Guan (instrument) - Construction

Construction

The guan consist of a short cylindrical tube made of hardwood in northern China, where the instrument is called bili. In the Guangdong region of southern China, it is made from bamboo and is called houguan (literally "throat guan"). It was originally used by street vendors but became incorporated into the Cantonese opera orchestra beginning in the 1920s. By the 1950s it had become popular throughout Guangdong and larger sizes were developed. Hardwood guans use and require a hard reed, whereas bamboo guans normally use a soft reed (however, sometimes a different hardness is used to change the timbre.)

An instrument called the ah-bó-ta̍t-á (鸭母哒仔), o͘-ta̍t-á (烏笛仔), or Táiwān guǎn (台湾管), which is similar to the houguan, is also found in Taiwan. This Taiwanese guan is often used in the Taiwanese opera orchestra. Like the Cantonese houguan, it comes in three sizes, each of which has a small brass bell to increase its volume,photo and does not overblow, giving it a register of just over one octave.

Traditionally, the guan has seven finger holes on the top and one thumb hole on the back. The length of a traditional guan varies from 7 inches (18 cm) to 13 inches (33 cm), or up to 50 cm for a large Cantonese houguan.

The Cantonese houguan is available in three sizes; the medium and large sizes have a small brass bell at the end.photo The northern guanzi comes in various keys. The two standard higher versions are in soprano and alto range, although there is also a notable piccolo version called "Shuangguan" that is small enough where it is commonly played side by side in harmony by one person taking advantage of "plumber's grip" with both reeds in the mouth simultaneously. Other than the "Houguan", other common bamboo guan include the "Yamudi" of Taiwan, the "Luguan" of Hunan, the "Bili" of northern China, the Uyghur "Pipi", and the "Xibili" of the Korean autonomous region. The only other "Guanzi" hardwood versions also exist in northwest China that share a similarity to the Armenian Duduk and Turkish Mey.

In the 20th century, modern versions of the guan were developed in China. These modernized guan, which may be as long as a Western clarinet, have extra holes and are fitted with metal keys to provide a wider and fully chromatic range. Such instruments are used primarily in large traditional orchestras. The keyed "guanzi" are normally used for tenor and baritone ranges respectively. Although these "jiajian" (keyed) instruments are made of hardwood, their design originates from the houguan and their key system is related to clarinet's Boehm system with a bell either like a clarinet or English Horn. They range of these instruments are as large as a clarinet. There is also a Guanzi in the upper ranges that use the main open holes and added keys for chromatic pitches and range extensions.

All guan have a large, wide double reed made from Arundo cane, which is inserted into the top end of the tube.

Typical ranges of the orchestral Guan:

• Small guan "xiaoguanzi" in D and Bb (sopranino)
• Middle guan "zhongguanzi" in A, G, and F (soprano)
• Big Guan "daguanzi" in D (alto) often called the "da D"
• Keyed Center Range guan "zhongyinguan" in A or G (tenor)
• Keyed Low Range guan "diyinguan" in D (baritone)