Pipa

Chinese music · ancient instruments · string instruments

Pear-shaped body. The pipa has a distinctive pear-shaped wooden body that makes it instantly recognizable. This special shape helps create the warm, rich tones the instrument is famous for.

Four strings, many frets. The pipa has four strings that players pluck to make music, and the wooden neck can have anywhere from 12 to 31 frets that change the notes. More frets means more notes a musician can play.

Really, really old. The pipa might have existed in China as far back as the Han dynasty, making it over 2,000 years old. That makes it one of the world's most ancient musical instruments still played today.

Chinese lute cousin. The pipa is sometimes called the Chinese lute because it's similar to lutes found in other parts of the world. There's also a smaller cousin called the liuqin that looks like a mini version of the pipa.

Name got specific. Long ago, the word pipa was used for many different plucked string instruments in China. But since the Song dynasty, pipa only refers to the pear-shaped instrument we know today.