Root cards, Tibetan bow string ming instruments. Has a long history, the earliest used only for classical dance “sac Mary,” the accompaniment, not in the folk pop. Reform of the 1950s made of high, middle and bass series roots cards. Strong flavor of the rich timbre of the plateau has been used solo, trio, or folk dance ensemble accompaniment, by the Tibetan people loved, popular Lhasa, Xigaze and other places.
Historical roots Card
Ancient records
Tibetan people industrious, versatile, singing and dancing. According to historical records, as early as 1300 years ago, Tibetan music by the Central Plains cultural influence on the development to a higher level, and have a more perfect song and dance. Tang said the Tibetans as the “Tibet” and it was close to Han Chinese and Tibetans, fifteen years of Tang Dynasty (641 AD), Emperor’s daughter Princess Wen Cheng Yang clan came to Lhasa, the Tibetan national leader Songtsen married , Emperor Li Shimin also specifically sent a huge orchestra with her into hiding. The legacy of the band instruments, some still being kept in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet, because dry climate, there is little damage to the instrument. These instruments brightly-colored, beautifully produced, a total of more than fifty pieces, it is said this is just one part of which is also mixed with Tibetan ancient musical instruments, among them the root of the card. In the early 1950s, Tibetan calendar every year on February 30 when the bright treasure Festival, a collection of cards at the root of the Jokhang Temple and other musical instruments, has become one of the treasures parade show. ?
Relatively long history, roots card treasure collected in addition to being outside the Jokhang Temple, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama’s band dance team, also using only one root of the card, in the past history, it is not popular in Tibetan folk . Ancient roots cards more unique chic shapes it and China’s Xinjiang Uygur popular Aijie Ke is very similar, but also with the adjacent country of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and other countries of the South Caucasus and the Middle East Qin Ji Puke, Near East countries The Qin Jia Mancha similar in that they originated in the same 10th century stringed instrument Ka Manga of Bozrah. According to the Tibet University Art Department teachers, the former local government of Tibet Dalai Lama Dhondup Bazan court dance team captain, said: In the former Tibetan local government palace dance team holds about historical information, the Department has recorded the root card Dalai period ( 1642 -1682 years) and Gell dance simultaneously from Ladakh kingdom in western Tibet Lhasa spread eastward. Accordingly, the root card into China in Tibet in the 17th century, has been 300 years of history.
Root card is occupied
In the dark feudal society, the root card is the upper rulers themselves, only used to playing court music “sac Mary”, for them to enjoy a few people. It is said that the Dalai Lama’s guard of honor at the root of the card is also used. Tibetan classical dance “sac Mary” is in the court on the basis of music developed, initially only with a wooden bar in the accompaniment, to the early 18th century, the Sixth Dalai late, has been used to participate in the root card accompaniment. 19th century, due to frequent wars in Tibet, famine year after year and dance depression, early 20th-century since the late thirteenth Dalai, because “sac Mary” recession once again, leaving the root of the card on the brink of extinction situation. Until after the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the Tibetan musician before it got rid of the shackles of the Potala Palace, began to move toward folk, demonstrate its exuberant youth.
Root playing cards
There plucked musical skills, jump bow, etc., and can play the chords. Can be used for solo, trio, ensemble or dance accompaniment, in Tibetan classical dance and folk band has played more important position. However, the conventional structure has the root card larger defects, only small volume, in the middle of the string pronunciation is weak, is only suitable for playing indoors. Playing sitting position, his left hand piano Anxian, right hand bow to pull the string playing outside, can play chords, jumping bow and plucked so on. The original roots in the structure of the card has a great defect, not only the volume is small, the middle of the chord sound too weak and is only suitable for indoor play. Right hand longbow, jump bow, bow Dayton, broken bow, plucked and so bowing, left hand and the sound, overtones, tremolo, vibrato and other techniques. For solo, ensemble, orchestra or dance, Tibetan opera accompaniment.
Root card structure
Traditional root card
Traditional root card shape is very chic, it and the Xinjiang Uygur popular Aijie Ke is very similar, but also with the Soviet Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and other ethnic Chuck piano South Caucasus and the Middle East, the Near East countries Qin Jia Mancha similar They originated in ancient Persia with pull strings.
Root card Qintong Jun altar was shaped piece of wood with a screw made car, the former mouth small Mongolian sheepskin or skin, after the port is a larger sound hole, shell painted Tibetan style with dark design patterns. Piano bar to rough up fine cone, no fretboard. Headstock shaft tip top chords are carved gourd-shaped. Headstock, piano bar and Qintong connected straight, like a sword shank inserted in watermelon. There are three strings. Qintong support pillar on the bottom of a piano, suitable grounds sit outs.
The root card reform
Treble root card reform, length 78 cm, and a piano bar with a piano box color wood production, wood cabinet with a 16 piece car spin together. Piano bar shortened, increasing the fretboard. Increases the resonance box and film area, change Mongolian python and the resonance box near the inner coating disposed at the rear mouth in order to increase the resonance, the volume is significantly increased, the three strings pronunciation uniform, easy to lower the position according to the string and playing skills to play. As the piano seat into crescent-shaped, but also conducive to the piano playing into lap sitting position.
Root card tuning
Strings by five, four degrees between tuning, often defined as e1, b1, e2, effective range over three octaves. It maintained traditional ethnic roots style and sound card, sound loud and clear, sound Gentle sounds, rich flavor of the plateau. Suitable for solo, ensemble and join orchestra or classical dance and folk dance heap sac Ma Tse accompaniment, good at playing folk tunes and foreign music. And it is accompanied by the bass root cards, they have become the band’s new ethnic Tibetan main pull strings.
Root card types
In Tibetan band, musical instrument has been used family roots card, which includes treble, midrange and bass root card three kinds, they have become the main Tibetan folk bands pull strings.
Treble root card
In 1958, Beijing Institute of Yao Wenlin, director of musical instruments in the traditional roots card, based on the reforms made treble root cards. Length 67 cm, piano box, piano bar are made of colored wood production, piano box with 16 wooden slats splicing adhesive spin after the car is made. Shorten the piano bar, an increase fretboard, piano box to change before opening for the face mask python, and in the piano inside the mouth cavity after setting near the inner coating, two film is placed between the frets to increase the resonance, the volume was significantly increases. Zhang three steel strings, violin bow with outboard pull-outs. Meniscus due to the piano seat, turn right and left, which will help to put the legs in a sitting position to play the piano, it maintains the traditional roots card features ethnic style and tone, loud sound, timbre Gentle sounds, richer strong plateau charm. ??
The mid-1950s, the Tibetan Song and Dance Troupe Chen Dalin, Zhang Xiangsheng other musicians, the first card is used for traditional roots bands, after 1963 and 1965, twice the root card reform, making a treble, alto root card and widely used for music performances. Their roots card treble, length 77 cm. Piano box was tapped small altar, piano box before the mouth of Mongolia to python, surface diameter of 12.6 cm, later gradually, the altar at the end of the maximum diameter of 16.5 cm, wooden floor altar at the end of the central cone vents open, diameter 5.2 cm. Piano bar with ebony fretboard, plate length 35.2 cm. Headstock set triaxial, Zhang three violin strings, bow with violin bow. Piano box under the wooden crescent-shaped base with a metal rod connected with the piano box. Home sitting on the piano played in the left leg, sonorous and beautiful, you can play a variety of double strings and tone. ?
Academy of Music in Beijing, China Art Research Institute of Chinese musical instruments museum, there is a reform of musical instruments showroom, in a glass box, tied with two treble root cards. Where the altar was a piano box-shaped, box length 13.5 cm, box wall with colored wooden slats fight stick together, but also the use of color wooden altar at the end produced the box before opening for the face mask python, surface diameter of 12 cm, the largest altar at the end 17.2 cm in diameter, with a circular base plate central opening sound hole, diameter 5.6 cm, reformers inside the cavity near the piano at the sound hole, set the cross-section within the film, the cavity is divided into before and after the two chambers, front cavity walls of the box on both sides of the opening five holes are formed by a flower-shaped acoustic window, two film-branches have frets, python vibrations transmitted to the endothelial membrane through frets resonance enhanced by volume. Headstock, piano bar with a piece of colored wood, length 67 cm. Headstock is cylindrical, the top was gourd-shaped, rectangular lower opening chord grooves on both sides set three pegs. Rosewood pegs system, shaft length 13 cm, shaft top is also a gourd-shaped. Piano bar semicircular columnar body, before the flat after the round, the narrow width, according to the string on which the sticky mahogany fretboard. Leather wooden bridge central position Qin Ma, Ma high 2.5 cm. Zhang three steel strings. Let tied wooden piano chords and bottom meniscus wooden adjustable piano seat. This piano instrument for the 1958 Beijing Institute of reform treble root cards, choice of materials known, well-made. Has been loaded “Chinese musical instrument field guide” large pictures in. Another treble root card was for reform in Tibet Song and Dance Troupe.
Playing, using the posture, the card will be erected on the left chest roots, bottom meniscus piano piano seat is placed on the left leg, left hand supporting the piano bar, index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger can be used according to the string, the right executive violin external pull-outs in the bow string, playing the piano body rotation is small, mainly by hand to adjust the bow string tail rubbing angle. Root card relationship by five degrees tune a stringed instrument, treble root cards often tuned in: d1, a1, e2, range d1-e3. Crisp and bright treble sound card root. Rich musical skills, right hand longbow, jump bow, bow Dayton, broken bow, plucked, etc., can be played left-handed two-tone, chords, harmonics, tremolo, vibrato, etc., where the general stringed instrument bow, fingering, and for the other , the card can be used on top of the root. You can solo, trio, ensemble or classical dance “sac Mary” folk dance “heap harmony” and the Tibetan “heap Ga” accompaniment, or good at playing the Tibetan ethnic tunes, full of rich flavor plateau. The more famous songs include: “Grandma Le fire”, “Zhongba sac loose” and “What Ringling Salala” and so on.
Alto root card
20 In the 1960s, Chinese musician to reform the root card, made of three strings alto tenor root root card card is tuned: g, d1, a1, range g-a2. Soft tone sounding tenor root card. Hemispherical resonator with sheepskin trim. Neck and piano bar in a straight line, headstock eagle tower decoration. Violin pegs pegs with the same. Piano bar positive for the fingerboard, with violin strings.
Bass roots Card
Following the 1958 reform made treble root card, Yao Wenlin styling while maintaining the root card on the basis of the reform will be enlarged and sizes resonance box structure design, has successfully developed two kinds of leather and wood surfaces bass root cards.
Leather bass root cards, sympathy cards box and treble same root, the differences are in the former film inside the mouth of a coating device controller, you can reduce or eliminate the noise and adjust the sound; at the bridge between the pad and the film Round Paulownia sheet, in order to expand the bridge area and increased pressure film elasticity and prevent climate collapse weak when wet film; film in between the tailpiece and a plug to log ball, can enhance the flexibility of film; in the resonance cavity After the tone around the sides and windows were open four to six flower-shaped sound hole to open the volume, reduce nausea tone. Bass wood surface roots cards, resonance box before the mouth of Mongolia to the Indus white pine wood or sheet, leaving it arched panels, the central slightly thick, surrounded by a thin, making it easy for the vibration pronunciation, the plate has an annular groove open in four weeks. Length 150 cm bass root card, headstock length 24 cm, length 60 cm piano bar, piano box length 26 cm, maximum diameter of 46 cm, the front port diameter 34 cm, diameter 22 cm after the sound hole, Zhang four strings .
Playing, should adopt sitting, playing on a stool to sit on the tripod-shaped rotatable zither branch on the ground, who played piano on the left side of the body upright. Also can be played in the form of dances, the piano box against the inside of the left leg, left oblique piano bar, piano Anxian left hand, right hand holding the bow string pulled outside playing, can play. Range over two octaves. Deep and beautiful tone.
