Problems with Pipa

[seclipse21]

Hi. I bought a pipa at Christmas time (from Dunhuang off of Ebay) and I've been having some problems. Well, first of all, one of the strings broke on the first day I got it and I sent for replacements to Cadenza Creative but those never came, so does anyone know a safe site that I can get pipa strings from? Second, the VCD that came with it is really confusing and I was wondering if anyone either knows a good VCD that I could order or if anyone knows a pipa teacher in Massachusetts. Also, should I just go ahead and try to play with three strings or should I wait until I get the remaining one to try to play it? Also, does anyone know how to get these tuning pegs to stay in place? It's incredibly frustrating. I'm really just thinking that maybe a guqin is the way to go and that a pipa was kind of a waste of money. Also, does anyone know a website where there is pipa tablature available, or if not, how to obtain any type of pipa tablature? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[jetz320]

Well, for the strings, ebay is thousands of stores together. So whoever you bought it off of doesn't mean that ebay is trustable. Have you talked to song here? He runs an ebay store called Easons Enterprises. Try looking there.

The tuning pegs, I don't know if you have that new instrument overprotective feeling like you don't want to hurt it, but TRY TO JUST SHOVE IT IN HARD. When tuning, they might be really loose. So, you have to keep a little strength on the peg to stay in while tuning. It also depends on your model. Good luck.

[seclipse21]

Well thanks for the tuning advice and yes hehe I do have that new overprotective instrument feeling. But I bought the strings from Cadenza Creative Music www.cadenzamusic.biz . And I'm sure somebody else has bought something else off of that site, so I was also kind of wondering if anyone who's ever ordered something from there has ever got it, or if it's just a scam.

[YouLanFengChune]

Hi!

I have sent out your strings. Really. please do not worry.

[YouLanFengChune]

youlanfengchune said:

Hi!

I have sent out your strings. Really. please do not worry.

woopsie.

just called my staff in company and realised that your package is lying neatly in a little box. I'm terribly sorry. Thje packe gas been ordered to be sent out immediately, along with 6 other packeges. As a way of making up, you will see something extra inside, and hopefully, it will make you feel better.

Cadenza-Fantasia is undergoing a major revamp. Administrative duties are being shared out, and sometimes, they overlap or gets overlooked in this transitionary period. If you visit us physically, you will know the change. Plus, we are starting a small dept to look into tuning issues of all fretted instruments. Erhu is our biggest draw, and (i have 5 of them to send out within this week, 3 not finished yet) we need t maange both the materials incoming and the goods outgoing as most customers are corporate customers in Taiwan, Kong Kong and Japan.
Dizi is my personal fav, and you can never find anyone else, who actually bothers to une every hole b4 sending out. Hence, when accidents do happen, I'm terribly sorry. But as Ellis' Case goes, the customers aren't usually sorry. In fact, they are amazed at how Cadenza generously sends gifts to make up for the overlooks we have done.

Ellis, please wait a while longer. IT WILL BE THERE

[seclipse21]

Ahh so you help operate this site. It's ok don't worry. Please forgive me for jumping to conclusions. I really appreciate the gift you have sent with the strings. Sorry about that, but you must understand, I had to assume that they weren't coming since it has been about 3 weeks. Terribly sorry though. Thank you very much and I hope to make more purchases from Cadenza in the future. Thank you

[Charlie Huang]

As Jetz said, shove them in hard (that sounded a bit erotic...)! My thick string peg is shitty and can't hold, so I tried shit loads of methods to keep it in place (see the tuning peg thread). In the end, I shoved a wad of tissue and it stayed but I bet if I try to re-tune it, it will slip again and I'll have to stick another new wad. I might have to use the non-slip pad material to jam it in...

[YouLanFengChune]

Pirastro has a very good peg compound hich increases the friction and is really better than rosin/chalk or anything. buy it from any violin place

[Charlie Huang]

I already tried that violin peg thingy. Didn't work.

[seclipse21]

Well thanks for the tuning peg advice guys, but I'm still also wondering if anyone knows a good VCD or a pipa teacher in Massachusetts, and if anyone knows a site where there is pipa tablature or how to obtain it. Thanks again guys, these forums are really helpful.

[davidmdahl]

For a pipa with peg problems that the compound does not solve, I suggest taking it to a violin maker. They are used to dealing with such problems on violin-family instruments.

Best wishes,

David

[davidmdahl]

The only source of Pipa materials I know if is CCN:

www.chineseculture.net/guqin/instruments/pipacds.htm

I don't know enough about pipa to recommend anything in particular. Anything you find is most likely to be in Chinese, but you can often still get something out of photos and music examples.

Your best bet will be to find a teacher, perhaps in Boston. It may take some resourcefulness, but inquiries in the Chinese community can payoff. I suggest looking for an Asian cultural center. Don't limit your search to a pipa player. If you find one Chinese musician, they may be your entre to more musicians.

If nothing else, there are Chinese music groups in NYC. Maybe a trip to the Big Apple could help you get started on the pipa. It is even possible that inquiries there may help you locate a pipa teacher in Massachusetts.

www.musicfromchina.org/

Best wishes,

David

[davidmdahl]

There is a contact list of Chinese musicians at:

www.melodyofchina.com/01artists/mian_01.html#Instrumentalists:

This list indicates the pipa performer Wu Man is in Boston. She is one of the more recorded pipa artists, so she would be worthwhile trying to find. Unfortunately no contact information is provided, so you will need to be resourceful.

Best wishes,

David

[Charlie Huang]

There are quite a lot of material/books at Joyo.com:

www.joyo.com/search/search.asp?searchKind=keyword&searchWord=%C5%FD%C5%C3&searchType=&sortType=&showType=1&bestSaleNum=3&showRelavence=&strLevel=1&uid=wus7myd9nsqamqwmqqgssg7s5

EDIT: Copy link to address bar and remove space.

[calden]

If Wu Man lives in Boston and teaches you couldn't ask for more than that. If she doesn't teach, or is teaching but not accepting new students, she could probably help with recommending someone else. That's a terrific resource.

Carlos

[davidmdahl]

Oops, it appears my information is out-of-date. I found a bio of Wu Man that indicates she now lives in San Diego after having lived in Boston for 12 years. However, it might be worth contacting her to see if she still has any useful contacts in the Boston area.

www.wumanpipa.org/

There is also a Chinese arts organization in Lincoln, MA:

www.chineseperformingarts.net/Default.htm

Best wishes,

David

[kyokuhon]

Hi,
For Chinese music in MA, look at: chinesemusicensemble.com/. It's the website of the music program of the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association (GBCCA) I know they have pipa players in the ensemble, and welcome all who are interested in Chinese music (though speaking a little Chinese too doesn't hurt!).
Good luck!
K.

[johnwithajinghu]

i know a teacher in boston/arlington, her name is Zhang Xia Yun. she plays with the GBCCA ensemble and teaches too (shes the lady with the pipa with jade pegs and head)
she speaks perfect english too, if you dont know chinese.

john

[shoppingchinanow]

Generally, when you purchase a Pipa, there always comes with such spare strings, nails and others necessary for playing.

You should ask the seller to provide you such thing before paying your money.

Of course, now what you can do is to find suitable strings, how can you play a pipa with only three strings?

[czy]

you can get stuff from eason.they are extremely friendly and they have testimonials frm their customers complimenting them for their good service.
the link is as follows:
www.eason.com.sg