Saturday, September 6, 2008

Paixiao

The ''paixiao'' is an ancient wind instrument, a form of pan pipes. It is no longer used, having died out in ancient times, although in the 20th century it was reconstructed.

In Korea, an instrument called the ''so'' was derived from the ''paixiao'' and used in ritual music.

A musician named Gao Ming plays a modernized version of the ''paixiao'' in the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House in Xi'an; he has been a member of this ensemble since 1982. While his instrument superficially resembles the instrument used during the Tang Dynasty, its pipes have rather than being end-blown, it is played with the pipes held horizontally rather than vertically, and it is set up to play in parallel thirds.

No comments: