This week's instrument is....
PiPa 琵琶
“琵”、“琶”是根据演奏这些乐器的右手技法而来的。
琵琶又称“批把。在古代，
敲、击
、弹、奏
都称为鼓。当时的游牧人骑在马上好弹琵琶，因此为“马上所鼓也”。大约在魏晋时期，正式称为“琵琶”。
据史料记载，直项琵琶在中国出现得较早，秦、汉时期的“秦汉子”，是直柄圆形共鸣箱的直项琵琶（共鸣箱两面蒙皮），它是由秦末的弦鼗发展而来的。
到了公元五、六世纪随着中国与西域民族商业和文化交流的加强, 从中亚地区传入一种曲项琵琶, 当时称作 "胡琵琶"。。
中国古代诗词中有大量的记载。例如唐代诗人白居易在他的著名诗篇《琵琶行》中非常形象地对琵琶演奏及其音响效果这样的描述:“大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私语。嘈嘈切切错杂弹，大珠小珠落玉盘"。
到了唐代后期，在演奏技法上最突出的改革是由横抱演奏变为竖抱演奏， 由手指直接演奏取代了用拨子演奏。同时它的颈部加宽，下部共鸣箱由宽变窄， 便于左手按下部音位。由于以上这俩项改革，琵琶演奏技法得到了空前的发展。据统计琵琶的指法共有五六十种。归纳起来，右手指法分两个系统： 一、轮指系统，二、弹挑系统。左手指法也分两个系统：一、按指系统， 二、推拉系统。
到了公元二十世纪中后期，琵琶艺术又有了新的发展，在琵琶制作方面，原来用的丝质弦改成了尼龙钢丝弦，有的甚至采用银弦， 加大了琵琶音量和共鸣。在技法上左手大拇指以及和弦的运用使琵琶的表现力再次大大提高。
The pipa - the Chinese lute - is a four-stringed plucked instrument originally designed to be played on horseback, and was introduced by the nomadic races of Central Asia in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 25 AD). Its name came from the two techniques for right-handed strumming: "pi"
枇 (leftward) and "pa"
杷 (rightward). There are 19 to 26 bamboo frets glued on its soundboard, which together with the 6 upper ledges are arranged as stops. In its original form, the pipa was played horizontally with a large plectrum on silk strings, and often had five strings. In the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), it became popular to play the pipa vertically or diagonally, with the fingers or fingernails. The five-stringed pipa ceased to be played during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD).
Most pipa now use steel strings and are played with the fingernails. To avoid damaging the nails, plastic extensions are often taped to the fingers. Because it has a resonant, crisp, clear and enchanting timbre, the pipa is probably the best known among China's many plucked instruments. It also spread to Japan, where it was modified as the biwa. It has a wide range of playing techniques and is used commonly as a solo, ensemble and orchestral instrument.
Shu Yan
EVGRuanRuanFamily 4:06 AM
