Chinese Music Instrument: Chinese Lute (the Pipa)

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The Pipa
The Pipa, also referred to as the "Chinese lute," is an antique instrument that is classy and whimsical, endearing, and able to adapt to traditional and contemporary sounds. The Pipa's origin dates back to the Han dynasty, around two thousand years ago, when a similar kind of musical instrument was introduced into China from Persia through the Silk Road. It has enjoyed wide acceptance throughout its long history, especially during the Tang dynasty and now again in our own time. Pipas' strings were once created using silk but are now mostly created from steel (Kuiper). Pipa players may pluck the silk chords either with a "fake finger" or bare fingers; on the other hand, Pipa with steel chords are mostly plucked with finger picks. It is plucked and played like a guitar, but it is held vertically, with the bottom on the player's lap and the neck at his or her shoulder. The name "pipa" was originally used to refer to two-finger movements. The Chinese expressions p'i and p'a describe the back and forth movements of playing the chords back and forwards ("Philmultic Management & Productions Inc). Therefore, it is now widely accepted that the name "pipa" was once a reference for an ancient pluck-string instrument.
The original Pipa has the remarkable shape of a pear with a brief neck made of a solid block of teak, while the soundboard is created of softwood. The six conical fret cliffs on the piece's neck are made of soft stone, and the twenty-five chords bonded to the soundboard are made of bamboo fibers. Four soft stone tuning pegs are affixed laterally to the curved, back-bending pegbox (Philmultic Management & Productions Inc). The four wires attached to these pegs cross over a fastener at the top of the fingerboard and are thus connected at the other end to a chord fastener attached to the face of the soundboard, which also serves as a bridge (Vetter and Austin). As a result, its description effectively sums up how it is built.
Pipa was a popular instrument among ordinary Chinese people, and it was used to accompany storytelling songs and regional opera, as well as in amateur orchestral bands throughout China (Vetter and Austin). The Pipa, which also has a close relationship with Buddhism, is frequently shown being held in the hands of Buddhists and was integrated into Buddhist narrative singing (Vetter and Austin). The Pipa, in the past, was used as a solo instrument and eventually contributed to it being a likely candidate for integration in the changing conservatory-based music hall culture during the twentieth century. The musical object itself is frequently decorated and viewed symbolically. For instance, every chord represents a period, and the finial at the top represents the year.
Pipa music has long been a favorite of the Chinese people. Many pipa schools with various styles thrived in the South, and the North around Beijing, during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The masters from each school came up with plucking styles for both hands to impressive levels (Philmultic Management & Productions Inc). The modern pipa techniques are largely a synthesis of those various schools. The Pipa is now one of China's most popular instruments.
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