look how in love she is with her instrument. She periodically stares not at her fingers but at it, she also leans her head in close as if to embrace it. Her passion towards this is absolutely lovely.

She is such a legend. Wu Man introduced me to Chinese music. She's just amazing!

Tiny Desk Concert one of the best places to discover new music. Thank you all!

First time I heard Wu Man's extraordinary Pipa playing was on a Water Lilly Acoustics recording, where she played duets with Martin Simpson on guitar. They had only met for the first time the same day they were recorded by Kavi Alexander. The results were mesmerizing and almost hallucinatory. Two musicians of this caliber. from entirely different musical cultures and traditions- and they were able to seamlessly meld together in a ravishing display of virtuosity, the likes of which I don't think I've seen before or since.

Fun fact: "Ambush from All Sides", or literally "Ambush from Ten Sides" in Chinese 十面埋伏 is also the name of the Chinese name for the Zhang Yimou film "House of Flying Daggers", where this piece of music is also featured.

Everything about Wu Man is so great here - her playing, choice of repertoire and especially her facial and body movements which clearly convey the joy of playing and making music.

I just love hearing her play Pipa, could probably hear it all day and still enjoy it as much!! Thank you Wu Man!!!

Every note, every breath, every moment hard or implied is the telling of a story. Thank you Wu Man.

she has so much respect for the instrument, you can see it in every note she plays

I`ve counted the number of strings many times. Only four? How come it sounds like many more? The term virtuoso comes to mind. Great performance. Thanks Wu Man, thanks NPR.

I was lucky enough to see her perform with the kronos quartet in Connecticut in 2013. Amazing.

I keep coming back to this concert. One can hear so much in it - country blues, the Coltranes, math metal & Carnatic music, so much wailing & reverence & movement.

A true artist. She is one with her instrument. Compassion in it's most elegant form.

so much talent across 4 little strings. amazing.

The best part of Chinese music is the silence between licks，like the empty part of painting，these are the parts that art take your mind in deep thoughts. We call it 留白

i am honored to have wu man's music opening the beginning of my film GENERATION RX. She is a master.

Absolutely remarkable !. An honour and privilege to hear this amazing virtuoso !. Fascinating and fantastic. Sending love and good wishes, from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 x.

shreds so hard there's cole slaw everywhere

@user-nr7rs3mq3m

3 жыл бұрын

Hhh

@KapkztAnimates

3 жыл бұрын

林祝凱 Hhh

@Kobor_Tamas

3 жыл бұрын

😂

Excellent work on the pipa. I've been enjoying listening to that video for the past few mornings, sitting at my desk at work. Wu Man was a fine choice for a tiny desk performer.

I love how you can bend strings by applying pressure downwards! Makes for very expressive music!

@jgrossma

7 жыл бұрын

You can do this with a scalloped neck guitar if you like.

@gregoryhussey6477

5 жыл бұрын

Agree - very cool!

@realeuphoniism

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, Chinese music and a lot of Asian music in general like to bend notes to add expression. I've developed somewhat of a sense to differentiate what country the music is coming from (At least differentiate China, Japan, and Korea). China has a lot of intense and expressive music that usually have a strong meaning in it, whether happy, sad, angry, etc. Japan has more of a calming sense of music. Very rarely does the music have fast paced, very happy music. Korean music almost always has a sort of "bounce" to it. I don't know why, but it's very easy to tell if it's a traditional Korean song if you hear a general bouncing sound or rhythm to the song.

I loved it! The video's description is accurate, and it's amazing seeing her play so delicately and passionately.

She is just badass!

Beautiful and wild Chinese Pipa playing!! She's really impressive!!! Wow!!!

WOW - I'm impressed ...!!! - Such a wonderful music and playin': Thanks a lot, dear Mrs. Wu Man. Best wishes from my heart ...

probably my favorite tiny desk ever

love these virtuosos coming through.

Wu man, that was crazy!

This kind of music is the reason why i never doubt the Chinese always respected and fought many real historic wars in the past, historic in the true sense of the word! Every beat from her fingers shoots like clouds of arrows, spears and blade sharp knives from the horseback!

@robbiewhittle4898

5 жыл бұрын

Stephen Zakaria The music and the idea that China fought many real wars have zero correlation. There isn’t a reason at all to doubt China is and has been extremely powerful and respected and involved in wars. They’ve been a power for thousands of years. Music shouldn’t be what you base your info on politics/ war from IN MY OPINION

the bendings, the vibratos, the phrasing that she does... fantastic to say the least.. =)

i love npr because they show me music I would never listen to, and it just gives me such a good experience. Thanks so much

Wow never seen/heard this instrument before. Brilliant introduction. Thank you wu man.

CONGRATULATION!!!!! it was INCREDIBLE...we are witnessing here in BRAZIL!!! very good sound!!!

i love these sorts of 'down to earth' performances the BEST ! thank you ! luv u Wu Man !

Wow! Beautiful instrument! And she plays it amazingly!

I lack the background to judge this artistically, but it looks like a very impressive technical achievement. And I like what I'm hearing.

When ping mom played for us in elementary school, I fell in love, reminded me of grandma on her harp

Simply, I love it!!!

We were wrong all along. Looks like the Chinese invented rock.

@Aerational

6 жыл бұрын

It all started somewhere.

@Aerational

6 жыл бұрын

Shit look at some African Tribes drumming and tell me we invented Metal...

@user-jm1ej6fc2e

5 жыл бұрын

Chinese invented everything

@dissilymordentroge5818

4 жыл бұрын

@@user-jm1ej6fc2e Cultural delusions no no limits.

@jzonkel

4 жыл бұрын

@@Aerational Every culture uses drums lol

Wild sounds! Wu Man, you are a force of nature.

Great musician, unique music.

LOVE THIS SET

This level of prowess on an instrument is other-worldly. WOW! Beyond amazing.

Beautiful traditional Chinese music!

Although the music sounds familiar to me from film scores, I've never seen the instrument or the musicianship that creates it. Ms. Wu is a virtuoso. Thank you

She plays so gracefully!

@azrasound "Ambushed from ten sides" is quite a popular traditional repertoire for virtuosos. There's an interesting story behind it, too, if you're into ancient militaristic stuff.

@electricjoelle

4 жыл бұрын

What's the story?

@yuetani

3 жыл бұрын

Joelle Hamilton search up maybe battle of gaixia

Rockin' it. Sounds great.

Night Thoughts is probably the most beautiful pipa music ever...

amazing, pure treasury, thank you Wu Man, keep it up!!

I very much enjoyed this! You don't see or hear this too much nowadays. Quite refreshing. :DDD

Wow you had this lady on so long ago. Amazing ❤

AMAZING!!!

looks and sounds like 40 years of training.

@user-xv4he4mt4x

4 жыл бұрын

She must’ve practiced 40 hours a day when she was young.

@KapkztAnimates

3 жыл бұрын

Ling Ling I only play for 10 min-1 hour and feel like I’ll never reach this level

@KapkztAnimates

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-xv4he4mt4x wait ur ling ling?! U PRACTICE 40 HOURS?!?!

night thoughts is amazing

the last one sounds like banjo and country. super cool perfomance

This is awesome! Thanks a lot for sharing!

Hot damn this is beautiful!

Amazing! Pure and simple.

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed it.

Amazing!❤

Fantastic.

Man, this is intense. I want a pipa!

put some emgs on that and put it through a dual rec. that'd be metal as fuck.

Pure artistic beauty

I am deeply touched

chills, everywhere.

so great! amazing...

Magnificent.

Acoustic shredding since the 9th century! This is cool : )

@honeyboohoo

3 жыл бұрын

It actually.... Dates back pretty much farther....

@obiwan88

Жыл бұрын

The earliest mention of pipa in Chinese texts appeared late in the Han dynasty around the 2nd century AD, so you're just wrong by 7 centuries.

Great.

She played at my school today and blew me away

She went to our school today!!!! She was sssooo cool

@KapkztAnimates

3 жыл бұрын

Monzy C cool! I would have wanted to show her my pipa

What makes Wu Man's virtuosity so much more impressive is that the pipa is actually a notoriously difficult instrument to learn, much less master. One can't just become a self-taught master pipa player, unlike with guitar.

Beautiful

This is amazing

that was so enjoyable

I have never read so many disgusting comments on NPR Music. They bring us these segments for education and enjoyment. MAKE a choice to broaden your minds: 1) ask the Lord to forgive you for judging, 2) go read a book, 3) learn to like/love yourself FIRST and then extend that love to others.

Genius!...no more words needed

love the use of silence

really great music!

beautiful

Bravo !

Very nice!

Ancient Chinese poets used the sound of pearls falling on a jade dish to describe the sound of the pipa.

This is great chinese music!!!

Beautiful woman; beautiful music

holy shit is this intense. i am completely captivated. never heard nothing like this. how wonderful :)

tabs?

@kwithnics2134

9 жыл бұрын

Sam Braverman lol

@bryanmannoia7561

8 жыл бұрын

+CFH Sambo yeah, right. lol.

@jgrossma

7 жыл бұрын

Heh. Pipa music actually usually is notated in special Pipa tab. Not surprising, considering the instrument is 2000 years old and pre-dates conventional Western staff notation by over 1500 years! "Ambush from all sides" is one of the most famous pieces for the instrument. Its been transcribed, but I think finding a copy might be tricky. If you *do* manage to find one, and can decipher it, good luck playing it. This is a considered a virtuoso level piece and it will probably take you a few years of practice before you can do so.

Night Thoughts reminds me of those jimmy page solo parts on Dazed and Confused

Enchanting

YAY I love these concerts so much - thank you. Love - Vi An

Whoo, man! That woman in Wu Man is incredible.

haha, well the first piece she played is a very ancient chinese tune that existed way before van halen!!

@honeyboohoo

3 жыл бұрын

But this form of 十面埋伏 is the modern one though....

I may have the scene wrong, but just checked the soundtrack and that is, in fact, the song from the movie. So cool...

nice ... very nice

This shit is tight as hell

Woah... dude...its like music or somethin..

Last piece sounds very similar to music from the Sahel (deserts of West Africa). Like something a griot would play.

@sweetlymiserable

8 жыл бұрын

+Okal Otieno I love the music from the western Africa, especially from Senegal!

@hiemehbarron9768

7 жыл бұрын

Okal Otieno the Silk Road ran from Timbuktu to China...it's not a stretch to imagine the African influence on the Far East.

@brycechristianlowry232

7 жыл бұрын

And visa versa.

@mrkrud

7 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't surprise me if you could mail order actual musicians from anywhere on the Silk Road and some enterprising individual would "acquire" and deliver. Please allow 4-6 years delivery.

so fukin metal

@wildh0rse1

10 жыл бұрын

Would have sounded great on my old Les Paul lolol

Intricate Dedication wow ♒🎶🎶💚💛🌹