箏

箏是一件古老的中國樂器，對於箏這樂器最早的記載，可見於司馬遷的史記。二千多年來，出現過許多不同型制的箏，由五弦至四十八弦，也有各種不同的物料。今天最普遍使用的是於1961年由上海民族樂器一廠開發的二十一弦箏。
其中一個箏的結構特色，是每根弦之下有一個可移動的雁柱（或稱碼子），傳統上古箏以右手手指撥弦，而左手則在雁柱的左方按弦，以做出各種「吟揉綽注」等變音。上世紀五十年代後的現代箏曲，則多用雙手彈奏，技法上於西方豎琴有很多相似之處。
箏基本上以五聲音階定弦。一些新箏以半音階定弦，以便彈奏一些無調性的作品，但傳統箏樂的「吟揉綽注」則大大減少。如何在箏上演奏現代音樂，是每個箏樂手要面對一大難題。

Zheng is an ancient Chinese musical instrument for which the earliest written account is in the Record of History Shiji in 237 B.C. Different models of zheng with numbers of strings varying from 5 to 48 have emerged over time. The 21-stringed model invented in Shanghai in 1961 is by now the most popular model.
There is a movable bridge under each of the strings. Traditionally only right hand is used to plucking strings, while left hand is used to press the section of strings left of the movable bridges to produce glissando, vibrato and slides, etc. Nowadays two-handed techniques are getting popular and modern zheng techniques are becoming more similar to that of the Western harp.

Tuned pentatonically, one of the hardest parts of playing zheng is to deal with chromaticism. Some of the contemporary models of zheng have their strings tuned chromatically, however, traditional flavors of zheng such as glissando would be significantly reduced. It becomes a great challenge to players to play contemporary music on this musical instrument.

笙

笙是一種簧管類樂器，由一定數目的竹筒及簧片組成。笙的實際年齡難以考究，但從一些公元前一千二百多年的壁畫，可知笙在中國境內最少有三千多年的歴史。笙多用在中國的傳統音樂，在昆曲及一些地方戲中的重要伴奏樂器之一，也常用於一些地方合奏樂種。1950年代之來，中國的音樂家開始重視這件樂器，並將之發展作一件獨奏樂器。
笙有多種不同大小。常用的有21簧、24簧及36簧笙，另多也有一些專為中樂團而製的笙，如加鍵擴音笙、中音抱笙、排笙等。

Sheng is a mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting essentially of vertical bamboo pipes. The age of sheng is unknown, but there were ancient pictographs of the instrument dating from 1200 B.C. Traditionally, sheng has been using as an accompaniment instrument in kunqu and some other forms of Chinese opera, as well as in a number of regional instrumental genres. It is until the 1950s that sheng was valued as an outstanding folk musical instrument in China and was then developed to become a solo instrument.

Sheng comes in different sizes. The present-day models consist of 21, 24 or 36 reeds (or pipes), and there are extended models especially designed for orchestral use such as the amplified sheng, the alto baosheng, paisheng, etc.

三弦

三弦，為中國彈撥樂器，三條絃線長柄無品位，共鳴箱兩面蒙上蛇皮，琴杆貫穿共鳴箱。不少學者指出三弦起源與弦鼗有關，它後來東傳至日本，名「三味線」。三弦被廣泛應用於中國傳統地方音樂中，如說唱（蘇州彈詞、北方曲藝）、戲曲伴奏（崑曲）、器樂合奏（江南絲竹、粵樂、潮樂）等。

Sanxian is a Chinese long-necked three-string fretless plucked lute, with both sides mounted with snakeskin of the resonator. It is believed to have evolved from an ancient small hand drum in the Qin Dynasty, called xiaotao. It was spread to Japan and called shamisen. It is prominent in Chinese regional operas, narrative music, and ensemble music.