Yueqin
Yueqin ( Chinese 月琴 , pinyin yuèqín ), also yue qin or yüeh-ch'in ("moon- qin "), is a plucked short-necked lute in classical Chinese music , the name of which is often translated as "moon lute" or "moon guitar" refers to the circular, flat body. The Japanese gekkin (Japanese getsu , "moon") is derived from the shape and name .
The yueqin is a four-string box-neck lute with a short neck that leads to a pegbox with four lateral vertebrae. The total length is about 60 centimeters, the body diameter about 35 centimeters. Eight to twelve frets made of bamboo are glued to the fingerboard and to the top of the body. The four silk strings are paired to form choirs tuned a fifth apart . A modern version of yueqin , which has not really caught on , has three individual strings that are tuned differently to enlarge the range.
Forerunners of the yueqin are several moon sounds of the Han Chinese , including the ruan , the existence of which can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD). During the Tang Dynasty (618–907) a corresponding lute was known as ruanxian ( genkan in Japan ).
A number of lunar sounds and similar long-necked sounds in Vietnam (including the nàn nguyệt ), Thailand ( krajappi ) and Cambodia ( chapey dang veng ) can be traced back to Chinese culture .
literature
- Alan R. Thrasher: Yueqin. In: Grove Music Online , 2001
Web links
- Yueqin photos (second and third row)
Individual evidence
- ^ Sibyl Marcuse : Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary. A complete, authoritative encyclopedia of instruments throughout the world. Country Life Limited, London 1966, p. 203, sv Gekkin
- ^ Sibyl Marcuse, 1966, p. 595, sv Yüeh-ch'in