Far-Eastern Musical Instruments
Lu
Sheng
A sheng is a musical wooden
Chinese
wind instrument,
usually consisting of 17 bamboo pipes set in a small wind-chest into which
one blows through a mouthpiece. Usually tuned in a pentatonic scale.
In the 18 century, a sheng was taken to Russia
and evolved into such instruments as the harmonica,
concertina,
harmonium,
and accordion.
Shakuachi
Japanese
end-blown flute, vertical bamboo pipe, with unknown origin. Usually played
as a solo instrument or accompanied by other Japanese traditional instruments,
such as the shamisen
or koto.
It has 4 front fingerholes and a rear thumbhole.
Koto
Originated in China,
during the 8th Century, the koto, a string instrument of the Zither family,
is regarded as Japan's
national instrument. In the past, the Koto was being used to entertain
officials in the Japanese royal court. Nowadays, it is used for both accompaniment
and solo performance in all levels of society.
Pipa
The pipa is a Chinese
short-necked lute
and goes back more than 2000 years, probably
originating in Central Asia.
It has 4 silk strings and 19 to 26 bamboo frets glued to the belly of the
lute. It is held vertically and plucked with fingernails. In the past,
the pipa was used for court entertainment.
Yuet Chin
Fretted instrument from China,
also called 'The Moon Guitar'. It has 4 silk metal strings and bamboo frets
on both neck and soundboard. Used to accompany singers, as an ensemble
instrument and in the traditional Chinese
opera of Peking.
Sanxian,
Shamisen
This is a 3-string plucked
instrument with snake skin heads and long
wooden neck. The strings are plucked with fingernails of the right hand.
Mostly used for accompanying singing. In Japan,
the Chinese
sanxian is also known as shamisen.
Morin Chur
The Morin chur (mongol. "horse
sounds") is the national instrument of Mongolia and one of its musical
symbols. It owes the name of "horse sounds" or "horse head
fiddle" to the carved horse head at the end of its long narrow neck.
The Morin chur is a 2-horsehair string plucked
instrument with a trapezoid body. Mostly used
for accompanying the singing of the South-Siberian folk singers of the
Tuva, which imitates tones of nature
and expresses their deep solidarity with their natural environment.
Images and sounds courtesy of
MusixCool© By
Nadav Dafni
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