1. What is the lute

Pipa, a traditional plucked instrument in the Asia-Pacific region, has a history of more than 2,000 years. The musical instrument originally called "Pipa" probably appeared in my country's Qin Dynasty. The "jue" in the word "Pipa" means "two jades collide, and a crisp and pleasant sound is heard", indicating that this is a musical instrument that sounds by touching the strings. The names "Pi" and "Pa" are derived from the right-hand technique of playing these instruments. In other words, Pi and Pa were originally the names of two playing techniques. Pi is played forward with the right hand, while Pa is played backward with the right hand. Before the Tang Dynasty, pipa was also the collective name for all lute (also known as Lute) plucked instruments in Chinese. The Chinese pipa was also introduced to other parts of the Asia-Pacific region and developed into the current Japanese pipa, Korean pipa and Vietnamese pipa.

2. How to choose the lute

First, look at the material of the pipa. The materials for making pipa are usually white wood, fragrant mahogany, rosewood, mahogany, old mahogany, ebony, red sandalwood and so on. Therefore, when purchasing a pipa, the first thing to do is to select the wood material on the back of the pipa. The low-grade and mid-range ones include white wood, fragrant mahogany, rosewood and other wood materials, and the high-end ones include mahogany, old mahogany, and rosewood.

Second, look at the shape of the pipa. It should be noted that the dimensions of each part of the pipa must meet the ministerial specifications. The shape of the head should be elegant. The thickness and width of the phase and the back should be appropriate, so that the hand feels better when the phase is played; the thickness and radian of the back of the first position should make the left hand feel comfortable and not feel tired when pressing the tone.

Third, pay attention to the appearance of the pipa: pay attention to whether the back of the pipa is deformed or cracked, especially the hidden cracks and the cracks at the head.

Fourth, look at the paint craftsmanship of the pipa.

Fifth, look at the mountain pass, phase, and quality of the pipa. The height distance between the mountain pass of the pipa and the first phase should not be too large or too small. If the height distance is too small, it will break the string and make noise. If it is too large, the strings will be undone, the left hand will be very laborious, and the height of the lower frets will be lower.

The sixth is to see the pipa's hands. The higher the position of the hands, the louder the volume of the pipa, but the timbre tends to be hollow, the effective length of the strings will be shortened, and the tension of the strings will be insufficient. The overhand position is lower, and vice versa. So, be sure to stick to the sweet spot.

Seventh to see the panel of the lute. The panel material should be paulownia material, and the texture of paulownia should be loose, with appropriate straight grain distance and even and fine horizontal grains.

Eight to see the Zhenzi (string axis) of the pipa. The materials of Zhenzi include white horn, black horn, ivory, mahogany, red sandalwood and so on. Pipa Zhenzi generally has the phenomenon that the contact between the two round holes of the Zhenzi and the size of the pipa string groove is not sealed. The two round holes of the size of the pearls on the string groove should be very close to the pearls. When selecting, you can gently shake the treasure with your hand to see if there is any shaking and so on.

Nine to see the sound of the pipa. The sound of the pipa has the terms "sharp", "tang", "song", "crisp" and "explosive". Tip means that the pronunciation in the high-pitched area is very bright; Tang means that the pronunciation is particularly loud in the bass area; Loose means that the response is very sensitive when the string is played, and the reverberation after the string is strong and long; Crisp means that the pronunciation is very loud. Crisp and crisp; explosion means the pronunciation is firm and weighty, full of sonorous sound of gold and stone. The disadvantage of the "explosive" pipa is that the lingering sound is short. The advantages are: rich in the sound of gold and stone, the noise is small, the music is sent far, and it is not easy to be eaten by other instruments in the ensemble; The transmission is not far, and the noise is easy to hear. The advantages are: the reverberation is long, the upper handle area, especially the bass area, has a loud pronunciation. When listening closely, the volume is loud; the disadvantages of "crisp" and "sharp" timbres are; the sound thickness and concentration of the bass upper handle area are not enough. . The advantages are: in the middle and high-pitched areas, the pronunciation of the middle and lower positions is better.

3. Models and prices of lutes worth buying

1. Xinghai Pipa: Beijing National Musical Instrument Factory was established in 1956, formerly a subsidiary of Beijing Xinghai Piano Group Co., Ltd. After more than 60 years of steady development, it has now developed into one of the largest national musical instrument manufacturers in China, with comprehensive production and processing capabilities for a variety of musical instruments.

2. Dunhuang Pipa: Shanghai Dunhuang Musical Instrument Co., Ltd. was jointly established in 1993 by Shanghai National Musical Instrument No. 1 Factory and Hong Kong Liyuan Trading Company. It is a comprehensive musical instrument manufacturing enterprise integrating R&D, production and sales. After years of building and tempering, it has become one of the national professional production bases of national musical instruments.