The Pipa: A 2000-Year-Old Chinese Instrument

• Pipa strings rattle like rain, and hum like a hushed whisper.
• Bai Juyi, a Tang Dynasty poet, wrote this.
• The pipa is a four-stringed, pear-shaped instrument similar to a lute.
• It is a popular instrument, over 2,000 years old, played throughout China.
• A pipa player moves their fingers nimbly to play the instrument well.
• The instrument is held pointing upward.
• The left hand moves up and down the frets, pushing, twisting, and pulling the strings.
• The player's five fingers on the right hand alternate between plucking the strings forward and backward.
• Liu Fang is a famous pipa player who performs solo concerts worldwide.
• She began playing at six, gave public concerts by nine, and performed for Queen Elizabeth II at 11.
• Liu Fang plays Western classical music and traditional Chinese music, combining both musical traditions.
• The pipa has a short, bent neck with up to 30 frets extending onto the soundboard, offering a wide range of 3½ octaves.
• Until the 20th century, players used their fingernails to pluck soft, twisted silk strings.
• Pipa strings are now made of steel with nylon wound around them, making them too tough for human fingernails.
• Musicians use elastic tape to fix false nails made of plastic to their fingertips when playing the pipa.
• Stringed instruments, known as chordophones, have developed into various shapes and sizes since ancient times.
• These instruments produce sounds by vibrating strings.
• Strings can be played with a bow, plucked with fingers, or struck with hammers.
• Most chordophones have strings stretched across a resonator, which is the hollow part that vibrates along with the strings, creating a richer sound.

Five Basic Types of Chordophones

• Lutes: Strings are stretched over a resonator and along a neck, like guitars and violins.
• Zithers: Strings are stretched over or inside a resonator, or between two resonators.
• Harps: Strings are slanted within a frame.
• Lyres: Strings are raised on a bar above the resonator.
• Musical Bows: Strings are stretched from one end of a bow to the other.
• Yangqin, from 18th century China, a trapezium-shaped instrument is the Chinese version of the hammered dulcimer originally from Persia (modern-day Iran); the strings are struck with bamboo beaters.
• Medieval lute, c.1350-1400, Europe was very popular, accompanying songs in medieval Europe, and continued to be heard during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
• Lutes fell out of favor in the early 1800s but have seen a revival of interest in modern times.
• Balalaika, 18th century, Russia is a Russian folk instrument has a characteristic triangular body and three strings.
• There are at least six sizes of balalaika varying from low to high pitch.
• Early Chinese music utilizes a five-note (pentatonic) scale.
• Zither, 5th century BCE, China: The European zither shown can have up to 45 strings and has evolved from instruments played in China over 2,500 years ago.
• It is played in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, and southern Germany.
• Irish harp, 9th century, Ireland: This small, portable harp is a popular instrument in Celtic folk music.
• Hurdy gurdy, 10th century, Europe is a mechanical violin: this medieval instrument makes a sound by a hand-turned wheel passing over the strings.
• Small wooden wedges are pressed to change the pitch of the strings.
• Krar, c.2000 BCE, Ethiopia: This decorated six-stringed, bowl-shaped lyre was often used to accompany songs.
• Berimbau, 16th century, Brazil is based on stringed instruments from Africa, the berimbau is the main instrument for Brazil's capoeira martial arts music.
• Sarangi, 17th century, South Asia is used for both folk and Hindustani classical music.
• The sarangi has three main strings and more than 30 "sympathetic" strings that vibrate to create a complex sound.

Explore the pipa, a four-stringed instrument with a rich 2,000-year history in China, similar to a lute. Its strings can rattle like rain and hum softly. Learn about its unique playing style, with nimble finger movements and a wide range of musical expression.