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Sheng (instrument)

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Sheng (instrument)

The sheng (Chinese: ; pinyin: shēng; Zhuyin Fuhao: ㄕㄥ)is a Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes. It is a polyphonic instrument and enjoys an increasing popularity as a solo instrument.

Contents

It is one of the oldest Chinese instruments, with images depicting its kind dating back to 1100 BCE, and there are actual instruments from the Han era that have been preserved today. 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 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, although there is evidence that free reed musical instruments similar to shengs were known in Europe a century earlier.

History

Chinese free-reed wind instruments named he and yu were first mentioned in bone oracle writings dating from the 14th to the 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. 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 the hole(s) on a traditional sheng's pipe(s) would cause the entire length of the pipe(s) to resonate with the reeds' frequency. If the hole is open, the resonant 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) (sometimes also known as "improved sheng" (改良笙;Gǎiliáng 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 combined with the size of the larger instruments make 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:

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.

Nowadays, traditional sheng are usually only used for solo repertoire, due them not being fully chromatic (and also the fact that certain techniques - like glissando - can only be achieved on a traditional sheng). For an orchestra setting, keyed shengs tend to be preferred for being fully chromatic. It is worth noting that many modern traditional shengs do come with some keys for ease of fingering; there are also fully chromatic traditional shengs. These are still known by the blanket term "traditional sheng" due to them retaining the typical traditional sheng-like fingering. Also, traditional shengs are held in the player's hands when playing, and a 37-reed fully chromatic traditional sheng tends to be too heavy to be played for extended periods of time.

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. They have markedly different fingering from their traditional counterparts, having been redesigned so that key changes can be achieved without cumbersome fingerings. These also differ from their traditional counterparts by the fact that they tend to be placed on the musician's lap or on a stand while playing.

Soprano 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 in sounding pitch. That being said, to suit the needs of modern repertoire, 38- or even 42-reed shengs have become increasing prevalent in the late 2010s. Some special models even include levers that allow for sounding of chords (i.e. more than one note is sounded when one lever is depressed).

Alto sheng (中音笙, pinyin Zhōngyīn Shēng)

36-pipe sheng with an alto range of C3 to B5. Perfect 5th lower than soprano sheng. It (oftentimes) 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 (octave down) and alto clefs (albeit less common as of the late 2010s - notably with SCO deciding to scribe Alto Sheng scores in treble clef.). The Alto variant tend to have a more mellow timbre than the slightly more metallic sounding Soprano Sheng. It is worth noting regional differences - while many countries have Alto Shengs with a range of C3 to B5, some regional variants (for example, some models in Hong Kong) tend to have a range of G2 to F#5 (i.e. the Tenor Sheng's range).

Alto sheng plays an important part in modern Chinese orchestra, serving to provide chordal accompaniment as well as supplementing lower-pitched instruments like the Cello. There are two main forms of Alto sheng in modern Chinese music. For one, there is the Bao sheng (抱笙, lit: hug sheng), which requires the player to place it on his/her lap and reach around to the buttons on its back (in effect hugging the instrument, and hence the name). This form of Alto sheng is circular in nature, and tends to be smaller (usually less heavy and bulky) due to the pipes having been engineered to curve and make effective use of the space available inside the sheng. This, however, presents the drawback of it being difficult to disassemble and reassemble for maintenance or repairs. The other form would be the Pai sheng (排笙, lit: sheng in rows), which is typically placed on a stand. This form is so named as the pipes and resonators are placed in 3 rows (in a linear manner) instead of a circular fashion. The Pai sheng commonly seen in school orchestras, as there's a reduced likelihood of it being dropped (since it's placed on a stand), and is less difficult/expensive to repair (due to the more simple layout).

Tenor 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 (or at times bass clef). This variant tends to have a warmer and richer timbre, despite being less common than its Alto counterpart.

Bass 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 standing organ-like instrument with or without pedals, and the baosheng (lit. held sheng) (which is placed on a stand). With Bass Sheng, the differences between the 2 variants are more pronounced; Bass paisheng tends to require greater breath volume to play.

Keyboard sheng (键盘笙, pinyin Jiànpán Shēng)

In the 21st century, we are starting to see Pai Shengs that have a keyboard layout instead of the typical buttons. These can vary from 37-reed shengs all the way to 53-reed ones, covering a variety of ranges from Alto to Bass. That being said, these are more a niche at the moment, as very little repertoire makes good use of the keyboard layout. In fact, many of the chordal parts written for sheng are currently heavily clustered, and as such, a keyboard layout tends to be a tad cumbersome where fingering is concerned.

References

Sheng (instrument) Wikipedia