The structure of the pipa: it consists of "head" and "body". The head includes string grooves, pegs, mountain passes, etc.; the body includes phases, grades, speakers, and hands.

The characteristics of the pipa: made of wood or bamboo, the speaker is half pear-shaped, and the top is equipped with four strings. It was originally made of silk thread, but now it is mostly made of steel wire, steel rope and nylon. The neck and the panel are equipped with "phase" and "fresh" to determine the phoneme. It is an important national musical instrument that can be played solo, accompaniment, ensemble and ensemble.

1. Picking skills

Playing and picking are the most basic performance skills in traditional pipa performance, and have been widely used in the process of traditional pipa performance. On the basis of playing and picking skills, through continuous development and combination, performance techniques such as clipping, double playing and double picking have evolved. In short, any playing skill is inseparable from playing and picking.

"Playing" refers to using the side of the index finger of the right hand near the end of the nail to pop out in the normal position of holding the pipa, while "picking" refers to picking the end of the thumb nail of the right hand inward in the same position. Bounces are divided into basic bounces and special effects bounces.

The playing of the pipa requires the cooperation of all aspects of the human body, combining human physiology, physics and the artistry of classical music. When learning how to play the pipa, the player must first master the basic picking skills and effectively control the pipa before they can flexibly apply the playing skills to the actual pipa performance.

2. Kneading techniques

As one of the important skills in traditional pipa playing skills, vibrato technique requires players to use the artistic conception of the work, the idea and artistic style that the work wants to express as the basis for using vibrato when choosing the vibrato playing method. This is also the basic principle for the perfect use of vibrato techniques when playing the lute.

Classical music and modern music are the two main music forms of traditional Pipa music, while Wenqu and Wuqu are important components of classical music. In ancient times, most of the court music used were Wenqu, which had the characteristics of a soothing tune, mainly to match the dance. The artistic conception expressed by Wenqu was very subtle, but it had very rich content at that time. Therefore, in order to make full use of vibrato skills, Pipa players must skillfully combine the strengths of fingers, wrists and arms when playing Wenqu. , and combine it with dance as much as possible; and Wuqu is slightly more atmospheric than Wenqu, and the momentum is magnificent. Appropriate changes should be made in the kneading skills of Wuqu, and the use of kneading fingering should fully reflect the martial arts. The artistic style of wuqu shows the rough, high-pitched, ups and downs, vigorous and powerful style incisively and vividly, and achieves the purpose of improving the appeal of martial arts.

When using traditional pipa to play modern pipa music, because the composition of modern pipa music is more complex than ancient music, and the timbre is more complex, therefore, the player should use a combination of various ways to apply the vibrato technique. Only when it can meet the playing needs of modern pipa music, can the played pipa music be exciting and memorable.

3. String pressing skills

String pressing is also one of the important parts of traditional pipa performance skills. Mastering the essentials of string pressing is very important for using string pressing skills, and both beginners and professional players should keep it in mind.

Before playing the pipa, it is necessary to make full preparations: first, master the "finger raising" technique. The so-called "finger raising" refers to taking the knuckles as the base point, quickly raising the pressing finger, and then after reaching a certain height Hit the string with a downward vertical force, and call the finger that touches the string solid. In this process, the position of the finger-drop on the string must be precise, and the finger-drop position is generally required to be directly above the harmonic fret. The intonation and timbre of the pipa; if it falls below the phase and frets, it will make noise, which directly affects the overall effect of the pipa music.

In addition, in addition to the strict requirements for the position of pressing the strings, the requirements for the strength of pressing the strings are also quite strict. If the strength of pressing the strings is not enough, it will also cause the strings to be incorrectly pressed, and the strings and the frets will meet due to improper contact. Noise is generated; if the force is too heavy, the contact force between the string and the phase and frets will be too large, causing the string to leave its fixed position or the string to rise inward.