Zhongyin sheng (中音笙, pinyin Zhōngyīn Shēng) is one kind of sheng. It is a middle-pitched sheng. It is an octave lower than Gaoyin sheng, which is a high-pitched sheng. Zhongyin sheng uses treble or alto clef. It is a free reed instrument. It has a mellifluent and powerful timbre.
Zhongyin sheng plays an important part in modern Chinese orchestra. Because it serves as accompaniment in an orchestra, while other instruments are given few melody. It usually has thirty-six keys. There are two kinds of Zhongyin sheng in modern Chinese music. One is Bao sheng, which requires people to hold it when players play it. The other one is Pai sheng, which can stand on a table while players play it. Pai sheng is used a lot in student orchestra, because it is easier to learn Pai sheng than to learn Bao sheng.
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