About me
I am Fan-Qi Wu, a pipa player from Taiwan, currently doing my master degree at Gothenburg University. Compared to most pipa players, I took a path that few people would choose in their studies, choosing a university not focused on traditional music and taking my pipa with me to Sweden after graduation to complete my musical pursuits. I thought I would follow the same path as other pipa players after graduation, but to my surprise, it was like a parallel line that never crossed...
To know more about me and my other projects:
About Pipa
Pipa is one of the most traditional instruments in the world. Although we call it a “Chinese instrument”, it actually descends from Central Asia. Traveling through the ancient Silk Road routes, the pipa was introduced in China during the Tang dynasty and brought a new sound and music theory to Chinese musical culture. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the way of playing pipa was changed under the long-lasting influences of Chinese culture. Later, in the 20th century, the concept of Western Equal Temperament was introduced to pipa music. That has inspired another reform on pipa itself and expanded the possibilities and diversities concerning pipa performance.
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What brings me here?
In the summer of 2019, I received a full scholarship from Ethno Sweden, being one of two Taiwanese recipients to participate in this world music workshops. Not only did I collaborate with musicians from different countries, but I also learned diverse genres of music from them. This experience truly broadened my horizons. Later, I was also chosen by Ethno World to be one of the members of Ethno On the Road 2019.
During these three weeks of the tour, I discovered that the pipa's role in this ensemble is mainly leading, taking all the main melodies. Only in a few selected moments, I accompanied others. And the way I mainly accompanied was by just playing long notes and tremolos. After the tour, this got me thinking: Pipa, as a solo instrument, has such a diverse, rich soundscape and timbre, why didn’t I utilize all it's strength in the ensemble setting?
This doubt brought about more subsequent questions, such as how can I smartly apply all the existent techniques and musical vocabularies for the pipa in different contexts? How can I use my solo techniques in ensemble settings without taking up too much space? How can I develop and maximize the sound of the pipa? How should a pipa sound in a western ensemble setting?
Many research articles, and thesis are already discussing topics like: “How does a traditional instrument blend with other genres?” “Traditional instrument in a contemporary scene” or even a case study of the well-known Pipa player Wu Man: “The making of a successful Chinese instrumentalist in the West.”(Boyu Zhang & Ching-Wah Lam, 2022) While much of the literature that exists about those topics has achieved a great degree of success, very few scholars have yet to focus on aspects within processes, such as “how those traditional musicians develop within an unfamiliar environment,” “how to balance between tradition and innovation,” “and the relationship between musicians from different cultural backgrounds,” etc.
Aim
This artistic research project explores how I, as a Taiwanese traditional musician in a Western musical context, have consciously and subconsciously adapted my playing. Furthermore, it aims to understand how I grew both musically and as a human being during my two years of studies.
Therefore, my main research question are:
How can I play Pipa in different Western musical contexts without losing my identity as a Taiwanese pipa player?
How will Western musical context affect my musical language/ pipa playing?
I firmly believe this research will provide an experience for other pipa players to understand the processes of working with non-traditional musicians and allow them to better prepare themselves before working in an unconventional environment, like having a guidebook ready to be used at the right time, rather than simply following their instincts without logic. Pipa players will be more confident about how to carry traditional characteristics with new inspirations and timbres. Furthermore, this research will fill up the research gap, letting people view the world from the players' eyes instead of the scholars’.
My research can shed light on more possibilities and developments for other pipa players and traditional musicians interested in collaborating with musicians worldwide. Through my research, I could provide them with new methods, aspects, and knowledge to create a more effective, balanced, organic, fruitful cross-genre fusion music collaboration.
Method
My artistic research will mainly be Practice-based Research. I will present various genre-based projects I have been working on in three different periods, both of my compositions and others. In that paragraph, I will analyze and evaluate the process of all the projects from different perspectives, such as communication, the way of composing, and the way of my playing.
Furthermore, I will compare and summarize the difference in the strategies, process and result between my own compositions and other composers’ compositions that include pipa. All the analysis and evaluation will unfold with audio, videos, and texts.
Lastly, I will come to a conclusion and reflection on this research.
