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sheng
Apr 21, 2006 6:21:51 GMT
Post by johnwithajinghu on Apr 21, 2006 6:21:51 GMT
hi i just bought a sheng (fangsheng) but it is in a bunch of pieces. its kinda old, like 20. i know i have all the pieces, but their not together, looks like wax was holding them there and it dried up.
im very farmiliar with huqin and other opera instruments(string and wind) EXCEPT this one. any one know how to put em back together or info on playing?
john
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sheng
Apr 21, 2006 7:58:54 GMT
Post by YouLanFengChune on Apr 21, 2006 7:58:54 GMT
send me a picture. In my company, i have a sheng expert
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sheng
Apr 22, 2006 3:36:17 GMT
Post by davidbadagnani on Apr 22, 2006 3:36:17 GMT
I play this instrument and can help you fix it. But it's complicated. Where do you live? It might be easiest to help you over the telephone.
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sheng
Apr 23, 2006 1:59:01 GMT
Post by johnwithajinghu on Apr 23, 2006 1:59:01 GMT
hope that works im in boston. apparently there is a profesional sheng player in NYC but he comes to boston periodically. i will have to ask some people but if he isnt coming for a while i think that would be awesome. do they still use mercury oxide (sp?) or whatever it is ? thanks a bunch
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sheng
Apr 23, 2006 2:37:58 GMT
Post by YouLanFengChune on Apr 23, 2006 2:37:58 GMT
its not hard.
Tuning is by a red colour soil called Zhu Sha, The sticking is uysing beeswax with molten rosin
To make playing best, use Copper (11) Carbonate. To get it, grind marble with a bit of water on copper plate. It takes hours but its worth it.
There ar sheng tuning and repair kits availble.
When i was 16, I performed with Hu Tian Quan in a sheng concerto. He was awesome. Whats better, he could fix any sheng within 2 hours, and when asked, he said, "i invented the mordern sheng, so that it could be used anytime, anywhere'
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sheng
Apr 23, 2006 14:33:10 GMT
Post by Charlie Huang on Apr 23, 2006 14:33:10 GMT
Tuning is by a red colour soil called Zhu Sha, Seal paste (cinnabar)?
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sheng
Apr 23, 2006 18:31:35 GMT
Post by davidbadagnani on Apr 23, 2006 18:31:35 GMT
Yes, it's cinnabar, which is mixed with wax and dripped in a small spot onto the end of each reed. Apparently cinnabar is used to add to the wax because of the compound's mass (mercury is very dense), thus meaning that less tuning wax is needed to bring the note down to the right pitch. I'm of the opinion that it is dangerous to inhale any mercury-related compound (though cinnabar has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine), but Chinese musicians are slow to change -- at least as slow as North American dentists, most of whom continue to maintain that mercury fillings are "safe and effective." In any case, I use plain beeswax to tune sheng reeds, which doesn't work well as you often need a large blob which then can negatively affect the note's timbre.
If we're able to come up with a non-toxic substitute for cinnabar in sheng reed tuning, maybe we can sell it in the same store we sell the mylar film that can be used to replace dimo! ;-D
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sheng
Apr 24, 2006 2:40:30 GMT
Post by johnwithajinghu on Apr 24, 2006 2:40:30 GMT
hmm as *easy* as it sounds, i think im going to send it to UCLA because i know the ch\inese music teacher there and shesaid she can fix it. i am interested though in knowing how to do it myself incase one is to fall off again. do you just put an oblong "blob" of the molten wax/songxiang on the wood and quickly put the reed on? or is there like a special process? also there is a space ontop of the reed where the pipe sticks up a bit, do you cover that with wax/songxiang too? howmuch? is there anything that can be used to replace reeds? like if one is chipped?
john
mylar dimo........*shudders a little* <--- semi-hard-core traditionalist here
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sheng
Apr 24, 2006 3:57:39 GMT
Post by davidmdahl on Apr 24, 2006 3:57:39 GMT
mylar dimo........*shudders a little* <--- semi-hard-core traditionalist here The mylar dimo came up in a discussion of the Swiss flutist Matthias Ziegler, who has membrane holes on some of his flutes using mylar as a membrane material. We fantasized about using this on a dizi as a more sturdy membrane. I have a sample of Matthias's mylar that he gave me during his recent trip to my town. I have not yet tried it on a dizi, but I don't think it would work very well, or at least would not be a replacement for the traditional approach. On Matthias's metal flute the membrane and hole consists of an assembly of screws and frames that would be silly on a bamboo flute. The sound of his flute is not so much like a Chinese flute as a strange clarinet or duduk. Rather than an effort to modernize what is already an elegant design that works, this is more about doing something creative to a western flute. Mylar on a dizi will probably sound much different than reed paper. I will let you know. Best wishes, David
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sheng
Apr 24, 2006 4:39:51 GMT
Post by davidbadagnani on Apr 24, 2006 4:39:51 GMT
I taught myself how to do it. I use beeswax but never heard of mixing it with rosin as Yinhao suggests. It would be easiest to explain it via telephone so just send me a private message if you'd like. But it is a real pain in the neck. The Thai/Lao khaen (which is probably descended from the ancestor of the sheng) seems easier in some ways, in that the reeds almost never need to be adjusted or tuned. Once you've played the instrument for a number of years and it doesn't work any more you just throw it away and buy a new one. I think this explains why, for example, the Koreans mostly stopped playing their sheng (called saenghwang) after supplies of new Chinese sheng were interrupted a couple of hundred years ago. The Japanese sho, if you ever get to examine one up close, is beautifully constructed in comparison but even more of a pain to take care of. You have to heat it while rotating the instrument over a hibachi fire for as long as you plan to play, then after you play, you have to heat it again for twice as long as you've just played.
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sheng
Apr 24, 2006 5:08:39 GMT
Post by davidmdahl on Apr 24, 2006 5:08:39 GMT
Wow, that makes the Irish Uilleann Pipes seem a comparative dream to take care of. <g> It is amazing that such fussy instruments have managed to thrive.
Best wishes,
David
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sheng
May 11, 2006 23:20:17 GMT
Post by johnwithajinghu on May 11, 2006 23:20:17 GMT
youlan how much do these sheng repair kits go for? i just might need one or 2 of those
john
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