How the konghou makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the konghou belongs to the harps: strings run at an angle away from the soundboard, each plucked open.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The konghou (Chinese: 箜篌; pinyin: kōnghóu) is a Chinese plucked string instrument. In ancient China, the term konghou came to refer to three different musical instruments: a zither and two different types of harp.
Today, konghou usually refers the modern konghou concert harp, which was invented in the last century. Shu-konghou refers to an extinct vertical angular harp, and feng shou konghou to an extinct arched harp.
Other harps
Frequently asked questions
What does a konghou sound like?
As one of the harps, its sound comes from the way strings run at an angle away from the soundboard, each plucked open.
What type of instrument is the konghou?
It is classified as harps (Hornbostel–Sachs 322.12).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q60517 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Konghou – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Ws227 – CC BY-SA 4.0