The pipa (also sometimes written p'i p'a) is 4-stringed
Chinese lute with a
pear-shaped body. There are six inverted
frets on the
neck and up to 24
bamboo frets on the body. The usual tuning of the 4 strings is A-D-E-A.
There are two styles of traditional pipa music. The Wen style is lyrical and and expressive, while the Wu style is martial in character and tends to be more forceful and dynamic.
Min Xiao-Fen is contemporary pipa virtuoso, playing both the classical pipa styles along with new music, including free improvisation with well known avant garde musicians such as George Lewis and John Zorn.