Glossary
Glossary
Sorted by category
Dizi ()
“The di 笛 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.” ()
Sorted by category
Sheng
“The history of the sheng can be dated back to the Shang Dynasty (c 1600-1100 BC), when it had less reeds than the yu 竽, a similar wind instrument. Generally speaking, the yu had more than 20 reeds (some even up to 36 reeds), while the sheng had less than 20. Both the sheng and the yu were popular in ancient China. The yu, however, was gradually taken over by the large sheng in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), and in the Song Dynasty (960-1276) it even disappeared from most written records. The main body of the sheng is made of a gourd, and for this reason this instrument was categorised as pao (匏 gourd) in the Bayin classification system. Over the main body, a number of "seedlings" (bamboo tubes of various lengths, each with a single reed inside and a fingering hole at the bottom 笛) are orderly planted. When the fingering hole of a "seedling" is covered, air will pass through the reed and trigger it to vibrate. Thus, sound can be produced on the sheng when the player breathes in and out through the mouth. Furthermore, when more than one fingering hole are covered, the instrument can produce more than one pitch simultaneously - a "chord" can thus be created, albeit one that is not constructed within the Western concept of triadic, functional and progression harmony. Nowadays, influenced by the development of a modern Chinese orchestra, more "seedlings" are added to perform compositions written with Western idioms.
In the past, the sheng was used in Yanyue 燕樂, or banquet music, in the court. In folk music, it is traditionally used to accompany other instruments, especially the di, the guan 管, a double-reed pipe and the suona 嗩吶, a conical wind instrument with a double reed. It is also used in Jiangnan sizhu 江南絲竹, or Silk and Bamboo Music of the Jiangnan provinces, chuidayue (吹打樂), or Wind-and-percussion Music, and other genres.
The "solo tradition" of the sheng, 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)