Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Possible sanxian (left) and pipa, from a 762-827 A.D. painting in the Mogao caves near Dunhuang―Grotto 46 Left interior wall, second panel. Also called cave 112. It has been suggested that sanxian, a form of spike lute, may have its origin in the Middle East, and older forms of spike lute were also found in ancient Egypt. [1]
Sanxian – plucked lute with body covered with snakeskin and long fretless neck; the ancestor of the Japanese shamisen Duxianqin ( simplified Chinese : 独弦琴 ; traditional Chinese : 獨弦琴 ) – the instrument of the Jing people (Vietnamese people in China), a plucked, monochord zither with only one string, tuned to C3.
The sanxian family of instruments is very large, with different variants used in different tribes in China. The orchestra often uses dasanxian (da, lit. large) has a soundbox covered on both sides with python skin. Its sound is forceful, penetrating and articulated; in fact, a single sanxian can be clearly heard even in a 70-member orchestra.
Instead of having a set tuning, such as on a guitar (i.e. E, A, D, G, B, E) or a violin (i.e. G, D, A, E), the shamisen is tuned according to the register of the singer, or simply to the liking of the player. The shamisen player can tune the shamisen to whatever register desired, so long as the above conventions are followed.
Sanxian – plucked lute with three strings, the small "southern" type is used, tuned to D3, A3, D4. Qinqin – plucked lute, tuned to D3, A3, (optional 3rd string is tuned to D3) Guban – Wooden clapper and small drum (biqigu, diangu, or huaigu) Several other instruments sometimes are also used:
The pierced lute had a neck made from a stick that pierced the body (as in the ancient Egyptian long-neck lutes, and the modern African gunbrī [7]). [8] The long lute had an attached neck, and included the sitar, tanbur and tar: the dutār had two strings, setār three strings, čārtār four strings, pančtār five strings. [5] [6]
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Lutes are stringed musical instruments that include a body and "a neck which serves both as a handle and as a means of stretching the strings beyond the body". [1]The lute family includes not only short-necked plucked lutes such as the lute, oud, pipa, guitar, citole, gittern, mandore, rubab, and gambus and long-necked plucked lutes such as banjo, tanbura, bağlama, bouzouki, veena, theorbo ...