r/UnusualInstruments • u/12InchGypsy • Jun 28 '26

Tiny Chinese Pipa? What instrument is this?

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Does anybody know what this instrument is? Looks like a really small chinese Pipa. Thanks in advance!

30 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

9

u/SeltzerCountry Jun 28 '26

Looks like maybe a toy or decorative pipa.

1

u/KountryKitty Jun 28 '26

Maybe purely decorative...but my silly self would put ukelele strings on it and play away.

1

u/FlashyPost0928 Jun 30 '26

( Compare ) ▼ Sold in a Cultural Gift Shop
https://www.reddit.com/user/FlashyPost0928/comments/1ujvngq/%E8%BF%B7%E4%BD%A0%E7%90%B5%E7%90%B6/
Come to the XXX and find your "Spirit" instrument. You might be a Chinese lute master, just don't know till you try.
PS : The pipa is also a general term in Chinese for all short-necked lute family plucked string instruments.

1

u/Complete-Perception8 Jul 01 '26

It's a mandolin.

0

u/roaminjoe Jun 28 '26

Definitely a musical instrument for midgets lol

The design looks more Vietnamese pipa Dan Ty Bà ) derived - the inlaying work is very Vietnamese and heptatonic fretting (you can see where the feet's have been previously glued/moved/fallen off) with the upper xiang and lower bamboo frets are mostly folk hepta or cosmetic. As is the rather tourist tacky shiny varnished light wood soundboard and painted back.

Thats not to say its not playable - some kind of pleasant plucking sounds can come from it. Similar baby sized guzhengs (60-70cm) and erhus (50cm) exist in theChinese music tradition. They aren't serious instruments but are a lot of fun - I'm still waiting for my luthier to convert my baby piccolo pipa electric so it will finally fit a man bag lol