1.我的生日四月三号。
2.我太兴奋了。
3.我是二十一岁！
4.好长时间没上网，你是不是功课很忙啊？
5.好好学习，天天向上！
While the dizi (笛子) is the common Chinese transverse flute, the xiao (箫) is the long flute. It is played as a Western recorder, meaning that it is an end-blown flute. Painted xiao players can be seen on pots from the Han dynasty and on brick tomb walls from the Wei and Jin period (220-240). Nowadays, it is usually made from nine-joint black bamboo and has eight finger holes. Six are placed near the front with one at the rear and two air holes at the end.
Tones created with the xiao are soft and suitable for either solo performances or accompaniment. The term long-feng xiao refers to two coupled flutes engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns.
Source:
http://www.melodyofchina.com/06instruments/xiao.html
Performances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-pjlgQhcqc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfhHqQPxgs&feature=related
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
中文课 Blog Post #5
1.上个周末你做了吗？
2.对不起，好久没有我跟你写。
3.你网上吗?
4.你给我发送电子邮件。
5.我念跟你说话。
I didn't know this next instrument existed until I started searching for new ideas. It is called the Sheng (笙) and it resembles a cross between a pipe organ and a pan flute. In fact, many Westerners call it the "Chinese mouth organ." It was first made during the Zhou dynasty around 551 BC and exists as one of the world's oldest instruments. It was also the first instrument utilizing a "coupled acoustical system," meaning it uses both air columns and free reeds. It usually is made with 17 to 36 pipes on a small wind chamber with a free brass reed at the base through which air is blown to make sound. The player determines which notes are played by pressing on small keys near the base to select which pipes receive the air. They can cover two or more holes on various pipes in order to make chords, a common technique used by regional orchestras in China. It's the only Chinese instrument that can play up to six notes at the same time.
Performances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0HSidnmptQ&feature=related
Links:http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Music/mus-sheng.html
Friday, March 19, 2010
中文课 Blog Post #4
1.昨天我回学校，去动画公约 (anime convention) 以后。
2.那很娱乐可是我太累了。
3.明天我想跟你说。
4.你周末好不好？
5.今天我沒有空儿.
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I kind of lost track of time. For two months, haha.
The dizi (笛子) is a Chinese transverse flute, which basically means it's a type of flute in which the key holes and the hole in which the breath is blown are placed in the side of a long tube. A distinctive feature of the dizi is called the membrane hole, which is a hole in the body of the flute which can be covered up by verious membranes to produce different sounds. They are usually made of bamboo and have a mellow sound that is different from most wooden or plastic recorders.
The origin of the dizi extends back into the neolithic period, when it was the gu di (bone flute). That would date the instrument's development process to around 8000 years! Over time, the dizi became a favorite of the Chinese as a solo or an accompaniment instrument. Confusius was said to have written six Classics for the dizi during the Han Dynasty two thousand years ago. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1662 AC) was when the dizi gained its largest amount of popularity because of the rise of the Kunqu Opera. Since then, it is recognized as the standard flute in China.
The dizi is also categorized into types by length and material.
Performances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxsOks4V35w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFM0pd9APds&feature=related
Sources:
http://www.chinese-flute.com/
2.那很娱乐可是我太累了。
3.明天我想跟你说。
4.你周末好不好？
5.今天我沒有空儿.
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I kind of lost track of time. For two months, haha.
The dizi (笛子) is a Chinese transverse flute, which basically means it's a type of flute in which the key holes and the hole in which the breath is blown are placed in the side of a long tube. A distinctive feature of the dizi is called the membrane hole, which is a hole in the body of the flute which can be covered up by verious membranes to produce different sounds. They are usually made of bamboo and have a mellow sound that is different from most wooden or plastic recorders.
The origin of the dizi extends back into the neolithic period, when it was the gu di (bone flute). That would date the instrument's development process to around 8000 years! Over time, the dizi became a favorite of the Chinese as a solo or an accompaniment instrument. Confusius was said to have written six Classics for the dizi during the Han Dynasty two thousand years ago. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1662 AC) was when the dizi gained its largest amount of popularity because of the rise of the Kunqu Opera. Since then, it is recognized as the standard flute in China.
The dizi is also categorized into types by length and material.
Performances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxsOks4V35w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFM0pd9APds&feature=related
Sources:
http://www.chinese-flute.com/
Sunday, January 31, 2010
中文课 Blog Post #3
A。星期四你回家吗？
B。请你说慢一点！
A。对不起。昨天我买一件丝绸外衣。我太激动了。
B。你穿在那里？
A。下个星期是我的姐姐的婚礼。那个天我穿了。
I'll be talking about the liuqin (柳琴) this time around, which is a tear-shaped lute from China. It was actually invented very recently in the 1950s. It is a smaller version of the pipa and has four strings which give it a similar sound to a mandolin. The player plucks the strings with a piece of spectrum. The liuqin often takes the role as lead instrument in ensembles (it's high-pitched sound easily stands out). It is a popular choice for Chinese folk music and opera. In recent decades, Composer Wang Huiran made significant contributions to its development and and wrote several pieces that feature the liuqin as a solo instrument.
Construction includes a variety of materials including bone, wood, and decorative plastics. Originally, the liuqin was made from willow. Professional-quality instruments are made from sandalwood and rosewood. The frets (the small bars seen beneath the strings) are made out of bamboo to give the strings a great sound and timbre.
Here are more youtube links to professional performances:
Sources:
Monday, January 25, 2010
中文课 Blog Post #2
1。她想买一件中好的旗袍。
2。她见好在一件旗袍。
3。你见了她在一件吗？
4。是。她很漂亮。现在她得买一双鞋。
5。她应该买红一双。
The sound body resembles a drum-case that is usually made of ebony, sandalwood, and snake skins. The front opening is usually covered with python skin while the back is left open for the circulation of sound and amplification of string resonance. The strings (which are made of silk or nylon) are most commonly tuned to D and A. The artist changes the pitch by touching the strings at different areas along the long wooden neck. The bow is 76 cm long and is made of reed which is curved during cooking. The bow's strings are arched the same way as the strings of a violin.
Interestingly, it emits a sound similar to a human voice. It can also be made to imitate birds or horses. It can play either sad or happy tunes.
The first of these links is an informational page with yourube videos at the bottom. I've also supplied another video in which an erhu is played in accompaniment with a yangqin.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
中文202 Blog #1
A。这条裤子跟那条裤子一样贵。
B。那这一件旗袍的呢？
A。这一件旗袍太大了，可是颜色好。
B。找您五十一块四毛一。谢谢。
A。什么，什么？不过我不买了！
While thinking about what exactly I wanted to write about this semester for these class blogs, a song popped into my head that just so happened to have a Chinese string instrument. I knew it was Chinese in origin but I didn't know it's name or what it really looked like. I started doing some searching around Youtube and found that it was a 扬琴 (yangqin) or a Chinese hammered dulcimer. It is a string instrument with a nearly square soundboard that is played with two bamboo sticks. It first appeared in China during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and quickly became one of China's most popular artistic traditions. Some believe that it may have been introduced via the Silk Road or by the sea through the port of Guangzhou, but others think that the instrument was invented by the Chinese without foreign influence.
The yangqin has around 200 strings that are struck using bamboo sticks with rubber around the end. Because of its broad range of sound, it can be played as a solo part or as an accompaniment in an ensemble or with a singer in an opera. I've linked to some performances as well as an article that goes into the more technical aspects of the instruments. No doubt you'll recognize the sound from a movie. :)
Sources:
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