From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The guzheng or gu zheng (?? - pronunciation) or zheng (?) (gu- means "ancient") is a traditional Chinese musical instrument. It belongs to the zither family of instruments. The guzheng is not to be confused with the guqin.
The guzheng is the parent instrument of the Japanese koto, the Korean gayageum, and the Vietnamese dan tranh.
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Description
The modern-day guzheng is a plucked, half-tube zither with movable bridges and 21 strings, although it can have anywhere from 15 to 25 strings (a customized version exists with more than 34 strings).
The guzheng has a large resonant cavity made from Wu-tong wood (Paulownia tomentosa). Other components may be made from other woods, usually for structural and decorative purposes.
Playing styles
There are many methods of playing the guzheng, from basic plucking actions (right and left hand) to the complicated finger shake (right hand). Plucking is done by the right hand with four plectra (picks) attached to the fingers. Advanced players may use picks attached to fingers of both hands. Ancient picks were made of ivory and later also from tortoise shell.
The sound of the guzheng can express a cascading waterfall, thunder and even the scenic countryside. The guzheng's pentatonic scale ranges to Do, Re, Mi, So and La, but Fa and Ti can be made by pressing the strings to the left of the soundboard. A famous piece for guzheng is known as Zhan Tai Feng (???; Fighting with Typhoon), composed by Wang Chang Yuan.
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