How Is The Bamboo Hammer Influenced Yangqin Music Of China

In the course of its centuries-long historical development, and particularly since the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese dulcimer (yangqin) has been widely employed to provide accompaniment for all kinds of traditional music genres, such as opera, narrative singing, instrumental ensembles, and folk song and dance. Furthermore, as a solo instrument, under the influence of different anthropological and geographical environments, different schools of dulcimer have emerged, each bearing strong local characteristics and displaying a unique style. Though originally being a musical instrument exotic to China, once the dulcimer was introduced in China proper not only its name and repertoire began changing, but also its construction and performing techniques started evolving. In the history of Chinese music instruments, one of foreign origins like the dulcimer, which in the relatively short span of five hundred years becomes universally accepted as a "Chinese national music instrument" , is hardly found.The dulcimer' s hummers are an important part of the instrument. Their development has been crucial for the "enculturation" of dulcimer in the Chinese context. Moreover, the hammers testify to the typical strength Chinese traditional music exhibits in absorbing and assimilating elements of foreign music, as well as the influence that China' s unique environment can exert on the development of music instruments. The hammers of Western dulcimers were originally made of wood. Upon entering China, the hammers were gradually made of bamboo. However, evolution in the construction and performance of the instrument did not simply affected the material employed for its making, it also influenced its shape, its performing method, its acoustics and the musical style. The focus of the present dissertation is on the development of the dulcimer' s hammers and their influence upon the growth of Chinese dulcimer' s music culture.