chinese string instrument??

[Sune]

What kind of string instrument is it that you hear in most chinese instrumental music?? It sounds like a kind of guitar, but it has a special sound to it.. I think it's very beautiful, and I would like to know if anybody knows what it is, because it could be interesting to learn how to play one. The music is very relaxing and good to listen to if you want to get rid of stress etc.

I know this isn't much of a description, but maybe someone will know what it is.. I was watching a documentary with people travelling in China, and this kind of music played in the background, very beautiful.

 

[nuntius]

Re: chinese string instrument??

Koto perhaps?

 

[Sune]

Re: chinese string instrument??

That could be, but it sounded like a kind of guitar, because it sounded like someone playing a run of notes down a fretboard or whatever, but it has a slighty different sound than a guitar.

 

[bryvincent]

Re: chinese string instrument??

just google it!

 

[Sune]

Re: chinese string instrument??

Ahh, sorry, didn't think about that, lol

I wonder if those chinese guitars are expensive?? they sound beautiful.

 

[More-Gear-Than-Skill]

Re: chinese string instrument??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang-Ch'in

These are also very nice. Dead Can Dance use them on the Toward the Within concert, very haunting and exotic.

 

[pac112]

Re: chinese string instrument??

one of the more famous intruments played in the olden days is called the er-hu. IIRC it has 4 strings and has snake skin on it for resonance.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: chinese string instrument??

What kind of string instrument is it that you hear in most chinese instrumental music?? It sounds like a kind of guitar, but it has a special sound to it.. I think it's very beautiful, and I would like to know if anybody knows what it is, because it could be interesting to learn how to play one. The music is very relaxing and good to listen to if you want to get rid of stress etc.

I know this isn't much of a description, but maybe someone will know what it is.. I was watching a documentary with people travelling in China, and this kind of music played in the background, very beautiful.

Weird. I just read your post this morning (my time), but at the same time you placed this post I was downloading from iTunes my first set of koto tunes. I wanted something peaceful to fall asleep to and I knew the koto would do that.

Again, weird.

 

[Sune]

Re: chinese string instrument??

Haha, yeah, that's just coincidences man.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: chinese string instrument??

Haha, yeah, that's just coincidences man.

Yeah, I know, but such a weird coincidence. Your post and my purchase happened within minutes of each other and I wasn't even on the forum at the time. I was watching "Kill Bill, Vol. 2" earlier that night and found some of that music soothing but wanted something traditional. I knew the koto was what I wanted. At the very same time you were wondering what the instrument was that I just happened to have stuck in my head.

Jung (and Sting) would tell you it's not coincidence -- it's SYNCHRONICITY!

 

[bryvincent]

Re: chinese string instrument??

though its related(and similar) to other asian istruments( Chinese ch'in, Korean komun'go and the Vietnamese dan tranh), the Koto is a Japanese instrument

 

[Sune]

Re: chinese string instrument??

Oh, well.. I'm not sure it's the exact same instrument as I'm thinking about because the music I heard was in a documentary about China.

 

[rguser]

Re: chinese string instrument??

I am pretty sure what you heard was "guzheng".
here's a page with mp3's!
http://people.smu.edu/lzhu/guzheng/guzheng.html

 

[Vincent]

Re: chinese string instrument??

I second the er-hu.

I'm chinese myself, and I've noticed that most 'relaxing' videos depicting life in China typically have 'er-hu' music in the background.

Then again, the Er Hu does kinda sound a bit like a violin. If Eric Johnson were Chinese, that's what he would play....

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: chinese string instrument??

Damn, that guzheng is some wicked f*ucking relaxing sh*t. Thanks for the link, rguser.

 

[rguser]

Re: chinese string instrument??

as much as I like er-hu it can never be mistaken as a guitar since it makes notes with a bow instead of picking. guzheng on the other hand needs to be picked and has the tonal range between a guitar and a bass.
google the word "guzheng" and there is ton of links and mp3s out there.

 

[Amateur]

Re: chinese string instrument??

one of the more famous intruments played in the olden days is called the er-hu. IIRC it has 4 strings and has snake skin on it for resonance.

I thought the er-hu has only two strings. That's why the "er", which means two in Chinese.

There are quite a few Chinese string instruments that can give very distinctive plucking sounds like the guitar. The pipa plays almost like a guitar but its strings give kind of a darker sound. The guzheng is played with finger picks and can be very relaxing to listen to. The player glides his/her thump pick over the string to give it a run once a while but is not able to play the same note repeatedly very fast. The yangqin is played with a pick and can produce really fast and short notes if required. If it is a slow and relaxing tune, it is usually played with the guzheng. The pipa player will usually show off with a bunch of fast finger picking runs and string bends at the same time while a yangqin player will usually show off with a run of fast and bright notes especially repeated notes.

The er-hu plays kind of like a viola because of its dark tone. However, since its strings are set much higher than the viola, the player can really bend the strings and make what some people called a crying tone. You really have to listen to it and appreciate how delicate the bending is in order to get that certain note sound right and so bluzzy.