The thesis on Ming-Qing pipa scores aims to discuss the relationship between Ming-Qing pipa score and music interpretation. Ming-Qing pipa scores, written in Gong-Che notation (GCN), are the earliest written records of Pipa score and are the essential contents for pipa music with a sketchy and simple nature. Being transcribed for practical use today by either numbered notation or standard western notation, Ming-Qing pipa repertories are presented with finer details of melody and technique now, no longer a skeletal outline. The change of notation has influenced the way of learning pipa music and weakened the abilities to embellish impromptu. Through comparing Ming-Qing pipa pieces in both GCN and modern performance version with audio recordings by representative musicians in the 21 century, the thesis works on exploring the changeability and immutability in pipa Gong-Che score and further tries to sum up rules, conventions and possible conventional musical languages hid under the surface variations.
Five chapters consist of the thesis. Chapter one dealt with the content of Ming-Qing pipa score in aspects of data reorganization and supplement, the similarities and differences among these scores, and Ming-Qing performance skills; chapter two discussed the structure, form, and category of Ming-Qing pipa music in different sections; chapter three and four put the emphasis on analyzing Ming-Qing pipa score in aspects of structure, melody and comparisons among the Ming-Qing and modern performance versions and representative audio recordings from pipa xiao qu, tao qu to da qu to identify the surface variations added to these pieces; based on the former research efforts, chapter five tried to sum up rules and conventions while interpreting pipa Gong Che score. The last past is the conclusion.