Day 4 ~ China (Pipa)

Today we travel the expanse of China, through the 56 ethnicities, to discover the instrument PIPA.

There is an online INTERACTIVE pipa, you can try out on the website of one of the world's leading proponents of pipa, Wu Man.  Click on ENTER and enjoy audio samples, descriptions of the pipa and Wu Man, plus a very COOL interactive pipa you can play along with (click on 'what is a pipa')!!  AND she has a documentary film about returning to China from the US to meet and play with musicians THROUGHOUT the country!  (This movie is definitely going to be shown at the Ureuk World Music House, and will be available in the archives of the Listening Room.)

 I first came to know of Wu Man about 15 years ago through amazing label Waterlily Acoustics. Waterlily Acoustics is my favorite record label in the world for so many reasons; breathtaking music, Sufi poems interlaced in the liner notes, stunning portraits of the artists.  Captured on the albums is not only music, but the human experience, and the language of the heart.  Master musicians of different cultures, with different musical instruments gathered together to create music.  While "East Meets West" has been a popular theme in the US since the meeting famous "sitar meeting" of the late Pandit Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, the idea of "East Meets East" in the US has come about, with deeply beautiful results, thanks to Waterlily Acoustics.  It is the only record label still recording analog; to maintain the sound closest to 'real' live music.  One of my favorite Waterlily Acoustics albums is Wu Man (pipa) and Martin Simpson (guitar) "Music for the Motherless Child."

This 40-day Virtual World Tour of Music correlates with the World Music House  kickstarter crowdfund.  Wu Man's pipa music will be a part of the Ureuk World Music House archives for the Listening Room, along with all Waterlily Acoustics albums!