Beiguan Instruments
| leading drum |
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Also known as the "leading drum" or "single-headed drum", it is often combined with clappers and wooden clappers in a Beiguan orchestra and leads the entire performance. |
| second drum |
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Also known as the "second drum", it is the most frequently used traditional Chinese percussion instrument– even used in imperial banquets in ancient times. |
| Wuchang Instrument |
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Made of copper, this gong is also known as the copper gong. It comes in different sizes and variations depending on the region. It can be divided into large gongs, small gongs, cloud gongs, and big copper gongs, among others. |
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In the Beiguan music system, the clappers are divided into large and small ones, with a sound similar to that of a cowbell. The rhythm of the large clappers is usually similar to that of the big gong, while the small clappers are played in a similar way to the xylophone. | |
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Also known as the "soup gong" or "bowl gong", the Xiangzhan is one of the percussion instruments with eight or ten tones used in Beiguan and Nanguan performances. |
| Wenchang Instrument |
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The traditional suona has eight sound holes in its body, and the sound is produced by blowing air into the reed whistle held in the mouth, causing it to vibrate and resonate through the body and the bowl. |
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The shell Banjo is a special huqin instrument used in Taiwanese opera and puppetry music. Its shape is similar to that of the erhu, but the body and the entire instrument are usually smaller, with a coconut shell body, hence its name. |
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The Jinghu is a bowed string instrument. It was originally called the "Huqin" or "Er guo zi". The Jinghu was developed from the huqin in Huai opera. It is one of the main accompaniment instruments in Beijing opera and Han opera, hence its name. | |
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The Sanxian is a traditional Chinese plucked instrument. It has three strings, hence its name "Sanxian", and it plays an important role in Chinese orchestras due to its unique sound. |
Instrument seating arrangements
In a Beiguan orchestra, the seating arrangement is usually in the shape of the Chinese character "ㄇ", with the leading drum and second drum in the center, and the instruments in the “wenchang” (civil) and “wuchang” (military) categories on either side. The performance is in a fixed location.
The instruments in the “wenchang” category sit to the right of the leading drum, or the "dragon side", and play the melody.
The instruments in the “wuchang” category sit to the left of the leading drum, or the "tiger side", and include various percussion instruments.
