Chinese pipa online (virtual pipa)
The pipa (琵琶) is the Chinese lute: a pear-shaped body, four strings, held upright and played with false nails on the right hand. This Chinese pipa online puts a four-string fretboard on your screen, tuned like the real instrument, A D E A, with frets in semitones up to the 15th. Tap a fret with your finger or mouse to hear the note, use several fingers at once, and drag across the strings to strum.
How to use it
- Tap a fret to hear the note; the light strip before the nut plays the open string.
- Pick one of the Common chords or build one with Root and Type. Strum with ↓︎ Downstroke and ↑︎ Upstroke, or drag your finger across the strings.
- In Scales, choose a root and a scale and press ▶︎ Play scale.
- On a computer, each keyboard row is a string: 1 2 3… is the 1st (the high A), Q W E… the 2nd, A S D… the 3rd and Z X C… the 4th; the first key is the open string. Space strums.
- On a phone, tap Full screen and turn it sideways: the neck lies flat and the frets get wider.
Help and explanations
In Chords, pick one of the common chords or build your own: the page works out a shape for the pipa tuning, marks the fingers on the neck and plays it. In Scales, the scale lights up across the whole neck and a button plays it up and down. The sound is a recorded plucked steel string, not a pipa recording: it's good for finding notes and practicing, but the tone is different.
Pipa tuning: A D E A
From the 4th string (the lowest) to the 1st: A2 D3 E3 A3. In Chinese each string has a name: 缠弦 (4th), 老弦 (3rd), 中弦 (2nd) and 子弦 (1st). The 4th and 1st are an octave apart, the 3rd and 2nd only a whole step, and the 1st is a fifth above the 3rd.
The Tuning menu also has G D E A, with the 4th string a whole step lower, which some pieces call for. The common chords change with it: in A D E A you get D, A, G, Em and Bm; in G D E A, G, D, C and Am. In a D major chord, three of the four open strings (A, D and A) are already chord tones.
Scales and tunes to practice
Traditional Chinese music leans heavily on the pentatonic scale. In Scales, choose root D and Major pentatonic: D, E, F♯, A and B light up on the neck, and with them you can look for the melody of Mo Li Hua (茉莉花, the jasmine flower song).
Next, try passages from Dance of the Yi People (彝族舞曲) and Spring River Flower Moon Night (春江花月夜). Ambush from Ten Sides (十面埋伏) is advanced pipa repertoire: worth listening to, but its techniques go far beyond this page.
What this virtual pipa can't do
Much of the pipa's sound comes from the right hand, such as 轮指 (the five-finger tremolo), and from left-hand bends and vibrato. Here the strum buttons and finger drag are a simplified sweep across the strings, not an imitation of 轮指, and you can't bend a string.
Tips
- Listen to the open strings first: if the 3rd and 2nd sound almost the same, that's right, they are just a whole step apart.
- In Notes on the fretboard, choose Natural notes or All notes to see the map of the neck while you look for a melody.
- Practice switching between D and A slowly with the metronome, then speed up.
- To tune a real pipa, use the pipa tuner.
- Start with the volume low, especially on headphones.
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes of the pipa strings?
In the usual tuning, A D E A from the 4th string to the 1st (A2 D3 E3 A3). The alternative G D E A only lowers the 4th string a whole step; both are in the menu.
How many strings does a Chinese pipa have?
Four. The modern pipa has frets in semitones on the neck and the soundboard; here the neck shows 15 frets.
Is this a real pipa sound?
No. It's a recording of a plucked steel string (a synthesized sound plays while it loads). The pitches are right, but the pipa's tone is different.
Can I play the pipa with my computer keyboard?
Yes. Each keyboard row is a string, as in the steps above; each key to the right goes up a fret, and Shift + Space strums up.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in the browser on your phone or computer, free and without sign-up, and the sound is generated on your own device.