Guan (instrument)
Encyclopedia
Double reed
A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. The term double reed comes from the fact that there are two pieces of cane vibrating against each other. A single reed consists of one piece of cane which vibrates against a mouthpiece made of metal, hardened...
wind instrument. The northern Chinese
North China
thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....
version is called guanzi (管子) or bili (traditional: 篳篥; simplified: 筚篥) and the Cantonese version is called houguan (喉管). It is classified as a bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
instrument in the Ba Yin (ancient Chinese instrument classification) system. Unlike instruments in the shawm
Shawm
The shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
family, such as the Western oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
or Chinese suona
Suona
The suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...
, the guan has a cylindrical bore
Bore (wind instruments)
The bore of a wind instrument is its interior chamber that defines a flow path through which air travels and is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on the instruments' timbre.-Bore shapes:...
, giving it a clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
-like tone.
History
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
records, where it refers to end-blown bamboo flutes such as the xiao
Xiao
Xiao may refer to:* Xiào, “filial piety", or "being good to parents", a virtue* Xiao , a Chinese end-blown flute* Xiao , a rank used for field officers in the Chinese military* Xiao , a Chinese surname* Xiao County, in Anhui, China...
or paixiao
Paixiao
The paixiao is an ancient Chinese wind instrument, a form of pan pipes. It is no longer used, having died out in ancient times, although in the 20th century it was reconstructed...
. The earliest double-reed instrument appears in the late Zhou Dynasty and is referred as hujia (胡笳; literally "foreign reed pipe") because it had been introduced from the northwestern region of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. During that time, the hujia was used as the primarily military instrument for signaling, and is depicted in early Chinese poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
as raucous and barbaric.
The guan was developed after the hujia in the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
due to the flourishing music and art culture that were influenced by the silk road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
trade. Like the hujia, it was probably adopted from Central Asian nomads, and became an important leading instrument in the court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
and ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
music. At the height of the Tang Dynasty, the guan, alongside many other instruments was introduced to neighboring countries, where the guans descendants (called piri
Piri
The piri is a Korean double reed instrument, used in both the folk and classical music of Korea. It is made of bamboo. Its large reed and cylindrical bore gives it a sound mellower than that of many other types of oboe....
in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and hichiriki
Hichiriki
The is a double reed Japanese fue used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku music, the other being the ryūteki. The hichiriki is difficult to play, due in part to its double reed configuration. Although a double reed instrument like the oboe, the hichiriki has a cylindrical...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) are still used today.
However, in subsequent dynasties, the guan fell out of use in court music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
but became very popular in folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ensembles. It plays an important part in the wind-and-percussion (chuida or guchui) ensembles that play on traditional festivals and celebratory occasions and is still popular in the wind band music of northern China, as well as in some other Chinese regions. In the Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
orchestra, the guan is used to depict military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
scenes along with the suona
Suona
The suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...
and other percussion instruments.
Construction
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
, where the instrument is called bili. In the Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
region of southern China, it is made from bamboo and is called houguan (literally "throat guan"). It was originally used by street vendors but became incorporated into the Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Cantonese culture. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing,...
orchestra beginning in the 1920s. By the 1950s it had become popular throughout Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and larger sizes were developed. Hardwood guans use and require a hard reed, whereas bamboo guans normally use a soft reed (however, sometimes a different hardness is used to change the timbre.)
An instrument called the ah-bó-ta̍t-á (鸭母哒仔), o͘-ta̍t-á (烏笛仔), or Táiwān guǎn (台湾管), which is similar to the houguan, is also found in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.http://www.suona.com/sona/20050210.htm This Taiwanese guan is often used in the Taiwanese opera
Taiwanese opera
Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan. The language used is a stylized combination of both literary and colloquial registers of Taiwanese. Its earliest form adopted elements of folk songs from Zhangzhou, Fujian, China...
orchestra. Like the Cantonese houguan, it comes in three sizes, each of which has a small brass bell to increase its volume,photo and does not overblow, giving it a register of just over one octave.
Traditionally, the guan has seven finger holes on the top and one thumb hole on the back. The length of a traditional guan varies from 7 inches (18 cm) to 13 inches (33 cm), or up to 50 cm for a large Cantonese houguan.
The Cantonese houguan is available in three sizes; the medium and large sizes have a small brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
bell at the end.photo
The northern guanzi comes in various keys. The two standard higher versions are in soprano and alto range, although there is also a notable piccolo version called "Shuangguan" that is small enough where it is commonly played side by side in harmony by one person taking advantage of "plumber's grip" with both reeds in the mouth simultaneously. Other than the "Houguan", other common bamboo guan include the "Yamudi" of Taiwan, the "Luguan" of Hunan, the "Bili" of northern China, the Uyghur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
"Pipi", and the "Xibili" of the Korean autonomous region. The only other "Guanzi" hardwood versions also exist in northwest China that share a similarity to the Armenian Duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
and Turkish Mey
Mey
Mey or Mei may refer to:People*Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, early 17th century Dutch explorer*Lev Mei , Russian dramatist and poet*Marie-Anett Mey , French musician*Melis Karin Mey , Turkish long jumper...
.
In the 20th century, modern versions of the guan were developed in China. These modernized guan, which may be as long as a Western clarinet, have extra holes and are fitted with metal keys to provide a wider and fully chromatic range. Such instruments are used primarily in large traditional orchestras. The keyed "guanzi" are normally used for tenor and baritone ranges respectively. Although these "jiajian" (keyed) instruments are made of hardwood, their design originates from the houguan and their key system is related to clarinet's Boehm
Boehm
Boehm is a German surname, transliterated from Böhm. It may refer to:* Aleksandra Ziółkowska Boehm , American-Polish author* Barry Boehm , American software engineer...
system with a bell either like a clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
or English Horn. They range of these instruments are as large as a clarinet. There is also a Guanzi in the upper ranges that use the main open holes and added keys for chromatic pitches and range extensions.
All guan have a large, wide double reed made from Arundo
Arundo
Arundo is a genus of two or three species of cane: stout, perennial grasses from the family Poaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to India, China and Japan. They grow to 3–6 m tall, occasionally to 10 m, with leaves 30-60 cm long and 3-6 cm broad.- Species :* Arundo...
cane, which is inserted into the top end of the tube.
Typical ranges of the orchestral Guan:
- Small guan "xiaoguanzi" in D and Bb (sopranino)
- Middle guan "zhongguanzi" in A, G, and F (soprano)
- Big Guan "daguanzi" in D (alto) often called the "da D"
- Keyed Center Range guan "zhongyinguan" in A or G (tenor)
- Keyed Low Range guan "diyinguan" in D (baritone)
Playing
Due to its advanced overblowing technique the northern guanzis range is about two and one-half octaves, while the Cantonese houguan (like the bamboo guan used in ancient China) does not overblow, giving it a range of just over one octave. The keyed "jiajian guan" with the addition of clarinet-like register and extension keys have nearly a 4 octave range, although the upper range is not commonly used. The guan has been used in a variety of musical contexts over the centuries, often as a solo instrument used to evoke a mood of sadness. This is largely due to the instrument's playing technique, which involves the use of expressive vibratos and wide pitch bends.The guan is quite difficult to play, largely due to the difficulty of controlling the embouchure
Embouchure
The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....
; a Chinese saying states that "the sheng
Sheng (instrument)
The Chinese sheng is a mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes.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...
(mouth organ) takes 100 days to learn, but the guan takes 1,000 days to learn."
Notable players
- Bao Jian (鮑健, student of Hu Zhihou)
- Hu Zhihou (胡志厚)
- Li Jinwen (b. 1923)
- Liu Zhong
- Shan Wentong
- Yang Yuanheng (1894–1959)
External links
- "Guan - Chinese Traditional Musical Instruments" from Paul and Bernice Noll site
- "The Guanzi or Bili" from AZSA.com
- Guan article (Chinese)
- Houguan article
- Houguan article
- Houguan article
Video
- Houguan video from The Musical Instruments E-book
See also
- Traditional Chinese musical instrumentsTraditional Chinese musical instruments-The Eight Sounds or Eight Tones :The eight categories are: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide. There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications. This is one of the first musical classifications ever.-Silk :...
- PiriPiriThe piri is a Korean double reed instrument, used in both the folk and classical music of Korea. It is made of bamboo. Its large reed and cylindrical bore gives it a sound mellower than that of many other types of oboe....
- HichirikiHichirikiThe is a double reed Japanese fue used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku music, the other being the ryūteki. The hichiriki is difficult to play, due in part to its double reed configuration. Although a double reed instrument like the oboe, the hichiriki has a cylindrical...
- DudukDudukThe duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...