The tiqin ( Chinese: 提琴; pinyin: tíqín) is a name applied to several two-stringed Chinese bowed string musical instruments in the huqin family of instruments.
Types
There are several types of tiqin:
- The tiqin used for kunqu opera
- The tiqin used for Cantonese music
- The tiqin used in Fujian and Taiwan
- An antiquated name for the sihu
Overview
The tiqin used in Cantonese music, also known as the zhutiqin (竹提琴) is a member of the "hard bow" (硬弓) ensemble in Cantonese opera. Its neck is made of hardwood, often suanzhi ( 酸枝, rosewood) or zitan ( 紫檀, red sandalwood). The zhutiqin's sound chamber is made of a very large section of bamboo (larger than that of the erxian, another bowed string instrument used in Cantonese music). Instead of snakeskin, the face is made of a piece of tong wood ( 桐, Firmiana simplex) or palm wood (like the face of a yehu). The back of the sound chamber is made of the natural joint in bamboo, with sound holes cut in it. The tiqin used today in Cantonese opera is tuned to 仜-士/mi-la/E-a (the opposite of the erxian, which is tuned A-e.)
The name also occasionally referred to what is now called the sihu.
Additionally, the term tiqin is used in Chinese as a generic term referring to Western bowed string instruments of the violin family:
- Xiao tiqin ( 小提琴) = violin
- Zhong tiqin ( 中提琴) = viola
- Da tiqin ( 大提琴) = cello
- Diyin tiqin ( 低音提琴) = double bass
See also
External links
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