The Basics
The pipa is a pear-shaped, four-stringed instrument similar to a lute, and one of the oldest known Chinese instruments, with a history dating back 2000 years. The name “pipa” comes from the sounds the strings make when they are plucked in either direction: “pi” and “pa.”
Originally from China, Tiffany Liu has been learning and performing pipa for over 20 years. In these videos, Tiffany performs a piece for pipa, shares about her experiences playing pipa and what it means to her, and invites us to take a detailed look at the pipa and how it is played, and try out the basic strumming pattern for ourselves.
The piece that Tiffany performs in her video is called “Yi Zu Wu Qu” (“Yi Dance”), composed by Wang Huiran. It is one of the most famous and celebrated pieces for pipa in China today, and as Tiffany tells us, is about a festival.
Extension Activities
The songs that Tiffany plays and the stories behind them offer wonderful opportunities for exploring and contrasting tempo, dynamics, melodic contour, and mood through movement, scarves, ribbons and percussion instruments.
Learners could also improvise accompaniments or interludes on mallet or other melodic instruments using the notes of the pentatonic scale.
About Tiffany
Originally from China, Tiffany Liu has been learning and performing pipa for over 20 years. In 2014, Tiffany successfully held her first solo concert. She came to Canada five years ago and introduced pipa to many audiences on PEI ever since. She performed for many events such as Music PEI Week, PEI DiverseCity Festival and the 4th annual fundraiser of Celebration for Island women.
Tiffany has a Bachelor of Arts from Shenyang Normal University in China and a Master of Education from the University of Prince Edward Island. In addition to performing, she also teaches pipa playing and fosters an appreciation of arts by instructing on concepts and leading students in hands-on activities, and encouraging the joy of making music.
