The biwa is a stringed instrument used in Japan as a sort of story telling method. The biwa strings are plucked with large wooden pick called bachi () that requires a full-handed grip. [21] During this time, Persian and Kuchan performers and teachers were in demand in the capital, Chang'an (which had a large Persian community). Multiple strings are often played in one pluck like an arpeggio. The sanxian (Mandarin for 'three strings') is a type off fretless plucked Chinese lutes. Beginning in the late 1960s, these musicians and composers began to incorporate Japanese music and Japanese instruments into their compositions; for example, one composer, Tru Takemitsu, collaborated with Western composers and compositions to include the distinctly Asian biwa. [29], There are many references to pipa in Tang literary works, for example, in A Music Conservatory Miscellany Duan Anjie related many anecdotes associated with pipa. The pipa, pp, or p'i-p'a (Chinese: ) is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. During the Song dynasty, many of the literati and poets wrote ci verses, a form of poetry meant to be sung and accompanied by instruments such as pipa. Further important collections were published in the 20th century. An early depiction of pipa player in a group of musicians. Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item, Title: In the Meiji period (1868-1912), sighted musicians created new styles of secular biwa narrative singing inspired by Kyushu ms traditions and introduced them to Tokyo. [61][33], During the Song dynasty, players mentioned in literary texts include Du Bin (). His well-received compositions, such as November Steps, which incorporated biwa heikyoku with Western orchestral performance, revitalized interest in the biwa and sparked a series of collaborative efforts by other musician in genres ranging from J-Pop and enka to shin-hougaku and gendaigaku. [32][33][34] A famous poem by Bai Juyi, "Pipa xing" (), contains a description of a pipa performance during a chance encounter with a female pipa player on the Yangtze River:[35]. The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. biwa, Japanese short-necked lute, distinguished by its graceful, pear-shaped body. Traditionally, the 2nd pitch either acts as a lower neighboring tone or a descending passing tone. The strings are made of wound silk. In Japan, the biwa is generally played with a bachi instead of the fingers, and is often used to play gagaku. The transmission parameter (product of propagation speed and Q value of the longitudinal wave along the wood grain .
biwa instrument classification