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Sheng with 17 pipes, height is 55cm (22 inches)
The
sheng (
Chinese:
笙;
Pinyin shēng) is a
Chinese mouth-blown
free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes.
It is one of the oldest Chinese instruments, with images depicting its kind dating back to 1100 BCE,
[1] and there are actual instruments from the
Han era that have been preserved today.
[1] Traditionally, the
sheng has been used as an
accompaniment instrument for solo
suona or
dizi performances. It is one of the main instruments in
kunqu and some other forms of
Chinese opera.
Traditional small ensembles also make use of the sheng, such as the
wind and percussion ensembles in northern China. In the modern large
Chinese orchestra, it is used for both melody and accompaniment.
The sheng has been used in the works of a few non-Chinese composers, including
Unsuk Chin,
Lou Harrison,
Tim Risher,
Daníel Bjarnason,
Guus Janssen, Brad Catler, and Christopher Adler. Some believe that
Johann Wilde and
Pere Amiot traveled to
China and brought the first shengs to Europe in 1740 and 1777 respectively,
[2] although there is evidence that free reed musical instruments similar to shengs were known in Europe a century earlier.
[3]
History
Chinese free-reed wind instruments named
he and
yu were first mentioned in
bone oracle writings dating from the 14th–12th centuries BCE, and were identified in later texts as types of
sheng. The first appearance of the word "sheng" is in some of the poems of
Shijing (
Book of Odes),
dating back c. 7th century BCE. Ancient instruments with gourd wind
chambers, varying numbers of pipes, with bamboo or metal reeds have been
discovered in archaeological finds at the tomb of the
Marquis Yi of Zeng (c. 433 BC) in present-day
Hubei province, and the Han tombs at
Mawangdui (c. 2nd century BCE) in
Hunan province.
In the eighth century, three
yu and three
sheng were sent to the Japanese court and these have been preserved in the
Shōsōin imperial repository in
Nara. All the instruments had 17 pipes with a long curving mouthpiece and are very similar to the traditional
sheng
in use today. However variants with different numbers of pipes, and
chromatic instruments have been documented over the centuries.
Modern changes
The kinds of
sheng currently used are the products of changes
made since the early 20th century that enhanced its sound and volume as
well as increasing its range. Early changes were made by Zheng Jinwen
(鄭覲文, 1872-1935) who increased the number of pipes to 32, expanding its
range and allowing it to play harmony and chords. The air chamber and
size of the pipes were also enlarged, changing the tone color of the
instrument.
[4]
Later various changes were also introduced by players such as Weng
Zhenfa (翁鎮發) and particularly Hu Tianquan (胡天泉), with different variants
of the instrument produced.
Acoustics and performance
The sheng's reeds vibrate at a fixed frequency unlike single reeds,
double reeds, and pointed free reeds which vibrate at the pitch
according to the length of the attached air column. Covering a hole on
the sheng's pipe causes the entire length of the pipe to resonate with
the reeds' frequency. If the hole is open, the resonance frequency would
not match, and hence no sound is produced.
The sheng is played by alternately blowing and inhaling, and a player
can produce a continuous sound without pause. The traditional
performance style is to sound two or three notes at the same time by
adding a fifth and/or octave above the main melody note. When a higher
note is not available, a lower note a fourth below the main melody note
can be played instead.
Types
Shengs can be classified into traditional
sheng (传统笙; pinyin: chuántǒng shēng) and keyed
sheng (键笙; jiàn shēng). Keyed shengs have only been developed in the 20th century, c. 1950 onwards.
The difference between a traditional and keyed sheng lies in its
mechanism. On a traditional sheng, the holes on the finger pipes are
pressed directly by the player's fingers. On a keyed sheng, the holes
are opened and closed by means of keys or levers. Without keys, the
great number of pipes, and the size of the larger instruments makes it
impractical for operation by hand.
Traditional sheng
The traditional sheng (
传统笙,
pinyin:
chuántǒng shēng) used in, for example, northern Chinese ritual music,
kunqu and
Jiangnan sizhu
ensembles generally have 17 pipes but with only 13 or 14 sounding
pipes. Its scale is mainly diatonic, for example the 17 pipe (4 silent)
sheng used in Jiangnan sizhu is tuned:
[5]
With the development of
guoyue music in mid-20th century China, the sheng underwent changes to increase its range and volume. The
guoyue sheng
had all its 17 pipes fitted with reeds, then the number of pipes
increased to 21, and metal tubes were attached to the bamboo pipes to
amplify its sound. The other change was the development of the keyed
sheng.
Keyed sheng
Chromatic 24 and 26 pipe keyed
sheng were common during the
1950s, but current models usually have 36 pipes. There are four main
ranges of keyed sheng, forming a family of soprano, alto, tenor and
bass. All are chromatic throughout their range, and tuned to the equal
temperament scale.
- Gaoyin sheng (高音笙, pinyin Gāoyīn Shēng)
36-pipe sheng with a soprano range of G3 to F#6 (taking middle C = C4). Uses treble clef
- Zhongyin sheng (中音笙, pinyin Zhōngyīn Shēng)
36-pipe sheng with an alto range of C3 to B5. Perfect 5th lower than
gaoyin sheng. It has an additional row of 12 keys coloured in black,
which when depressed plays all 3 pipes corresponding to the same note in
different octaves. e.g., pressing the black "C" causes the notes C3, C4
and C5 to be sounded simultaneously. Uses treble and alto clefs.
- Cizhongyin sheng (次中音笙, pinyin Cìzhōngyīn Shēng)
36-pipe sheng with a tenor range of G2 to F#5. One octave lower than
soprano sheng. Uses alto clef, or treble clef transposed down an octave.
The cizhingyin sheng can also be used as diyin sheng.
- Diyin sheng (低音笙, pinyin Dīyīn Shēng)
32-pipe sheng with a bass range of C2 to G4. Uses bass clef.
Much larger types of keyed
sheng include the
da paisheng (lit. large row sheng); a large floor standing organ-like instrument with foot pedals, and the
baosheng (lit. held sheng), which is played resting on the player’s lap or on a stand.
Notable players
- Feng Haiyun (冯海云) (who is a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing).
- Hu Tianquan (胡天泉) - introduced technical improvements on the construction of the instrument
- Guo Wanpeng (郭万鹏)
- Guo Yi (郭艺).
- Wang Zhengting (王正亭)
- Weng Zhenfa (翁鎮發) (who features in the Chinese music documentary A Farewell Song)
- Wu Tong (吴彤)
- Wu Wei (吴巍)
- Xu Charming
- Yang Shoucheng
- Zhang Zhiliang
- Ng Cheuk-yin, composer and bandleader of SIU2 (Hong Kong)
- Guo Changsuo, principal player at Singapore Chinese Orchestra.
- Yang Jiwei, executive director of The Teng Company.
- Ong Yihorng, musician at Singapore Chinese Orchestra
- Vincent Tan Eng Kiat
- Zhong Zhiyue
According to the Plymouth Herald‘s William Telford, this year’s Plymouth Pride celebration will include a performance of poetry and prose.
