The sheng, a multi-reed mouth organ, is one of the oldest Chinese reed wind instruments.  The instrument’s bamboo pipes, each of a different length, have been likened to a phoenix at rest with its wings closed. Numerous historical records have mentioned the sheng as an important instrument in ancient music, popular in the imperial palace and in court processions. This instrument continues to be popular today with the common folk for festivities, weddings and celebrations

The sheng is a wind instrument that uses the vibration of free beating bronze reeds attached to bamboo pipes to create sound. The rich and dynamic sound qualities of the sheng make it a popular instrument in the Chinese orchestra as it is complimentary with the wind, bowed stringed, plucked stringed and percussion sections of instruments.  In folk music, it is common for the sheng to be used as accompaniment for the dizi, guanzi and suona.

After the 1950s, new sheng models were introduced, such as the 21, 24 and 36-reed piped sheng as well as the keyboarded sheng,, alto sheng, tenor sheng and bass sheng, for the purpose of the Chinese orchestra.

Due to reformations, the sheng has now been classified into two large categories: the traditional sheng and the reformed sheng.

The traditional shengs are hand held by performers, who are required to learn sets of fingerings and how to cover air holes while playing.  The reformed shengs are placed either on a player’s lap or on a stand, and the performer is required to press levers or buttons while blowing to emit sounds.

As there is no standard way of arranging the different reed pipes of the sheng, the musical range and notes that the sheng can play will vary with performer, place and instrument; this is especially relevant to the traditional sheng