how is the biwa played

The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. The strings are tuned in fourths, and the melody is played almost exclusively on the highest pitched string.

Full Answer

How do you play a biwa?

How do you play Biwa? The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. The strings are tuned in fourths, and the melody is played almost exclusively on the highest pitched string.

What is a biwa?

The biwa is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime during the Nara period (710-794).

What are some movies with strings from a biwa?

One movie whose score contained strings from a biwa is the film “Seppuku”, which was shot in 1962. Surely, it is also used to score background music for some Japanese television shows and anime.

When did Biwa start and end?

From roughly the Meiji period (1868–1912) until the Pacific War, the satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa were popular across Japan, and, at the beginning of the Showa period (1925–1989), the nishiki-biwa was created and gained popularity. Of the remaining post-war biwa traditions, only higo-biwa remains a style almost solely performed by blind persons.

How is a biwa tuned?

Tuning. The biwa sounds as written, and it is tuned to an A-430Hz. The strings are numbered from the lowest (first string) to the highest (fourth string). The tuning of the strings changes according to the piece's mode.

What sound does a biwa make?

Along with the rich, percussive sounds of the wood striking these silk strings, the biwa is known for its distinctive buzz (sawari), which is produced when the string comes into contact with the hard wood of the neck.

When was the biwa used?

The Biwa, Japan's plucked lute, is descended from the Chinese pipa in the 7th century. In Japan it was first used in court music (gaku-biwa), then in a smaller version by Buddhist monks (moso-biwa).

How is the shamisen played?

Bent your right hand in a circle, and gently hold a bachi. Relax your right hand, holding a bachi as if holding an egg. Place your thumb on the mountain edge of bachi, and hold another side of bachi with your index, middle and the third fingers in a line softly. Your thumb and little fingers are on the same side.

What do biwa players need when playing?

To play the biwa, you will need a plectrum – or in Japanese, “bachi”, which is a flat and flexible, triangular wedge that helps the player pluck the strings. Depending on the type of biwa you use, the subtleties in the design and material of the plectrum vary.

Which European musical instrument is most like the biwa?

The biwa is thought to have originated in China and before that western Asia and is similar in design to the ancient European lute.

What instrument family is biwa in?

lute familyBiwa (biwa, biba, pipa) is one of the stringed instruments of the lute family in East Asia.

What is the musical instrument of Philippines?

In the Philippines, it is quite possible to see instruments such as flat gongs, bamboo cymbals, flaps, feather-shaped percussion pipes, and brass Jewish harps. In addition to all these, boss gongs, ring flutes, log drums, xylophones, single-string violins, and hanging stringers are used in the south.

How do you play sanxian?

It is played by plucking the strings either with the fingernails of the right hand or with a plectrum. Sanxian performance is characterized by powerful, resonant rolls and chords and large glissandos. It is popular in theatrical accompaniment, ballad-singing accompaniment, and the orchestra.

How do you play shakuhachi?

1:454:48How to play shakuhachi - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWhat you want to do with your jaw just slightly relaxed is lift the shakuhachi. Until you feel theMoreWhat you want to do with your jaw just slightly relaxed is lift the shakuhachi. Until you feel the sharp blowing edge in between your lips and then you will tilt the shakuhachi.

What instrument does Kubo play?

shamisenIn “Kubo and the Two Strings,” opening Friday, Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) must battle a demon with help from his magical shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument. It won't be the first time a cinematic ax packs a musical punch.

What is a biwa?

The biwa is the Japanese version of a lute. A lute a string instrument that is plucked to produce sound. Its neck can be both unfretted as well as fretted, leading to a signature head that bends backward. It's cavity or sound hole (in most lutes) dips deeply and is encased with a rounded back.

What do you need to play a biwa?

To play the biwa, you will need a plectrum – or in Japanese, “bachi”, which is a flat and flexible, triangular wedge that helps the player pluck the strings. Depending on the type of biwa you use, the subtleties in the design and material of the plectrum vary.

Why did the Satsuma Biwa play?

The satsuma-biwa catered more to the Satsuma Domain’s samurai, as it would be played for the samurai to practice discipline, and for cerebral exercise and clarity , perhaps before battle. From the 1500’s onwards, variations of the biwa would continuously pop up, though not much was said about them in literature.

What is the Biwa used for?

Back when it was popular, the biwa was one of the many instruments used to perform the oldest kind of classical music native to Japan called “Gagaku”; or court music. The music in a gagaku would often pertain or represent something mythological or religious nature, especially themes pertaining to Shintoism.

What is the Heike Biwa?

The heike-biwa was mostly used when one would narrate The Tale of the Heike , an epic about battles between clans during the Genpei war. The aspects that the heike-biwa kept from the gaku-biwa were its shape, while the variable it borrowed from the moso-biwa was its small, size, as well as the kind of plectrum used to play it. It was most popularly used during the Kamakura period, which occurred from 1185 to 1333.

How many types of Biwa are there?

The Different Types of Biwa. So far, the number of biwa types that exist have reached seven. They are chronologically categorized as types under the labels of “classic biwa,” the “middle and Edo biwa”, and the “modern biwa”. Under the classic biwa, there’s gagaku-biwa, gogen-biwa, and moso-biwa. The middle and Edo biwa contain ...

What is the name of the biwa in Japan?

It was named “moso-biwa”, or “kojin-biwa”, and was often played during religious and traditional observances.

What is a biwa?

Biwa (biwa, biba, pipa) is one of the stringed instruments of the lute family in East Asia. It is a plucked string instrument that produces sounds by flicking strings with fingers without using a bow. In ancient times, there were two types of biwa: the four-stringed type with a neck bent backward (Kyokukei Biwa) and the five-stringed type with a straight neck (Chokukei Biwa). The latter is not used any more because its tradition has not been carried on, but the former developed later and had increased the number of its variety in China and Japan and many are still played even today. It was introduced to the Korean Peninsula and divided into the Kyo biwa (five-stringed biwa) and the To biwa (four-stringed biwa) and became basic instruments of court musicians and had been used until the end of the Joseon Dynasty.#N#(It was played in the 1930s, too.) The four-stringed biwa with more than a dozen frets that was introduced to the Ming Dynasty had been handed down in Vietnam and it is written biwa but pronounced as 'tipa.'#N#In a broad sense, stringed instruments of the lute family such as genkan (ruanxian) (four or five-stringed Chinese lute) and gekkin (moon harp) are sometimes included in the biwa group.

What are some instruments similar to Biwa?

Their pegboxes were bent backward and many were played with a plectrum and these instruments called barbat (an old Persian instrument) are said to be an ancestor of the four-stringed type of biwa, oud, or lute. It was around the Former Han (dynasty of China) when these instruments were introduced to China and at first they were called 'huqin' (any Chinese string instrument played with a bow) which meant a 'Western harp' (stringed instruments) (These instruments are totally different from the ones called huquin from the age of the Sung dynasty to today). Later, 'biwa' transliterated into a word of Chinese origin from barbat in the Uighur language became popular as their name. It is seemed that several biwas preserved in the Shoso-in Treasure Repository are the oldest four-stringed type of biwas in existence presently. They were all made in the Nara period. Scores were also found in the Shoso-in Treasure Repository and Dunhuang City.

What is a Moso Biwa?

The moso-biwa was used for Buddhist rituals and it is said that blind priests used to chant sutras to an accompaniment of it, but there were some pieces of entertainment-type music, too. The origin of this type of biwa was found in the Nara period and the guilds of blind priests had been organized from an early stage. Semimaru is said to be one of them. There were these main types of biwas: the Satsuma moso-biwa and the Chikuzen moso-biwa. The Satsuma biwa was created from the Satsuma moso-biwa from the middle of the Muromachi period to the Edo period and the Chikuzen biwa was created from the Chikuzen moso-biwa under the influence of the Satsuma biwa and shamisen music in the 1880s. The moso-biwa has no definite shape and has various shapes and it is slightly different from the Gakubiwa type and many are similar to biwas in modern China. There are Many slender types of biwa and the ones that are especially slender are called sasa biwa (named for its slender 'bamboo leaf' shape and a shorter, rounder-bodied instrument) because they resemble a bamboo leaf. These blind priests belonged to their own guild and had a conflict with Todo-za, an organization of blind musicians of Heikyoku, from the Muromachi period to the Edo period.

Where did the Heike Biwa come from?

The Heike biwa came from the Gakubiwa and the structure of this instrument is almost the same as the Gakubiwa though smaller ones are preferred. On the other hand, its plectrum is rather big and its fan-out part at the top is wider. It is used as an accompaniment to the chanting of Heike Monogatari (The tale of the Heike). The narrative music of Heike Monogatari accompanied by a Heike biwa is called 'Heikyoku' (the music played on the Heike biwa as accompaniment for the recitation of Heike monogatari) (There are also many songs based on Heike Monogatari for the Satsuma biwa and the Chikuzen biwa but they were composed after the early-modern times and are musically quite different from Heikyoku). According to traditions, it was started by a blind musician called Shobutsu at around the beginning of the Kamakura period and we can see the strong influence of Shomyo (chanting of Buddhist hymns) in its tunes. Later, it was modified and organized by a blind musician, Nyoichi, and his apprentice, Kengyo AKASHI (an another name of Kakuichi AKASHI) (1299 - 1371), in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts (Japan) and they established the Ichikata-ryu. On the other hand, the Yasaka-ryu was also established by Jogen. These became very popular along with nogaku (the art of Noh) in the Muromachi period and called classics of medieval Japan. In the early Edo period, the Maeda-ryu and the Hatano-ryu were established by Kengyo MAEDA and Kengyo HATANO respectively and the former developed around Edo and the latter in Kyoto. Performances were exclusively given by blind musicians belonging to Todo-za (the traditional guild for the blind) but in the Edo period, some sighted players also gave performances. However, they had gradually cooled down as Shamisen music and sokyoku (koto music) such as Jiuta (a genre of traditional songs with samisen accompaniment) and Joruri (dramatic narrative chanted to a samisen accompaniment) developed, and the Hatano-ryu was put to an end while the Maeda-ryu was restored by Kengyo OGINO in Nagoya in the middle of the Edo period, and only this school has been handed down to the present in Nagoya and Sendai.#N#The number of players is very small but we sometimes have an opportunity to enjoy the performances of 'Susuki,' 'Chikubushima mode,' and 'Nasu no Yoichi.'#N#Gagaku and Heikyoku are music with absolute pitch so the Gakubiwa and the Heike biwa are instruments with perfect pitch, and they are different from the Biwagaku, music with relative pitch, after the early-modern times.

When were Biwas introduced to Japan?

Biwa (biba) was introduced to Japan from China around the seventh and eighth century. Biwas at the time of introduction were preserved as treasures of Shoso-in Treasure Repository. They are characterized by plucking strings with a plectrum similar to a partly open fan or a ginkgo biloba. There are many types of biwa namely Gogenbiwa Instrument, Gakubiwa Instrument, Heike biwa (a biwa with four strings and five frets used to play Heike Monogatari ), moso-biwa, To biwa, Satsuma biwa (Satsuma lute), or Chikuzen biwa (Chikuzen lute). Each instrument has its unique music and in their music world, it is simply called biwa. These different kinds of biwa are never played together.#N#The music centered on biwa is collectively called 'Biwagaku.'

Who made the Satsuma Biwa?

It is said that the Satsuma biwa was made by Ryoko FUCHIWAKI, a blind priest in Satsuma, who worked actively in the 16th century, when he was called by Tadayoshi SHIMAZU, a feudal lord at that time, and was ordered to compose Biwa uta (Biwa song) with educational poems and modify the instrument to inspire morals of samurai. He remodeled old moso-biwas and changed their structures to make them suitable for a valiant and dynamic performance singing about samurai 's morals, war chronicles, and battles. He changed the wood for the body of moso-biwa from a soft wood back to a hard mulberry wood and made the instrument able to be played by striking it with a plectrum like the playing style of percussion instruments. Plectrums became bigger and their shape were changed from a rice scoop shaped to a sensugata (a folding fan-shaped) shape. With this, players could hold the instrument horizontally and flick their plectrums sideways. These biwas gradually became popular in the Edo period as songs derived from fights such as 'Kizakigahara gassen' were composed, and they spread through not only samurai but also townspeople. So, there established two schools of biwa: shifu biwa ( samurai style biwa) and chonin biwa (townsman's biwa). At the end of the Edo period, Jinbee IKEDA brought together the beauty of both schools and established his own school and this has came down to the present time as the Satsuma biwa.

Where did the Gogenbiwa instrument come from?

The Gogenbiwa Instrument came down from China in the Nara period , but the Yongenbiwa instrument (four-stringed) was considered to have its origin in Persia. Five-string five-fret. Until the early Heian period, this instrument was played by some musicians but extinguished later, though scores from those times are still preserved even today.

Overview

History

Types

Styles of biwa music

Use in modern music

Recordings

See also

External links