Conclusions and The Way Forward

Based on my research, I have come to the conclusions to answer my first research question: How can I play pipa in different Western musical contexts without losing my identity as a Taiwanese pipa player?

• Embracing my cultural heritage and identity.
• Consciously integrating traditional elements and concepts in projects.
• Exploring and experimenting with sounds through improvisations.

Moving to another country might put foreigners in a situation where they must adapt to society as soon as possible. Most people decided to change their cultural habits to blend with the locals. However, there are better ways to solve the situation than switching and changing the cultural identity. It will even let people get more confused and lost. To truly adapt to a new country, embracing cultural identity is the most important thing to do, not to be lost in the whole universe. And this also applies to music adaptation. Moving on, consciously integrating traditional elements and concepts in projects is another core method. Doing so feels like I have a reminder in my brain, even becoming a default line when I start a new composition or work on others’ projects. If this integration concept is with me daily, losing my identity as a pipa player will be hard. Last, but not least, it is to explore and experiment with sounds through improvising with people. Through improvisation, I adapt to the environment and develop my musical language regarding sound, timbre, and rhythm, enriching my playing and working with other people. Overall, the key to playing the pipa in different Western musical contexts is maintaining an open mind and being willing to experiment and explore.

To answer the second research question: How will Western musical context affect my musical language/ pipa playing?   Based on my research, the result of the sound map of the Pipa has shown as a great example of how Western musical context affects and allows me to extend my musical language. Through playing in Western ensemble settings, I could imitate my fellow musicians' musical vocabularies, further exploring and finding new sounds on my instrument. Combining knowledge of traditional pipa playing with new techniques and styles makes it easier to create a unique musical language that blends both Eastern and Western influences. As a result, I have developed my musical language/ own voice, which blends my cultural heritage with Western musical influences from my experiences.

In the paragraph, adapting pipa in the Western ensemble settings, it is evident that my current approach to adapting is based on using existing techniques, combining what I "think" of as guitar, double bass, and percussion without any real innovation. Therefore, in future studies, a closer look can be taken at how to create new techniques. First, I could learn the accompaniment techniques of bass and guitar, using pipa to play their musical vocabulary and intonation, and their logic of playing patterns. Then, absorb the parts suitable for pipa to play and develop on it later. 

Furthermore, due to the focus of this research, I couldn’t have time to discuss the topic of timbre/sound and amplification on pipa. However, this topic is essential to discuss and hopefully find a solution to solve the issue.

As a soloist, pipa allows us to play many different timbres easily, and I would say timbre is one of the most critical topics when it comes to pipa. Yet, I could not express my delicate transition between different timbres once I started working in the ensemble. Since pipa has a lower volume than most instruments, it is hard to compete with other instruments in terms of volume. Not even mention that the pipa cannot be heard when faced with a large ensemble. Therefore, I often cannot consider the timbre because, most of the time, I need to play as loud as possible. However, playing out loud continuously is not a great solution because it forces pipa player to use extra strength and energy, which may cause a serious overuse of muscles if it cannot be solved over time.

For this reason, most pipa players often need to be amplified, but the sound after being amplified is another issue. When amplified,  pipa sounds more “fake” and contains colors of electronic. Moreover, pipa players must adjust their strength while switching to be extremely soft and loud, for it might be too loud or too soft for both speakers and audiences. For now, I attempt to practice being amplified to become more familiar with the sound. However, this method still lacks and needs to be considered playing in different venues and working with other sound engineers. These are the issues that I will look for answers in my future research.  

Although more and more cross-cultural collaborations have increased, if we look closely, we find that most of these collaborations are still relatively superficial exchanges with little deep cultural integration. Creating a good cross-genre collaboration can be challenging. It involves many aspects: the interpersonal relationships between musicians, their understanding of each other's culture and values, and the trade-offs among the many details. Collaboration is all about constant communication and listening to find the most comfortable balance for everyone.

I have only touched the edge of this enormous topic in this research. I believe there are still many problems hidden under the surface, which I will, based on this research, continuously expand outwardly to find the solution.

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Bibliography

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• Albums