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Glossary 

Glossary 

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Dizi () 


 

 

The di  is also called the dizi 笛子. Today, the di is made of bamboo, with eight holes altogether: six for the fingers, one for blowing, and one for the "membrane", which gives the instrument a special and penetrating timbre. The di can be found in various sizes. The performance technique of the different sizes of the di varies depending on the individual genre in which the di is used. Traditionally it appeared in genres such as Jiangnan sizhu 江南絲竹, or Silk and Bamboo Music of the Jiangnan provinces, Guandong yinyue 廣東音樂, or Cantonese Music, chuidayue 吹打樂, or Wind-and-percussion Music, Kunqu 昆曲, or Kun Opera, and bangzi-system operas 梆子腔系戲曲. The instrument plays a vital role in the accompaniment of the last two genres. Because of this reason members of the di family can be roughly categorised into the following two types: qudi or bangdi , named after the respective operas. The qudi 曲笛 is longer than the bangdi 梆笛and thus has a lower range. Its characteristics are a round and relaxed sound, and long and cantabile melodies. This is the so-called southern style in di-playing. The sound of the bangdi, on the contrary, is more piercing. Typical of the bangdi, which represents the northern style in di-playing, are short and vivid melodies produced with more tonguing compared to that of the qudi. Nowadays, influenced by the development of a modern Chinese orchestra, the di of sizes other than the traditional ones are made to perform compositions written with Western idioms.” ()

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Liuqin  


 

 

The liuqin 柳琴 is also called the liuyeqin 柳葉琴. Both terms mean "an instrument in the shape of a willow leaf". Though today's liuqin looks very much like a miniature of the pipa, it is not an instrument created after today's pipa. The liuqin was originally used as a major accompaniment instrument in liuqinxi 柳琴戲, a regional opera of the Shandong Province. At that time it had only two to three strings and seven or ten frets. By the end of 1950's, under the influence of the development of a modern Chinese orchestra, Wang Huiran (王惠然 b. 1936), a member of the Vanguard Chinese Orchestra of the Jinan Military Region 濟南軍區前衛歌舞團, developed & redesigned the instrument. It had three strings and 24 frets arranged in chromatics then. In 1972, Wang added a fourth string to expand the lower range and increased the number of frets to 29 to expand the upper range of the instrument. Plain metal strings, instead of compound strings, are used on the liuqin, which give the instrument a very penetrating sound.

 

Nowadays, the liuqin is plucked with a small plectrum. It is mainly used in the modern Chinese orchestra.

The "solo tradition" of the liuqin, like that of most of the Chinese instruments, only started to develop in the second half of the twentieth century. A large part of its solo repertoire comprises adaptations of traditional instrumental or vocal genres.”  (So Hon To)

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