Se (instrument) - Playing Context

Playing Context

There are very few players of the se, which largely became extinct during ancient time, although it is survived in the guzheng. The only notable se player in the 20th century was Wu Jinglüe, who was primarily a guqin player. There are also very few surviving examples of musical tablature for the instrument, a majority existing in qinpu (tablature for the guqin) in which the se was used to provide accompaniment for the qin.

Recently, there has been a revived interest in the se, with some musicians studying it. There are also a few factories that make a modern se using nylon-wrapped metal strings, though the instrument needs to be properly researched using modern mediums for it to be fully acceptable as a playable instrument for general musical purposes.