The pipa is a four stringed lute with a pear-shaped body. Its short, bent neck has 30 frets which extend onto the soundboard, offering a wide range (3.5 octavos). This instrument appears in texts dating up to the second century B.C. There are a lot of written texts of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) about pipa music played and the stories that inspired the composition for those pipa pieces. Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments, and has maintained its appeal in solo as well as chamber genres. The pipa technique is characterised by spectacular finger dexterity and virtuosi programmatic effects. Rolls, slaps, pizzicato, harmonics and noises are often combined into extensive tone poems vividly describing famous battles or other exciting scenes. The instrument is also capable of more lyrical effects in pieces inspired by poetry, landscapes and historical themes. Pipa music has been loved by Chinese people through centuries and there used to be a large repertoire of pipa music, a lot of them were lost, and some of them were handed down from generation to generation through individual artists and scholars.

Traditionally pipa is mainly a solo instrument, some time played in folk ensembles such as traditional silk and bamboo ensembles that are common found in South-East China, or used to accompany story telling, or local opera. Nowadays, the pipa is more and more used in contemporary compositions for ensemble, orchestra, and various combinations with both Chinese and western instruments. The most outstanding works are pipa concertos with western orchestra. (more about pipa)

A brief demonstration about the pipa playing techniques

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