The Plucked-Stringed section contains the yangqin, guzheng, ruan and many more. The purpose of this section is to provide some "feeling" to the music. The instruments here are often used in slow, graceful music. However, this section can also be quite loud (especially the yangqin and guzheng), so it can also be used to play very loud and/or fast music.
One more fact about the Plucked-Stringed section: The Ruan's music is so soft that there needs to be at least 7 ruans for a just a moderately loud piece.
The most well-known instruments in this section are:
The not-so-well-known instruments in this section are the:
The Pipa is the Chinese Lute. It has 4 strings. It originated during the Ming dynasty. When it first came, the Pipa had only 4 bridges, but now, modern musicians have modified the Pipa so that it has 31 bridges! Even though it has so many bridges, the Pipa is quite easy to play. The player wears special long "fingernails" (more commonly referred to as plectras) to pluck the strings. A lot of playing techniques have developed over the centuries (there are over 40 playing techniques for the right hand, and over 10 for the left hand). One of them is strumming. The pipa is considered one of the most expressive instruments in the orchestra, becuase it is able to prouduce sounds of a war or a soft, gentle, love song. The timbre is bright and lyrical.
The Ruan is the Chinese Guitar. Because of its shape, a lot of people like to call it the "Moon Guitar". The Ruan is circular shaped, and comes in a variety of sizes to alter the pitch of the music. The Ruan also uses specially cultivated "fingernails" to play it. The most common and well-known types of ruans are the zhongruan, daruan, diruan and the xiaoruan. The timbre of the zhongruan is mellow and lyrical, the timbre of the daruan is rich and lyrical; and the timbre of the xiaoruan is sweet and lyrical.
The Ruan is equipped with 4 strings.
The Yangqin is the Chinese Hammered Dulcimer. The Yangqin consists of 25-30 strings stretched across a trapezoidal soundbox. It is placed on a table with one side missing and with a pattern with holes in it so the player's legs and feet are visible in the gap beind the table. The Yangqin is probably a replica of the Persian (which is now Iran) santur or some other kind of instrument because yangqin means: Foreign (yang) Instrument (qin). When the Yangqin first appeared in China during the Ming dynasty, it had 40 to 50 strings. Now, modern musicians have modified it and now it has 25 to 30 strings. Some people say that the Yangqin is the most beautiful sounding instrument in the Chinese Orchestra. When it first came, the Yangqin used silk strings like the Guzheng. Now, modern musicians have changed the silk strings to steel strings because silk strings don't sound as nice as steel strings. Now, most Yangqin's have silk & steel strings to make different sounds at the same time. The sound that it produces is metallic, resembling the harpsichord. The lower notes have copper wound around the strings to increase their resonance. The higher registers make a high, tinkling tone when struck. The middle registers produce a sweet, soft and beautiful tone when struck and the lower registers produce a strong, rich sound when struck. The timbre of the yangqin is bright and lyrical.
The sticks of the yangqin are made of thin pieces of bamboo with a "claw" shaped part at the end for striking the strings. A piece of rubber is fitted over the bottom of the "claw" so as not to damage the stick or the strings when hit. The sticks, aka the qinzhu, are held with the thumb on top of the index finger, forming a circle or an oval. The middle, fourth and little finger relax while the index finger and thumb hold the stick tightly. Only the wrist moves.
The Guzheng is the Chinese Zither and to some, the Chinese Harp. The Guzheng consists of 21 strings stretched across a horizontal soundbox. It is placed on a table or on the player's lap. The Guzheng is played using "fingernails" similar to those of the Pipa and Ruan. The right hand plucks the strings while the left hand adjusts and moves the bridges to change tone. When the player plucks the strings quickly on the right side of the bridge, going upwards or downwards, the strings produce the sound of a harp or a glissando (or flowing water). When the player plucks the strings on the left of the bridge, upwards or downwards, the strings produce a sound like the Devil. To stop excessive echoes, the player uses the left hand to damp the strings. Because of its low volume, the Guzheng is very seldom used in the orchestra. It sounds better when a few Guzhengs play together, without the rest of the orchestra. The timbre is mellow, sweet and lyrical.
The Liuqin or Liuyueqin has the highest pitch of all the instruments in the plucked-stringed section. Because of its pitch, the Liuqin is often used in very gentle music. The Liuqin is also plucked with a plectrum like the Pipa and Ruan. It has 25 bridges and 4 strings. The liuqin is also a very expressive instrument, able to produce sounds that sound like a thousand soldiers and horses are fighting, or a sweet, soothing melody. Another fact about the Liuqin (this is not important) is that my Chinese tutor played it! The timbre of the Liuqin is soft, mellow and lyrical.
The Konghou is the Chinese version of the Harp. The Konghou looks just like the harp in a symphony orchestra and is played in exactly the same way, but with a plectrum. The only things that are different is the tone and that the Konghou uses a plectrum: The tone of a Western Orchestra's harp is bright and melodious, but the tone of the Konghou is strong, rich and low. There are three types of Konghou:
The timbre is ??? (see above).
The Guqin is the Chinese ???. The guqin has seven strings. The player places to Guqin on his/her lap and uses plectras to pluck the strings. The Guqin usually has about 5 strings stretched across a horizontal sound box. Like the Guzheng, to change the tone, the player has to bend the strings a little. Ancient scholars had to be able to do three things:
The yueqin, which translates into "moon guitar", sounds a lot like the ruan. The yueqin has four strings, and looks like a ruan without sound holes. The timbre is bright and clear.
The duoxianqin, which literally translates into "one-string-instrument", has, you guessed it: only one string. The player uses one hand to pluck the string while the other hand is used to press on different parts of the string to change note. Since the duoxianqin's range is not very broad, it is very seldom used in the orchestra. The timbre is mellow.
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