Liuqin
Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:No footnotes Template:Infobox Instrument Template:Chinese
The liuqin (Template:Lang-zh) is a three, four or five-stringed Chinese mandolin with a pear-shaped body. The range of its voice is much higher than other Chinese plucked string instrument, and it is used in both orchestral music and solo pieces in Chinese music. This has been the result of a modernization in its usage in recent years, leading to a gradual elevation in status of the Template:Tlit from an accompaniment instrument in folk Chinese opera, to an instrument known for its unique tonal and acoustic qualities. The instrument is held diagonally like the Chinese Template:Tlit and Template:Tlit. Its strings are elevated by a bridge and the soundboard has two prominent soundholes. Finally, the instrument is played with a pick with similar technique to both ruan and yueqin. Therefore, the liuqin is most commonly played and doubled by those with Template:Tlit and Template:Tlit experience.
Historically, the Template:Tlit was commonly made of willow wood (Template:Zhi literally meaning "willow"), while professional players used versions constructed with a higher-quality red sandalwood or rosewood. In contemporary versions, however, the front board is made of Template:Tlit wood (Template:Lang) and red sandalwood is used for the back.
History
The Template:Tlit has gone by various names, firstly the Template:Tlit (Template:Linktext), meaning willow leaf-shaped instrument. This was the original term for the Template:Tlit, which is an abbreviation of the term Template:Tlit. The other reference to the Template:Tlit is the Template:Tlit (Template:Lang), literally meaning unrefined Template:Tlit, because of the diminutive size and resemblance of the Template:Tlit to the Template:Tlit.
Throughout its history, the Template:Tlit came in variations ranging from two (which only had a range of one and a half octaves) to four strings. However, the earliest precursor of the modern four-stringed version of the instrument appeared and experienced popularity during the Qing dynasty. This version had two strings, and was only used for accompaniment purposes in traditional operas.
The two-stringed Template:Tlit remained in use for much of dynastic China from the Qing dynasty until the late 20th century. With the modernization of traditional Chinese music in the 1970s, the four-stringed Template:Tlit was developed as an improvement to its musical range, and the body of the instrument was enlarged to allow players to handle the instrument with greater ease.
Playing technique, tones and range
The playing technique is similar to that of the mandolin, using a plectrum and frequently using the tremolo technique. Its strings are either tuned in fifths, G-D-A-E (as a mandolin or violin), or else in a mixture of fourths and fifths, as for example G-D-G-D, which is the more common tuning employed by mainstream players of the Template:Tlit. This makes playing of the Template:Tlit exactly the same as the Template:Tlit, which is tuned an octave lower, hence players of either the Template:Tlit or the Template:Tlit can often double on both instruments.
Liuqin has a refreshing, jubilant and delicate tonal quality.
The modern Template:Tlit has four steel strings. Like the Template:Tlit, the number of the Template:Tlit's frets was increased from 7 to 29 over the course of the 20th century. These frets are arranged in half-step intervals. As the frets on all Chinese lutes are high, the fingers do not touch the instruments' bodies—distinctively different from western fretted instruments. This allows for a greater control over timbre and intonation than their western counterparts, but makes chordal playing (double, triple, quadruple stopping) more difficult.
Notable players of the Template:Tlit
- Wang Huiran (Template:Lang, 1936-2023),Template:Efn esteemed "Father of the Template:Tlit"
- Wang Hongyi (Template:Lang), daughter of Wang Huiran
- NiNi Music
- Mei Han, guzheng who doubles on Template:Tlit
Liuqin repertoire
Composed/ co-composed/ adapted by Wang Huiran (Template:Lang)
- Canal Works of Happiness
- Melody on a Moonlit River
- Sing a Mountain Song of Love
- Spring Comes to River Yi (Template:Lang)
- The Lark (Yun Que) Romanian Folk Music
- Warrior Suite
By other composers
- Sword Dance (Template:Lang)
- Beyond the Horizons (Template:Lang)
- Courtyard After The Rain (Template:Lang)
See also
Notes
References
Template:ReflistYu Yunfei,"The transition of liuqin's characters", Jiao Xiang-Journal of Xi'an Conservatory of Music, Mar.2005,90-92.
Wang Huiran,"The revolution of liuqin and its current situation", People's Music, May.2006,48-51.
External links
More information
On the instrument
- Liuqin photographs (first row)
- Liuqin
- Liu Qin (a Mp3 recording available here as well)
- Information on the liuqin (also includes information on other plucked-string instruments and notational description of instrumental tonal range)
On players of the liuqin
- Concert information on Wang Huiran
- Press release on Wang Hongyi
- Information on Wang Huiran and Wang Hongyi
Audio
- Liuqin Mp3s (click headphones to listen to individual tracks)
- Liuqin Mp3s on Yahoo! GeoCities
Template:Traditional Chinese musical instruments Template:Authority control