How the paiban makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the paiban belongs to the struck idiophones: the body is struck directly – bells, gongs, xylophones and cymbals.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
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 paiban (Chinese: 拍板; pinyin: pāibǎn) is a clapper made from several flat pieces of hardwood or bamboo (or, formerly, sometimes also ivory or metal), which is used in many different forms of Chinese music. There are many different types of paiban, and the instrument is also referred to as bǎn (板), tánbǎn (檀板; 'sandalwood clapper'), mùbǎn (木板; 'wooden clapper'), or shūbǎn (书板). Typical materials used for the paiban include zitan (紫檀; 'rosewood or red sandalwood'), hongmu (红木), or hualimu (花梨木; 'rosewood'), or bamboo, with the slats tied together loosely on one end with cord. It is held vertically by one hand and clapped together, producing a sharp clacking sound.
When used together with a small drum (both played together by a single player, the paiban held in one hand and the drum played with a stick held in the other) the two instruments are referred to collectively as guban (鼓板). Somewhat confusingly, the clapper is sometimes also referred to, without the drum, as guban.
Other struck idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a paiban sound like?
As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the paiban?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.11).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q5960459 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Paiban – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Badagnani ( talk ) – CC BY-SA 3.0