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Jianpu
Dec 10, 2010 16:25:17 GMT
Post by kit on Dec 10, 2010 16:25:17 GMT
Hi all, I am wondering if anyone knows of any good free online resources for traditional Chinese music in either jianpu or standard notation. I am especially interested in music for the zhongruan as I would like to get started learning to play this instrument. I am thinking of music that is maybe beginner-intermediate for now. does anyone have any suggestions? xiè xiè
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Jianpu
Dec 10, 2010 22:12:44 GMT
Post by davidmdahl on Dec 10, 2010 22:12:44 GMT
Welcome to the forum, Kit. I don't know about zhongruan scores, but here is a link to erhu music: www.zhaogepu.com/erhus/There are links on the right side to scores for other instruments. Maybe you can find what you want there. You might search via Google on the Chinese characters for zhongruan and jianpu. It can help if you have the name of a tune you want, in Chinese characters. I often get the Chinese characters from wikipedia articles, but it helps to be resourceful. Best wishes, David
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Jianpu
Dec 13, 2010 18:38:29 GMT
Post by xindi on Dec 13, 2010 18:38:29 GMT
I bought a jian pu book for my dizi from a well-known internet seller - it has a pipa on the front cover!
I've not tried to play anything yet, but I'm sure the melodies are going to sound rather weird, given that I play everything in the key of G, despite its original annotation.
Is there enough interest to get a jian pu theory book translated into English?
I've never seen any English language jian pu book, explaining all of the notation, including strikes like / above a note for the flute, or an arrow directed at a number; or a 'flower' above notation for a flute and so on.
Many of the beginner jian pu books sell very cheaply (around $2-10) and are printed in China. I guess the copyright issues will stop most of the pieces, except classics being published (and these requiring more expertise). I don't play the zhongruan either, however if you do buy a book, do check that it has the available keys that you play in, otherwise you will end up playing out of key ... like me!
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Jianpu
Dec 16, 2010 2:29:21 GMT
Post by kyokuhon on Dec 16, 2010 2:29:21 GMT
Hi, all.
xindi said, "however if you do buy a book, do check that it has the available keys that you play in, otherwise you will end up playing out of key ... like me!"
If I'm correct in my understanding, the beauty and usefulness of jianpu is that it doesn't really matter what actual key you're in unless you're playing with other people, and even then you only need to agree on the relative pitch. Since the numbers refer to the pitches of the scale, it should sound in tune, no matter what "actual" pitches you're playing.
The key signature tells you where "1" is on your instrument, and affects the fingering, but doesn't necessarily tell you the pitch.
For example, if you play a piece in "C" on an F, rather than G, xiao, it will actually sound in "Bb", but it will be in tune with itself.
If you add a qin, though, then you've got more figuring to do!
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Best to all, and keep playing! K.
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Jianpu
Dec 16, 2010 6:23:26 GMT
Post by davidmdahl on Dec 16, 2010 6:23:26 GMT
You have it right, kyokuhon. If you are playing by yourself, you can play any tune in any key you want. If you are in a group, hopefully you have a dizi in the key that the group has chosen. Sometimes the chosen key is not the one indicated on the score, so it is the situation that is the final word.
There are tunes that by their character will favor one pitch range over another. A tune written for a bangdi (high) might sound out-of-place on a xindi (low).
Best wishes, David
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Jianpu
Dec 16, 2010 8:50:36 GMT
Post by xindi on Dec 16, 2010 8:50:36 GMT
Yes - generally that's correct, adding in David's concern that transposing music out of key doesn't bring the best out of a piece.
The other main issue is that some low notes are simply not possible (say, on a low G xiao). My low G dizi goes down to a 5 (dot underneath) - a low D in treble clef notation. Some of the jian pu music I have requires a 3 (dot underneath) which would be a low B. I can get down to a 4 (dot underneath) by changing to a low C xiao.
It's the deeper (lower) octave scales which I love most so it's a bit frustrating having to skip notes, or play compensating notes to cover the limitations. Sometimes it's possible to play this by shifting 'up' an octave, by reading a 3 (dot underneath) as a 3. What I tend to do is just switch back over to a C concert flute with a B foot joint however it loses the oriental flavour of the music.
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Jianpu
Dec 16, 2010 19:28:14 GMT
Post by sanmenxia on Dec 16, 2010 19:28:14 GMT
The thing to remember about jianpu is that the numbers are the scale degrees, not notes like C, G, A etc.
In Jianpu; 1 is the first note in the scale (which could be any pitch or any note), 2 is the second and so on.
Using the "movable"* solfege names it's do re mi fa sol la si.
*this is different to the "fixed" solfege system where do re mi... is always C D E... For example on CDs with multiple languages, in French it's "concerto in re major" which means "concerto in D major"
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Jianpu
Dec 16, 2010 21:18:48 GMT
Post by xindi on Dec 16, 2010 21:18:48 GMT
Absolutely. It gets really confusing when you have several different flutes and have to transpose (or not)!
A 1 on a low G flute will always be a 1: the lowest note will always sound a 'D' and will require all holes closed. The problem is probably, that Jian Pu for the Pipa, covers a huge octave range, so some music is just not possible without leaving out notes! Thus, if you try and play a 3 (dot underneath) on a low G flute, you will end up having to transpose a fourth for the whole music, or transpose a whole octave above.
The jian pu tables (similar to your verbal description) make this more evident.
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Jianpu
Dec 16, 2010 22:06:11 GMT
Post by davidmdahl on Dec 16, 2010 22:06:11 GMT
At least with the music I play, transposition is not really a problem or complicated. When the group is playing a tune in D, I use my D dizi. If we have a different guzheng player who is set up for G, I grab the G dizi and read from the same score. There are no tricks of the mind necessary. If I run out of holes to cover, then I might move a phrase up an octave. Sometimes a phrase is really too high, and I move it down an octave. Then there are the times when a passage or section just does not suit the dizi, and I don't play that part. Variety in the sound is often a good thing.
Playing a tune in a different key is a piece of cake on dizi. On erhu, we can't grab a differently tuned instrument. Sometimes the lay of the tune in the new key is much more challenging. Purple Bamboo is fine in D, but twists my fingers in a knot in G. I don't get a lot of sympathy though. I just have to make it work
I am not sure that with regard to traditional music, that there is any one key that is nessarily best for a tune. The character can change a bit, and sometimes you have to fiddle with the octaves, but the resulting setting can be rewarding.
So far I have not had to use more than one dizi on a tune. If it gets too wild, I will put down the flutes and play erhu. <g>
Best wishes,
David
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annk
Intermediate
Previously professional musician, now librarian ;-)
Posts: 38
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Jianpu
Jan 11, 2011 14:53:56 GMT
Post by annk on Jan 11, 2011 14:53:56 GMT
I use www.qqgpw.com/ to find jianpu for guzheng. You search the name of the piece in characters, and if you add 中阮, you'll get hits for the pieces for that instrument. Just search 中阮 and you'll get a list only for that instrument.
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