Yoko Hiraoka, a Lecture/Recital of Japanese Biwa Music Famous pieces such as "Ambushed from Ten Sides", "The Warlord Takes Off His Armour", and "Flute and Drum at Sunset" were first described in this collection. Description. As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes. It has not caught on in China but in Korea (where she also did some of her research) the bipa was revived since then and the current versions are based on Chinese pipa, including one with five-strings. Sanshin 4. Clattering and murmuring, meshing jumbled sounds, Updates? The basic technique is to pluck down and up with the sharp corner. [32][33][34] A famous poem by Bai Juyi, "Pipa xing" (), contains a description of a pipa performance during a chance encounter with a female pipa player on the Yangtze River:[35]. Since biwa pieces were generally performed for small groups, singers did not need to project their voices as opera singers did in Western music tradition. The biwa is a pear-shaped instrument with four or five strings. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. Outside influence, internal pressures, and socio-political turmoil redefined biwa patronage and the image of the biwa; for example, the nin War of the Muromachi period (13381573) and the subsequent Warring States period (15th17th centuries) disrupted the cycle of tutelage for heikyoku[citation needed][a] performers. Because of this tradition as a narrative music, the biwa is mostly played solo and is less commonly played with other types of instruments, except in gagaku () or the court orchestra where it is used in its original instrumental role, and in modern instrumental repertoire. (80 30 3.4 cm), The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889, "Musical Instruments in the Metropolitan Museum": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 35, no. Title: Satsuma Biwa () Date: ca. Traditionally they are lashed with heavier rope, though some modern instruments are tightened with large screws. The same piece of music can therefore differ significantly when performed by students of different schools, with striking differences in interpretation, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, playing techniques, and ornamentations. The scores were written in tablature form with no information on tuning given, there are therefore uncertainties in the reconstruction of the music as well as deciphering other symbols in the score. Chikuzen was an historic northern province on Kyushu, the southern-most main island of Japan. [12][13] Yet another term used in ancient text was Qinhanzi (), perhaps similar to Qin pipa with a straight neck and a round body, but modern opinions differ on its precise form. It was in the late 20th century that this instrument started to be re-discovered and re-evaluated in various musical settings, such as soundtrack for movies and ensemble and orchestra music, culminating in Toru Takemitsus signature piece November Steps, which premiered in New York City in 1967. 5-string: biwa (gallery #2): The biwa developed into five different types in its long history: Gaku, Heike, Ms, Satsuma, and Chikuzen. So the previously mentioned tuning can be tuned down to B, F, B, c, d. Asahikai and Tachibanakai are the two major schools of chikuzen-biwa. Sort by. While the modern satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa both originated from the ms-biwa, the satsuma-biwa was used for moral and mental training by samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Warring States period, and later for general performances. Played with a large wooden plectrum, the instrument has four or five strings of twisted silk stretched over four or more . When two strings are plucked at the same time with the index finger and thumb (i.e. 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. [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. Chikuzen was an historic northern province on Kyushu, the southern-most main island of Japan. [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. Typically 60 centimetres (24in) to 106 centimetres (42in) in length, the instrument is constructed of a water drop-shaped body with a short neck, typically with four (though sometimes five) strings. He premiered the oldest Dunhuang Pipa Manuscript (the first interpretation made by Ye Dong) in Shanghai in the early 1980s. This type of biwa, known as the gaku-biwa, was later used in gagaku ensembles and became the most commonly known type. During the Song dynasty, many of the literati and poets wrote ci verses, a form of poetry meant to be sung and accompanied by instruments such as pipa. 5.5 in. An early depiction of pipa player in a group of musicians. In modern biwa, particularly in Satsuma-biwa, one sometimes strikes the soundboard sharply to get percussive effects. The encounter also inspired a poem by Yuan Zhen, Song of Pipa (). II, p. 30. Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API. As well as being one of the leading pipa players of his generation, Li held many academic positions and also carried out research on pipa scales and temperament. Northern Wei dynasty (386534 AD). The gogen-biwa (, lit. Performers on the instrument frequently pluck two notes simultaneously, producing a variety of intervals, especially when the singer is silent. Few pieces for pipa survived from the early periods, some, however, are preserved in Japan as part of togaku (Tang music) tradition. The two-headed tacked drum hung in an elaborate circular frame in court music is a gaku-daiko or tsuri-daiko. For example, a piece like "The Warlord Takes off His Armour" is made up of many sections, some of them metered and some with free meter, and greater freedom in interpretation is possible in the free meter sections. Influenced by the shamisen, its music is rather soft, attracting more female players. Typically, the three-note rhythm is either short-short-long or long-short-short. In the 20th century, two of the most prominent pipa players were Sun Yude (; 19041981) and Li Tingsong (; 19061976). The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. This is the original form of biwa that came to Japan in the 8th century. Idiophones African Thumb Pianos The heike-biwa (), a biwa with four strings and five frets, is used to play The Tale of the Heike. The short neck of the Tang pipa also became more elongated. 6 Traditional Japanese Instruments That You Can Listen To Today Not to be confused with the five-stringed variants of modern biwa, such as chikuzen-biwa. It had a pear-shaped wooden body with two crescent-shaped sound holes, a curved neck, four strings, and four frets. [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. Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. Traditional Chinese narrative prefers the story of the Han Chinese Princess Liu Xijun sent to marry a barbarian Wusun king during the Han dynasty, with the pipa being invented so she could play music on horseback to soothe her longings. 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. With the rounded edge of the resonator resting in the players lap and the peg box end of the instrument tilted to the left at about a 45-degree angle from vertical, the biwas soundboard faces forward. The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889, Accession Number: 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. (92.7 20 12.7 cm), The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889. Omissions? [36][37] The Ming collection of supernatural tales Fengshen Yanyi tells the story of Pipa Jing, a pipa spirit, but ghost stories involving pipa existed as early as the Jin dynasty, for example in the 4th century collection of tales Soushen Ji. 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]. Continent: Asia. Pipa is also an important component of regional chamber ensemble traditions such as Jiangnan sizhu, Teochew string music and Nanguan ensemble. Interest in the biwa was revived during the Edo period (16001868), when Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established the Tokugawa shogunate. In 2015, pipa player Jiaju Shen () released a mini album composed and produced by Li Zong (),[73] with E-pa music that has a strong Chinese flavor within a modern Western pop music mould. 592 AD, Sui dynasty. In both cases, the sound of the non-struck pitches is not hearable when performed with the orchestra, but the gesture itself might help the biwa player keep time. This is a type of biwa that wandering blind monks played for religious practice as well as in narrative musical performances during the medieval era, widely seen in the Kyushu area. [2][29] Wang Zhaojun in particular is frequently referenced with pipa in later literary works and lyrics, for example Ma Zhiyuan's play Autumn in the Palace of Han (), especially since the Song dynasty (although her story is often conflated with other women including Liu Xijun),[30][29] as well as in music pieces such as Zhaojun's Lament (, also the title of a poem), and in paintings where she is often depicted holding a pipa. Pipa - Wikipedia Region: East Asia. In the 9th century the Ms (blind monks') biwa began to be used by blind musicians as an accompaniment to chanted religious texts and sutras. 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 (710794). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [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. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. This music called heikyoku () was, cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14-15. The fourth/fifth string G is an octave higher than the second string G. Again, note this is relative tuning; it could be AEAE, GDGD, etc, depending on the players range of voice. 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). Modern biwa used for contemporary compositions often have five or more frets, and some have a doubled fourth string. 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. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. In the performers right hand the bachi (plectrum) is held, its upward-pointing tip used to pluck the strings near the string holder. The nut is a rounded edge at the 90-degree bend where the neck meets the peg box, and the broad flat surface just below the bend has a very shallow trough carved into it perpendicular to the course of the strings (see detail #5). Blind priests would play them in order to tell stories and tales of ancient war. Tokyo:Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai. Mural from Kizil, estimated Five Dynasties to Yuan dynasty, 10th to 13th century. Liu also studied with other musicians and has developed a style that combines elements from several different schools. The pear-shaped biwa lute has enchanted listeners in Japan for centuries. It is the most widely used system for classifying musical . You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The fourth/fifth string G is an octave higher than the second string G. Again, note this is relative tuning; it could be AEAE, GDGD, etc, depending on the players range of voice. Sanxian ("Three strings") or Xianzi (Spike lute) - University of Edinburgh The biwa strings are plucked with large wooden pick called bachi (, The basic technique is to pluck down and up with the sharp corner. Biwa - Wikipedia biwa, Japanese short-necked lute, distinguished by its graceful, pear-shaped body. Shanghai-born Liu Guilian graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and became the director of the Shanghai Pipa Society, and a member of the Chinese Musicians Association and Chinese National Orchestral Society, before immigrating to Canada. It has the largest body and relatively short neck among biwas. The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. We speculate that being half-way in the section, the purpose of this clash may be to avoid a too strong feeling of cadence on the 'tonic E,' since there is one more phrase to come before completing this section. The Koto came from the Chinese zither "Gu Zheng" during the Nara period in Japan. , one can make two or three notes for each fret and also in-between notes. In this case, the left hand fourth finger taps the string so that the un-attacked pitch or pitches can be somewhat heard. The instrument's rounded rectangular resonator has a snakeskin front and back, and the curved-back pegbox at the end of the neck has lateral, or side, tuning pegs that adjust three silk or nylon strings. Traditional Musical Instruments of Japan | TOKYO RESTAURANTS GUIDE The four-string specimen is tuned to a shamisen tuning called honchshi (interval structure, from the lowest string upwards, of P4 - P5, with the top two strings tuned in unison): approximately B2 E3 B3 B3; a typical tuning for the 5-string instrument has the intervallic sequence of P4 (down) P4 (up) M2 (up) P4 (up), approximately E3 B2 E3 F-sharp3 B3. His well-received compositions, such as November Steps, which incorporated biwa heikyoku with Western orchestral performance, revitalized interest in the biwa and sparked a series of collaborative efforts by other musician in genres ranging from J-Pop and enka to shin-hougaku and gendaigaku. It always starts from the 4th string and stops on either the 3rd, 2nd, or 1st string depending if the arpeggio contains 2, 3, or 4 pitches, respectively. Players from the Wang and Pudong schools were the most active in performance and recording during the 20th century, less active was the Pinghu school whose players include Fan Boyan (). Kakisukashi: This is a three or four-note arpeggio with two strings in unison. Koizumi, Fumio. They included Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, and Su Shi. Australian dark rock band The Eternal use the pipa in their song "Blood" as played by singer/guitarist Mark Kelson on their album Kartika. Multiple strings are often played in one pluck like an arpeggio. It is an instrument in Japan, that is a two-stringed fiddle (violin). Each type has different and unique tones, techniques, and musical styles. Further important collections were published in the 20th century. She lives in San Diego, California and works extensively with Chinese, cross-cultural, new music, and jazz groups. This type of biwa is used for court music called gagaku (), which has been protected by the government until today. The sound can be totally different depending on where the instrument is hit, how the plectrum is held, and which part of the plectrum hits the surface. [3] From roughly the Meiji period (18681912) until the Pacific War, the satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa were popular across Japan, and, at the beginning of the Shwa period (19251989), the nishiki-biwa was created and gained popularity. Popular Japanese three-stringed lute. When Yamashika died in 1996, the era of the biwa hshi tutelage died with him, but the music and genius of that era continues thanks to his recordings. In Japan the loquat is known as biwa (, ) and has been grown for over . Wood, leather, Dimensions: What is the hornbostelsachs classification of biwa instrument - 9005546 Example 4 also shows the biwa's standard one-measure motive. And thanks to the low tension of the strings, it is easy to bend the strings by adding pressure. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes. The traditional pieces however often have a standard metrical length of 68 measures or beat,[46] and these may be joined together to form the larger pieces dagu.[47]. A number of Western pipa players have experimented with amplified pipa. It is not used to accompany singing. There, they assumed the role of Buddhist monks and encountered the ms-biwa. Archlute - Wikipedia The performer sings while playing the biwa, and the instrumental part is modular in structure in that there are dozens of named or numbered phrases that the player must internalize and that are used as the building blocks of the instrument part that supports the vocal part. Novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties such as Jin Ping Mei showed pipa performance to be a normal aspect of life in these periods at home (where the characters in the novels may be proficient in the instrument) as well as outside on the street or in pleasure houses.[24]. Because of this bending technique oshikan (), one can make two or three notes for each fret and also in-between notes. [6][7] According to Liu Xi's Eastern Han dynasty Dictionary of Names, the word pipa may have an onomatopoeic origin (the word being similar to the sounds the instrument makes),[6] although modern scholarship suggests a possible derivation from the Persian word "barbat", the two theories however are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Life in post-war Japan was difficult, and many musicians abandoned their music in favor of more sustainable livelihoods. greatest width of plectrum The heike-biwa, smaller than the ms-biwa, was used for similar purposes. This music was cherished and protected by the authorities and particularly flourished in the 14th-15th centuries. This type of instrument was introduced to Korea (the bipa ), to Japan (the biwa ), and to Vietnam (the tyba ). Ms Biwa () | Japanese | The Metropolitan Museum of Art Another new style called Chikuzen-biwa () was created in the 19th century in northern Kyushu Island, based off of the blind monks biwa music, and adopting shamisen, Satsuma-biwa, and other contemporary musical styles. In performance it was held sideways and played with a plectrum. [23], During the Song dynasty, pipa fell from favour at the imperial court, perhaps a result of the influence of neo-Confucian nativism as pipa had foreign associations. Tataku: This is similar to hazusu, except that this time, two non-struck pitches follow the struck one. [61][33], During the Song dynasty, players mentioned in literary texts include Du Bin (). NAKAMURA Kahoru, the biwa player with whom we worked, mentioned that for a concert including pieces in two different modes, she tunes two biwas before the concert. For a long time, the biwa tradition was carried on by wandering blind monks who used the instrument to tell stories such as the Tale of Heike ().

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