The biwa (琵琶) is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The angélique (French from Italian angelica) is a plucked string instrument of the Lute family of the baroque era The archlute (Italian arciliuto, German Erzlaute, Russian Архилютня) is a European plucked String instrument developed around 1600 The balalaika (балала́йка) (also Balabaika балаба́йка - is a stringed instrument of Russian origin with a characteristic triangular body and The barbat is a Lute of ancient Persian origin History The barbat originated in Persia in ancient times and was refined during the The bağlama is a stringed Musical instrument shared by various Cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central The bouzouki ( gr το μπουζούκι pl. τα μπουζούκια (plural sometimes transliterated as bouzoukia) is the mainstay of modern This article is about an instrument For the album by British Trip-Hop band Morcheeba, see Charango. Chitarra Italiana is a Lute -shaped plucked instrument with 4 or 5 single (sometimes double strings in a tuning similar to that of guitar The daguangxian ( literally "large wide string " is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the Huqin family of instruments The đàn tỳ bà is a Vietnamese traditional plucked String instrument. The dombra is a long-necked Stringed instrument possessing a wooden resonating chamber somewhat similar to a Banjo Not to be confused with Dombra The domra (Russian language домра is a long-necked Russian String instrument The dutar ( Persian: دو تار, Uzbek: dutor (also dotar or doutar) is a traditional long-necked two-stringed Lute The erhu ( also called nanhu ( 南[[wikt 胡|胡]] "southern fiddle" and sometimes known in the West as the "Chinese The Irish bouzouki (colloquially the "zouk" is a derivative of the Greek Bouzouki. The liuqin ( 柳琴; Pinyin: liǔqín) is a four-stringed Chinese Lute with a pear-shaped body Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from The mandocello (mandoloncello, liuto cantabile or liuto moderno is a Plucked string instrument of the Mandolin family The mandola (US and Canada or tenor mandola (Europe Ireland and UK is a fretted stringed Musical instrument. A mandolin is a musical instrument in the Lute family (plucked or strummed The oud ( عود ʿūd, plural أعواد, a‘wād; kaban; Persian: بربط barbat; ud The pandura is an ancient String instrument from the Mediterranian basin The pipa ( is a plucked Chinese String instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese Lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body Rubab or Robab ( Rūbāb, Hindi: रुबाब is a Lute -like musical instrument from Afghanistan. Setar ( Persian: سه تار, from seh, meaning "three" and tār, meaning "string" is a Persian musical instrument The sitar ( Hindi: सितार Urdu: ستار Persian: سی تار) is a Plucked stringed instrument. The Surbahar ( Hindi: सुर बहार also known as bass sitar) is a Plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music The term tanbūr ( Persian: تنبور) can refer to various long-necked Fretted Lutes originating in the Middle East Tanbur (spelled Tambur in keeping with TDK conventions is a fretted string instrument of Turkey and the former lands of the Ottoman Empire The tembûr, a Fretted String instrument, is a form of tanbūr. A theorbo (tiorba also tuorbe; tiorba Theorbe is a plucked string instrument A tiorbino, a little Theorbo ( tiorbo in Italian is a rare stringed instrument a type of long-necked Lute resembling a Theorbo but significantly The tiqin ( is a name applied to several two-stringed Chinese bowed string instruments in the Huqin family of instruments Topshur (Топшур in the Cyrillic alphabet of the Altayans) is a two-stringed plucked or strummed lute played by the Altayans. Veena (also spelled 'vina' Kannada: ವೀಣ Malayalam: വീണ Tamil: வீணா Telugu: వీణ is a Plucked stringed For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from The pipa ( is a plucked Chinese String instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese Lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, Goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Buddhism. Benzaiten ( 弁[[wiktionary 才|才]] 天, 弁[[wiktionary 財|財]] 天) is the Japanese name of the goddess Saraswati; there The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods namely the Nara period (up to 784 the Heian period (794–1185 and the post-Heian period
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History
The biwa derives from a Chinese lute called pipa, which itself derives from a Persian/Middle Eastern lute called barbat (whose modern descendant in Arabic regions is called oud). The barbat is a Lute of ancient Persian origin History The barbat originated in Persia in ancient times and was refined during the The oud ( عود ʿūd, plural أعواد, a‘wād; kaban; Persian: بربط barbat; ud The biwa reached Japan from China during the Nara Period (710-759 AD), and five instruments from that time are kept in the Shōsōin, the national treasure house of Japan. The of the History of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. The is the treasure house that belongs to Tōdai-ji, Nara The building is in the azekura log-cabin style with a raised floor One of them, a rare, five-stringed gogenbiwa (五玄琵琶), is decorated with Central Asian themes, including a camel. Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south This instrument is literally one of its kind in Asia, being the only one preserved from the period, although similar instruments are manufactured in small numbers today. Wandering biwa players, similar to minstrels, were known as biwa hōshi (琵琶法師). minstrel was a medieval European Bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events Biwa hōshi (琵琶法師 also known as "lute priests" were travelling performers in the era of Japanese
The playing of the biwa nearly became extinct during the Meiji period as Western music and instruments became popular. The, or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July
Types of biwa
There are seven types of biwa, chacterized by number of strings, sounds it could produce, type of plectrum, and their use. Often called a pick or plec, a plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. As the biwa does not play in tempered tuning, pitches are approximated to the nearest note. Equal temperament is a Musical temperament, or a system of tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical Frequency ratio.
Classic biwa
- Gagaku biwa (雅楽琵琶) - A large and heavy biwa with four strings and four frets used exclusively for gagaku. Gagaku (ja [[wiktionary雅 雅]][[wiktionary楽 楽]] literally "elegant music" is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court It produces distinctive Ichikotsuchō (壱越調) and Hyōjō (平調). Its plectrum is small and thin, often rounded, and made from a hard material such as boxwood or ivory. Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, It is not used to accompany singing. Like the heike biwa, it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. In gagaku, it is called gakubiwa (楽琵琶).
- Gogenbiwa (五絃琵琶) - This T'ang variant of Biwa can be seen in paintings of court orchestras and was used in the context of gagaku, however was removed with the reforms and standardisations made to the court orchestra during the late 10th Century. Gagaku (ja [[wiktionary雅 雅]][[wiktionary楽 楽]] literally "elegant music" is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court It is assumed that the performance traditions died out by the 10th or 11th century (William P. Malm). This is instrument also disappeared in the Chinese court orchestras. Recently, this instrument, much like the Kugo harp has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. Not to be confused with the five-stringed variants of modern biwa, such as chikuzen biwa.
- Mōsō biwa (盲僧琵琶) - A biwa with four strings used to play Buddhist mantra and songs. A mantra ( Devanāgarī मन्त्र (or mantram is a religious or mystical syllable or poem typically from the Sanskrit language It is similar in shape to the chikuzen biwa but with a much more narrow body. Its plectrum varies in both size and materials. The four fret type is tuned to E, B, E, A, and the five fret type is tuned to B, e, f-sharp, and f-sharp. The six fret type is tuned to B-flat, E-flat, B-flat, and b-flat.
Middle and Edo biwa
- Heike biwa (平家琵琶) - A biwa with four strings and five frets used to play Heike Monogatari. The Tale of the Heike ( Heike monogatari, 平家物語 is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto Clans Its plectrum is slightly larger than that of the gagaku biwa, but the instrument itself is much smaller, comparable to a Chikuzen biwa in size. It was originally used by traveling biwa minstrels, and its small size lent it to indoor play and improved portability. Its tuning is A, c, e, a or A, c-sharp, e, a.
- Satsuma biwa (薩摩琵琶) - A biwa with four strings and four frets popularized during the Edo Period in Satsuma Province (present day Kagoshima) by Shimazu Nisshinsai. The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 This article is about the province For alternative meanings of the word Satsuma, see Satsuma (disambiguation was an old province is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the Kyūshū island of Japan, and the largest city in the prefecture by some Modern biwas used for contemporary compositions often have five or more frets, and some have a doubled fourth string. The frets of the Satsuma biwa are raised 4 centimeters from the neck allowing notes to be bent several steps higher, each one producing the instrument's characteristic sawari, or buzzing drone. Its boxwood plectrum is much wider than others, often reaching widths of 25 centimeters or more. According to popular belief, this was due to its popularity among samurai - the plectrum having to double as a weapon (William P. is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial Japan. Malm, Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments), although its size and construction influences the sound of the instrument as the curved body is often struck percussively with the plectrum during play. The Satsuma biwa is traditionally made from Japanese mulberry, although other hard woods such as Japanese zelkova are sometimes used in its construction. Zelkova serrata ( Keyaki or Japanese Zelkova; Korean: 느티나무 neutinamu; Japanese: ケヤキ keyaki Due to the slow growth of the Japanese mulberry, the wood must be taken from at least a 120 year old tree and dried for ten years before construction can begin. The strings are made of wound silk. Notes are adjusted to the player's voice and its tuning is A, E, A, B, for traditional biwa, G, G, c, g, or G, G, d, g for contemporary compositions, among many other tunings. The most eminent 20th century Satsuma biwa performer was Tsuruta Kinshi, who developed her own version of the instrument, which she called the Tsuruta biwa. was an eminent Japanese musician of the 20th century She specialized in the ancient pear-shaped plucked lute called Biwa, and also sang This biwa usually has five strings and five or more frets, and the construction of the tuning head and frets vary slightly. Ueda Junko and Tanaka Yukio, two of Tsuruta's best students, continue the tradition of the modern Satsuma biwa.
Modern biwa
- Chikuzen biwa (筑前琵琶) - A biwa with four strings and four frets or five strings and five frets popularized in the Meiji Period by Tachibana Satosada. The, or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July Most contemporary performers use the five string version. Its plectrum is much smaller than that of the Satsuma biwa, usually about 13 centimeters in width, although its size, shape, and weight depends on the sex of the player. The plectrum is usually made from rosewood with boxwood or ivory tips for plucking the strings. The instrument itself also varies in size, depending on the player. Male players use biwas that are slightly wider and/or longer than those used by females or children. The body of the instrument is never struck with the plectrum during play, and the five string instrument is played upright, while the four string is played held on its side. The tuning of the four string version is B, e, f-sharp, b and the five string instrument is tuned C, G, C, d, g or E, B, e, f-sharp, b. Asahikai and Tachibanakai are two schools of chikuzen biwa. Popularly used by female biwa players such as Uehara Mari.
- Nishiki biwa (錦琵琶) - A modern biwa with five strings and five frets popularized by Suitō Kinjō. Its plectrum is the same as that used for the Satsuma biwa. Its tuning is C, G, c, g, g.
Teachers
- Suda Seishu (須田誠舟)
Use in popular music
Although the biwa has been little used in popular music, the Japanese progressive rock band Paikappu used it in the 1980s, and the Japanese American pop music group Rin' has used it since 2003. Rin' is a Japanese popular music group which combines traditional Japanese instruments and style with elements of modern pop and rock music Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.
External links
- Introduction to the Hei-kyoku
- Biwa page from Kotos and More
- Images of Historical reconstruction performances - Includes one image of a woman playing Gogenbiwa
Video
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