The instrument is confusing. It looks like an extended biwa without the extreme frets, but only has three strings like a shamisen. Somebody with more instrument knowledge please help.
The instrument is confusing. It looks like an extended biwa without the extreme frets, but only has three strings like a shamisen. Somebody with more instrument knowledge please help.
The instrument is confusing. It looks like an extended biwa without the extreme frets, but only has three strings like a shamisen. Somebody with more instrument knowledge please help.
Zuxvejq said:
distorted biwa, & this actually has 4 strings.
It's a Chinese pipa, the instrument that the Japanese biwa is derived from. Note the arrangement of the four tuning pegs (two by two on opposite sides), which is only present (or prevalent) in Ming-style and later pipa. Japanese biwa have 'bent' headstocks, a characteristic found in earlier (e.g. Tang-style) pipa.
That said, the body of the instrument looks a bit off (not pear-shaped or big enough), and the neck is (proportionally due to the smaller body) elongated. Ming-style and later pipa are also usually plucked with the fingers and not with a plectrum. This could be some Korean influences seeping in; I think Joseon bipa have longer necks and smaller bodies. This is likely unintended by the author though.
