Essay On The Development Of The Sheng After The 1950s

Sheng(a reed pipe wind instrument),as the representative of the Chinese traditional musical instrument,was created at the Shang Dynasty.We can see the epitome of the development of Chinese traditional ethnic musical instruments from sheng.It played the role as royal refined music at the Western Zhou Dynasty,then blended in the Yan music at the Song Dynasty,widely circulated among the people,but declined at the Qing Dynasty.It has returned to the historical stage after being researched and improved under the national policies since the 1950s.This text researches in the development process of the sheng and emphasizes the improvement process and results after the 1950s.It classifies and analyzes sheng's multiple improvements.In addition,this text conducts a comparative study on shape then to the techniques as well as skillsbetween the traditional and the modified sheng,eventually gets the reflection and summary about the improvement direction and phenomenon of the musical instruments.This paper consists of four chapters.The first chapter briefly describes the reasons for the rise of musical instruments and the preliminary practical process.The second chapter elaborates the historical development of the traditional sheng,the structure of and the playing skills of it,and the development process of the improved sheng,as the case of 36 and 37 reeds.The third chapter discusses the innovation mode and the performance techniques brought by the improved sheng music.The fourth chapter introspects the improvement of the sheng,analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the improved instrument objectively and puts forward suggestions on the sheng's further development.The author neatens the developmental stage of traditional ethnic musical instruments' rapid evolution,discovers the contradiction and the fusion between the traditional and modern improved instrument.The author hopes to have a positive effect on the development of the country's sheng art.