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Pipa
The pipa four-stringed lute with 30 frets and pear-shaped body. The instrumentalist holds the pipa upright and play with five small plectra attached to each finger of the right hand. The pipa history can be dated back at least 2000 years and developed from pentatonic to full scales. This instrument has extremely wide dynamic range and remarkable expressive power.
This particular video gives a nice demonstration of the power of the pipa. Notice how the musician plucks the strings, like she is attacking the instrument.
Erhu
The Erhu is the most popular bowed instrument in today's Chinese music. An erhu is quite different from a western fiddle. There is a vertical post with a fingerboard, which goes through the sides of a resonator at its base. The bow for the erhu is placed between its two strings. The player of an erhu usually sits, and the erhu is placed on his left upper thigh in front of his left hip. The instrument is played by moving the bow horizontally through the two vertical strings. Erhu's range spans about three octaves. It has some of the qualities of a violin, but having a more nasal tone.
The video above shows an Erhu Concerto playing a popular chinese piece called the "The Butterfly Lovers" with the the Philharmonic of China. Notice how the instrumentalist uses vibrato and other techiniques so that the erhu melody seems to float smoothly above the accompaniment.
Dizi
The dizi is the most common transverse flute of China. Dizi are made from bamboo and have six finger holes and are characterized by an additional hole covered by a piece of very thin paper-like fibre that buzzes when played. Modern dizi can be found with additional keys to aid in playing accidentals, but traditionally players had a set of dizi, one for each desired key, and accidentals and slides were accomplished by very subtle adjustments of the fingers to cover only a quarter or half of a hole. Although a relatively easy instrument at first, the standard for good dizi playing is extremely high, and professional dizi players from China are stunning in their virtuosity, although they often lack the emotional depth that is found in flute playing from other cultures.
This video displays a dizi soloist along with a traditional Chinese orchestral backing. Observe the dizi master superb skill with the dizi and how he uses different articulations and ornaments such as glissandos, trills, and flutter tongueing while performing the piece.
Lion drum
the size of a lion drum is very big, widely used for lion dance. there are normally 2 types, the northern lion drum (normally in red colour) and southern lion drum (in black colour).
it is a single headed drum, if its size and the colour doesn't draw a crowd, then the glorious booming sound is sure to get lots of attention.
the lion drum has a thick durable goat skin head, and a wooden body, normally with hand painted decorations.
This particular video exhibits a lion dancing troupe performing with 5 drums. Notice how accurately the performers play together so that it sounds like one player.
Banhu
the banhu is mainly an accompanying instrument for various local operas in north china. its constrcuction is basically the same with erhu, and the most noticeable difference is that banhu uses a thick wooden board to cover the soundbox instead of snakeskin.
the timbre of the instrument is clarion and bright, which makes it hard to join other instruments for tutti. therefore it's usually for solo, and banhu is especially good at presenting joyful and passionate moods.
This concert shows a banhu soloist along with a traditional chinese orchestra performing some Western Hunan music. Note the similarities between the banhu and the erhu and the same techinques they use such as glissando and vibrato.
Sheng
The sheng is one of the oldest chinese musical instruments. the instrument existed as far back as 3,000 years ago. the sheng is also the first musical instrument in the world utilizing a "coupled acoustical system," between an air column and a free reed. sheng consists of 13-17 bamboo pipes with different lengths that are mounted together onto a base. the base is traditionally a gourd-shaped, wooden wind-chest. each bamboo pipe has a free reed made of brass. music is produced by blowing and sucking the air through a metal tube connected to the base. from the base the air then rushes through the other pipes. a player determines the notes to play by allowing the air to rush through selected pipes while pressing on selected keys near the base. by covering two or more holes on various pipes, chords are possible, being a typical technique used in most regional orchestras of china.
Watch the sheng solo above. This display of the sheng shows some of the power and speed of the instrument.