The erhu is a two-stringed, bowed musical instrument. It may also be called a “southern fiddle”, and sometimes known in the Western world as the “Chinese violin” or a “Chinese two-stringed fiddle”. It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It is the most popular of the huqin family of… Read More »
Guqin is one of the most interesting representatives of classical Chinese musical instrument. Written mention of it can be traced back at least 3,000 years ago. It is similar to the stringed instrument of the family zithers GuZheng, but since GuQin has no bridges, it is much more versatile with the tone and point of view of technique,… Read More »
Pipa (Chinese Lute) has its origin dated back to the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC). As Pipa evolved, it was heavily influenced by Persian culture during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) when the two great civilizations crossed over with each other, and became one of the most popular instruments in China ever since then. As Pipa prospered in… Read More »
Guzheng, as one of the most representative Chinese instruments, first appeared around the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC), then became extremely popular during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) and spread to all neighboring areas ever since (e.g., Guzheng is the forefather of Japanese Koto). Guzheng was originally a rather simple instrument with only five… Read More »
Nanxiao (Southern Xiao) is a bamboo flute of the Xiao family. Unlike Dizi, Xiao has no membrane. Nanxiao is mostly popular in the Fujian area of southern China. Like the Japanese Shakuhachi, NanXiao is the offspring of ChiBa and DongXiao from the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD). Contrary to the upbeat, happy-trigger sound of Dizi, NanXiao… Read More »
ChineeWinds is a sample based Chinese “Dizi”. Dizi (bamboo flute) has been a traditional and popular instrument in China for many centuries and as an essential Chinese instrument, it is still widely used today. It can be heard everywhere ranging from modern Chinese film scores, to modern Chinese pop music (e.g. 12 Girls Band). There are many… Read More »
ChineeHuluSi: The Riveting Bottle Gourds from the South of Clouds. HuluSi is a free-reed wind instrument from China. “Hulu” is the Chinese name for bottle gourd; “Si”, silk, is used here to describe the unrelenting characteristic of HuluSi’s vibrating tail tone. The history of HuluSi is not well documented other than that it may have been used by… Read More »
ChineeSuona comprises of two Suonas (a big Suona and a small Suona) with different note ranges. It comes with a meticulously woven 380 MB sampleset (All samples are recorded in 24 bit 96 kHz). What is a Suona? Suona (the Chinese shawm) was originated from Persia and then slowly adopted by the Chinese in the course of history.… Read More »
MaTouQin (horse-headed fiddle, aka morin khuur) is a faithful sample-based re-creation of one of the most representative traditional Mongolian instruments. Matouqin is believed to be originated from the nomadic people during the Tang Dynasty (7th – 10th centuries), and became widely known circa Genghis Khan’s reign. Nowadays, like many other Mongolian legacies, Matouqin has become an essential part… Read More »
ChineeGuQin is a sample-based emulation of a GuQin. “The Vivacious Vessel of Harmony” GuQin is among the few most distinctive and representative classical Chinese instruments ever. The written record of it can be traced back to at least 3,000 years ago. It’s a zither similar to GuZheng, but since GuQin does not have bridges, it is far more… Read More »
