dynasty (202 BC to 220 AD), it entered China from its neighbouring frontiers. The modern konghou is a reconstruction of the ancient konghou,largely based on the Western harp, but kept techniques like the note-bending glides and slides that the Western harp cannot produce.



Gehu

The gehu was created in the 1950s to fill in the low registers in the Chinese orchestra’s sound spectrum.
A hybrid of the Western cello and the erhu, the instrument is bowed like the cello but has an animal skin (usually horse, lamb or snake) surfaced body.
Scored identically to the cello, the instrument employs almost all of the cello’s techniques as well as those of the erhu. Just like Gehu, the lower-pitched Gehu is scored identical to the Western Bass.


Drum

The term dagu (Chinese bass drum) is generic for two models of drum in the orchestra.
One, shaped like a flowerpot (known as huapengu), and the other, with a broad base (known as datanggu or ganggu). The datanggu resonates with a lower pitch than a huapengu, and produces sounds that are thicker, but less bright than the huapengu. Both drums are commonly used in the Chinese orchestra.
A variation of the Chinese bass drum is the xiaogu (small drum). Also known as zhangu or xiaotanggu, this drum is a smaller version of the datanggu. The sounds produced by this drum are solid yet elastic. Also used in the Chinese orchestras is the paigu which is a set of tuned drums and can consist of four to seven drums.
The bangu leads the tempo in Chinese opera orchestras. It makes a short and sharp sound, and is usually heard in long rolls of loud and soft passages.
The Chinese drums are predominantly hit with wooden drumsticks.

Large Gong

Gongs have an added significance in Chinese percussion.
Usually made of bronze and with shapes similar to those of plates, the use of these circular instruments can be traced to the 6th century – the Northern Wei period.
Big gongs do not have definite pitches and are capable of producing varying pitches as well as a variety of overtones depending on where and the intensity with which it has been hit.

Guanzi

A relatively unknown instrument, the guanzi is an expressive wind instrument due to its capability of changing tone colour over a wide range.
Seldom used in Chinese orchestral music till recently, this reed instrument’s husky yet refined sounds are a paradox to the ears.
In ancient times, the guanzi was known as bili, and was already used in court ensembles during the Sui Dynasty (581 – 619 AD).
There are different shapes and sizes of guanzi to accommodate the different keys that are used in a Chinese orchestra.



Suona

The suona originally came from the Middle East, and was once known as the surna
The present Chinese orchestra makes use of the traditional suona and a series of adapted keyed suona. They are known for their powerful sound and their distinctive tone quality.
Like the dizi, the suona does not come in a standard key. Being a more traditional instrument, a high-pitched suona is not usually capable of playing pieces with complex key changes. As such, most suona performers bring more than one instrument on stage when they play in an orchestra.
The traditional suona family includes the highest-pitched haidi, as well as other high and mid-pitched instruments. Amongst them, the high and mid-pitched suona are used more often.
The keys of the adapted suona are derived from Western symphonic wind instruments such as the clarinet and oboe. Its volume is smaller than that of its traditional counterpart, and it is capable of playing chromatic scales. Most commonly used are the adapted keyed mid-pitched, lower mid-pitched and low-pitched suona.

Sheng

The sheng, a multi-reed mouth organ, is one of the oldest Chinese reed wind instruments. Numerous historical records have mentioned the sheng as an important instrument in ancient music, popular in the imperial palace and in court processions.
The sheng uses the vibration of free beating metallic reeds attached to bamboo pipes to create sound. The rich and dynamic sound qualities of the sheng make it a popular instrument in the Chinese orchestra as it is capable of playing harmonies.
The traditional sheng has now been adapted to include three extended and larger instruments in the Chinese orchestra. They are high-pitched sheng, mid-pitchedsheng and low-pitched sheng.



Banhu

The banhu is most associated with Northern folk music, where it has an important role as an accompanying instrument in folk operas like xi qin qiang and bang zi qiang in Northwest China.
A wooden sound box at the bottom of the instrument causes the banhu to produce a striking sound.
There are high-pitched and mid-pitched banhu. The high-pitched banhu is more commonly seen.


Bangzi

The nanbangzi is commonly used in Southern Chinese local opera.
It is made of rectangular pieces of wood and can be found in versions of high, mid and low pitches.
The beibangzi consists of two slats – one thick and one thin – of rosewood beaters, and is sometimes known as the shuangjimu. A sound is made when the two slats are hit against each other. The instrument is found in folk percussion ensembles of the Henan, Hebei and Shandong regions. It is usually used to play continuous strong beats.


Dizi

One of China’s oldest and most popular instruments, the dizi is made from bamboo and has six holes not including a separate hole for the mouthpiece and another hole over which a piece of dimo (membranes from a bamboo shoot).
When being played, the sound from the instrument is produced by the vibration of air columns within its bamboo body.
There are many types of dizi, with bangdi, qudi and xindi being the three most common. In the Chinese orchestra, a series of dizi are used for different keys. Thebangdi has a relatively higher pitch while the qudi pitch range is about a fourth or fifth lower than the bangdi. The xindi has a range of about an octave below the bangdi, and is an instrument without the dimo.

Pengling

The pengling is also called the xing. It consists of two small bells constructed to chime against each other and sound distantly resonant.