We have already arranged a concert at the high school music conservatory and a visit to one of the schools of traditional music. I was very surprised to find out that although I have a fair number of Asian students in my orchestra, few knew what traditional instruments were. So I decided to do a little research and share what I found. Traditional Chinese music can sound very foreign. It has been fairly easy taking simple folk tunes and cre ating simple arrangements for my elementary orchestra.
Ornamentation is a sign of virtuosity.
This is a low, rectangular wooden box that has 5 to 10 silk strings. It is a zither-like instrument with no frets or bridge. It dates back more than 3000 years. It was the first of the plucked or strummed instruments. Many of the later lutes, dulcimers, and zithers evolved from the qin.