Friday, July 17, 2009
Instruments that are found in china
San Xian The instrument derived its name because Sanxian means “three strings” and this instrument is a three-stringed plucked musical instrument. It has a snake skin membrane stretched over a round rectangular resonator. A long flat neck which is made of wood goes through the body. The sanxian has a rich, full tone quality and a loud volume. It is widely used as an accompaniment, as well as in ensembles and orchestras, even in solo pieces. Traditionally it is plucked with a thin, hard plectrum made from animal horn but today people use a plastic plectrum or their fingernails instead. Some other techniques that people use include hitting the skin of the instrument. Here is an example of how a san xian is played:
