Sheng (instrument)

The kinds of sheng currently used are the products of changes made since the early 20th century that enhanced its sound and volume as well as increasing its range. Early changes were made by Zheng Jinwen (鄭覲文, 1872–1935) who increased the number of pipes to 32, expanding its range and allowing it to play harmony and chords. The air chamber and size of the pipes were also enlarged, changing the tone color of the instrument.[4] Later various changes were also introduced by players such as Weng Zhenfa (翁鎮發) and particularly Hu Tianquan (胡天泉), with different variants of the instrument produced.

Sheng - The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw

The traditional sheng (传统笙, pinyin: chuántǒng shēng) used in, for example, northern Chinese ritual music, kunqu and Jiangnan sizhu ensembles generally have 17 pipes but with only 13 or 14 sounding pipes. Its scale is mainly diatonic, for example the 17-pipe (4 of which are silent decorative pipes) sheng used in Jiangnan sizhu is tuned:

[5]

With the development of guoyue music in mid-20th century China, the sheng underwent changes to increase its range and volume. The guoyue sheng had all its 17 pipes fitted with reeds, then the number of pipes increased to 21, and metal tubes were attached to the bamboo pipes to amplify its sound. The other change was the development of the keyed sheng.

Nowadays, traditional sheng are usually only used for solo repertoire, due them not being fully chromatic (and also the fact that certain techniques - like glissandi - can only be achieved on a traditional sheng). For an orchestra setting, keyed shengs tend to be preferred for being fully chromatic. It is worth noting that many modern traditional shengs do come with some keys for ease of fingering; there are also fully chromatic traditional shengs. These are still known by the blanket term "traditional sheng" due to them retaining the typical traditional sheng-like fingering. Also, traditional shengs are usually held in the player's hands when playing, and a 37-reed fully chromatic traditional sheng tends to be too heavy to be for long performances.

A 36-reed Soprano Sheng

Chromatic 24- and 26-reed keyed sheng were common during the 1950s, but current models usually have 32 to 38 reeds. There are four main ranges of keyed sheng, forming a family of soprano, alto, tenor and bass. All are chromatic throughout their range, and equal tempered. They have markedly different fingering from their traditional counterparts, having been redesigned so that key changes can be achieved without cumbersome fingerings. These also differ from their traditional counterparts by the fact that they tend to be placed on the musician's lap or on a stand while playing.

The Soprano Sheng (高音笙, pinyin Gāoyīn Shēng)\ is a 36-reed Sheng with a soprano range of G3 to F#6. It primarily uses the treble clef in sounding pitch.

However, to suit the needs of modern repertoire, 38- or even 42-reed Shengs have become increasingly prevalent in the late 2010s. Some models even include levers that allow for sounding of chords (i.e. more than one note is sounded when one lever is depressed).

An Alto Sheng

A man playing sheng in the outdoor, Beijing

Musician Wu Wei playing the sheng

The Alto Sheng (中音笙, pinyin Zhōngyīn Shēng) is a 36-reed Sheng with an alto range of C3 to B5. They sound a perfect 5th lower than Soprano Sheng. They often sport an additional row of 12 black keys, that plays all 3 pipes corresponding to the same note in different octaves (e.g., pressing the black "C" causes the notes C3, C4 and C5 to be sounded simultaneously). It primarily uses the treble (octave down) and alto clefs (albeit less common as of the late 2010s - notably with Singapore Chinese Orchestra deciding to scribe Alto Sheng scores in treble clef). The Alto variants tend to have a more mellow timbre than the slightly more metallic sounding Soprano Sheng. It is worth noting the regional differences — while many countries have Alto Shengs with a range of C3 to B5, some regional variants tend to have a range of G2 to F#5 (i.e. the Tenor Sheng's range).

The Alto Sheng plays an important role in modern Chinese orchestras, serving to provide chordal accompaniment as well as supplementing lower-pitched instruments like the cello. There are two main form factors of Alto Shengs in modern Chinese music: the Bao Sheng (抱笙, lit: hug Sheng) and the Pai Sheng (排笙, lit: Sheng in rows). The Bao Sheng (抱笙) is usually placed on the musician's lap; one would reach around to the buttons on its posterior (in effect hugging the instrument, and hence the name). It is cylindrical in nature, and tends to be smaller (i.e. less heavy and bulky) due to the pipes having been engineered to bend inside the body to make effective use of all available space inside the Sheng. This, however, presents the drawback of it being difficult to disassemble and reassemble for maintenance or repairs. The Pai Sheng (排笙) on the other hand, is typically placed on a Sheng stand. This form is so named as the pipes and resonators are arranged into 3 rows (in a linear manner) instead of a circular fashion. These are commonly seen in school orchestras, as there's a reduced likelihood of it being dropped (since it is placed on a stand), and is less difficult/expensive to repair (due to its simpler layout).

The Tenor Sheng (次中音笙, pinyin Cìzhōngyīn Shēng) is a 36-reed Sheng with a tenor range of G2 to F#5 that sound one octave lower than Soprano Sheng, and primarily uses the alto clef or treble clef (octave down), and at times the bass clef. This variant tends to have a warmer and richer timbre, despite being less common than its Alto counterpart. They are sometimes made with more reeds to cover the Alto Sheng's range as well, and also come in 2 form factors (Pai Sheng and Bao Sheng).

Sheng players from Taiwan with different types of Sheng [6]

The Bass Sheng (低音笙, pinyin Dīyīn Shēng) is usually a 32-reed Sheng with a bass range of C2 to G4, and primarily uses the bass clef.

These similarly come in two form factors as well: the da paisheng (大排笙, lit. large row sheng); a large standing organ-like instrument that comes with or without pedals, and the baosheng (lit. held sheng, although it is placed on a stand due to its weight). With the Bass Sheng, the differences between the 2 variants are more pronounced; Bass paisheng tend to require a greater breath volume to play.

In the 21st century, Keyboard Shengs (键盘笙, pinyin Jiànpán Shēng), or Pai Shengs that have a keyboard layout instead of the typical buttons, have emerged. These can vary from 37-reed shengs all the way to 53-reed ones, covering a variety of ranges from Alto to Bass. That being said, these are more a niche, as very few repertoire make use of the keyboard layout. In fact, many of the chordal parts written for sheng are currently heavily clustered, and as such, a keyboard layout tends to result in slightly cumbersome fingering.