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Guqin How to Play http://peiyouqin.com/index.html

GENERAL INTRODUCTION OF GUQIN . Brief Introduction of Guqin . Qin Construction . Qin Forms . Assembling The Tuning System . Stringing The Instrument . Basic Tuning . Basic Chinese Music Scales FINGER TECHNIQUE AND NOTATION . General Introduction . Body Position . Right Hand Finger Technique . Left Hand Finger Technique . Vibrato Yn and No . Tempo Notation, Etc. ANCIENT QIN TALK ) . Brief the Qin Theory from Chn Y-jin (- . The 9 Virtues Which Distinguish The Qin Quality ( ) . The Ten Maxims of The Qin ( ) MUSICAL PIECES . Bi Xe (White Snow ) . L Mng (Deer Call ) . Chn Xio Yn (Song of Early Dawn in Spring ) . Cnghi Y Shng Xio (A Laugh on the Deep Ocean ) . Guan Shan Yu (Moon Over the Guan Mountain ) . Kyorei (Empty Bell)-- Guqin and Shakuhachi Duet . D P Dio Sn (The Great Nature Is Waning) . Ci Zhn Yu (The Meandering of The Truth Harvester) . Gqn Yn (Xings Q) (Song of Gu Qin) ( ) . Qiu Feng (Autumn Winds) . Qiu Feng C (Ode to Autumn Wind) . Y Lu Chn Xio (Jade Mansion Spring Dawn) . Mei Hua San Nng (3 Variations on the Plum Blossom) . u L Wng J (Innocent Seagulls) . Png Sh Lu Yn(Wild Geese Flock to Sandy Shores) . Xiao Xian Shu Yn (Misty River Xiao and Xiang)

2 . Yng Chun (Sunny Spring) YAJI- EVENTS - . Guqin Yaji (Elegant Gathering) . Echoes of Ancient Asia . Performance of Harp and Guqin (NYQS) . People, Poetry and Place (NYQS) . Tang Qin "Ku Mu Long Yin" (NYQS) " " . Iron and Bronze Qin (NYQS) . Jian Su Guqin Second Academics Symposium . NYQS First Annual Conference THE QIN IN TAIWAN . October 2011 Guqin Return Home . October 2006 . June 2004 QIN ACCESSORIES . Qin Table . Qin Bag . Qin T-shirts QUESTION & ANSWER . General Questions . About The Author . Order Peiyou's Guqin CD . Peiyou's Facebook RELEATED LINKS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Guqin How-to 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION OF GUQIN http://peiyouqin.com/history.html

Story of The Invention of Guqin

Right now, there is no evidence that shows what the first or the earliest guqin looks like. So far the closest relatives of the qin probably are the 7 string qin that was found at the Warring states period tomb from Hubei Province, in Jing Meng Guo Jia Dian,(see photo below, from the book of Jue Shi Qing Yin, page 8, written by Prof. Wu Zhao in Beijing, year 2005).

And the 10 stringed qin from the tomb of Zen Ho Yi , in Lai Gu Dun, Suizhou city , Hubei Province. Fifth century B.C. (see photo below, from the book of Music in the Age of Confucius, page 70, published by Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sakler Gallery, Washington, D.C. year 2000).

But we still dont know when and who decided to create the 13 dots, the dragon pond, the phoenix pool, and some other features. History books mentioned that the qin was first created with 5 strings, and then the King of wen and the King of wu from the Zhou dynasty (1045BC-256 BC) added the 6th and 7th strings. There were once added to a total of 9 strings, but it was not really popular and the 7 stringed qin continues to be used until now. There are some legends about the invention of the Guqin, that this or that king or wise man invented the qin.

Shen-nong make qin, shen-nongs qin has 36 inches long with 5 string.-from "Shi Ben," a history book of Zhao, Warring states period BC235 BC228. (Shen-nong was one of the Chinese legendary god who also nown as Emperor of the Five Grains .) () BC235BC228

When Shen-nong became the ruler, he started to carve tong wood to make a qin and use silk to make strings to connect the heaven and earth.-- from Huan Tan Xin Lun, a Han Dynasty history book, about BC 50 BC 30. ( -- about BC 50- BC 30) King of Juns son Dragon Yan makes qin and se. -- from a fable story book of early Qin Dynasty and probably written during the warring states period to early Han dynasty. ( )

From one of The Confucian book, the book of rites says that King Shun make 5 string qin to sing the southern song. ( --)

Those legends seem to tell us that people believe that the qin was created by talented or enlightened wise people, and was in a lofty class. Some people guess that ancient people found out that strings can make a sound probably from bow shooting that the vibration of a string after shooting out the arrow. Then later people tried to put strings on a piece of wood and pluck it to create sound. If we look at the ancient Chinese characters of Qin (the zither) and Yue (music) from East Han dynasty, Xu Sheng (about , 58 BC to 147 AD) edited the Chinese dictionary Shuo Wen Jie Ji "{

we can see that the Yue looks like silk strings on top of wood. And the Qin looks like the side view of a qins forehead, and you have the warp (strings) and weft (qin dots or the sound positions) on top of it. Although it does not tell us that the earliest qin suppose to look like that, we can still sense that as early as Han dynasty, qin already exist and not too different from nowadays appearance. And it has existed more than 3000 years. Some people think that the qin in very ancient times could be played as a Fa Qi , which means a instrument of wizard. Because they believe that the qin has its nature that can connect the heaven and earth. But at that time, the qin probably could only play single notes and probably just the right hand plucking only, without the left hand to change or create more pitches. Qin also was played in court music during the time of Zho Dynasty (1045BC256 BC). However in court music, the percussion instruments and wind instruments dominated most of the playing and the qin or other string instruments were not the major players. Probably caused by the low sound volume.

After Confucius, the qin became one of the four important items in a scholars life (qin qi shu hua -- qin, chess, calligraphy and painting), and there was this saying: shi wu gu bu che qin se , which means that scholar should never give up playing Qin and Se (Se is another kind of string instrument). Qin was performed as a solo instrument and as a tool to xiu sheng yiang xing ; a meditation instrument to help cultivate our mind and body.

Connection between Qin and Taoism

From an Aesthetics and psychological point of view - Taoism likes the idea of returning to nature and forceless action, in other words, subtle and nonartificial. So for qin playing, the player never uses a pick or artificial nails. Qin making will always use very old wood with silk strings and jade or seashells dots, and making it in a natural way. The top rounded board of qin symbolizes heaven () and the bottom flat board of qin symbolizes earth. (). Combine the Heaven and Earth plus humans playing, it becomes a whole.

People who appreciate Taoist philosophy prefer not to play with metal strings and not to use an amplifier to make the sound louder. Also there are no frets or bridges, and you play with your fingers, not with a bow or stick. For the listener, they like to hear the ringing of each qin sound and they also like to hear the sound out of string (xian wai zhi yin ), which means the sound image and the subtle meaning of each qin music piece. For example, the beautiful qin piece, "3 Variations on the Plum Blossom" -- Plum blossom is the purest and clearest flower, and qin has the purest and clearest sound. Using the clearest sound to indicate the purest subject, one can hear the very beautiful tone resembling cool frost...

A saying from the Taoist Master, Laozi: "Da Yin Xi Shen ()," the greatest sound has almost no sound. It is the deepest philosophy that only Guqin can represent. The volume of Guqin is not loud at all, but how loud is loud? A very light sound comes from a guqin in a very quiet room, one might feel so touched by its feeling and will never forget it in one's heart. It may be the greatest sound in one's mind. A phrase from Twenty-four Grades of Poetry from Tang Dynasty can be a good expanded explanation of Da Yin Xi Shen -- , -- meaning that exceeding phenomenon, obtaining essence, when holding it, you don't feel it is strong but you will feel the power later when you hold it longer and longer.

Now, Guqin playing is seldom seen in an orchestra and rather is played alone or with a small group of people who understand and appreciate its music. One

7 of the reasons is the influence of Taoism -- not to show off but quietly cultivate oneself. After all, you want to enlighten yourself by meditation in your mind instead of aiming at fame or trying to use it to make profit.

The Three Basic Sound Formats of Guqin

San yin - Open String, the left hand does not press down any string, total 7 tones. Also described as the earth sound. Sound quality is wide and open.

Fan Yin - Harmonics, slightly touch the string to change the sound wave. There are 91 positions where you can create harmonics and at least 42 harmonic tones can be heard from a qin. Described as the heaven sound. Sound quality is clear and light. An Yin - Press down the string. Total more than 147 tones. Described as human sound. Sound quality is rich and thick.

"Word Notes" and "Simplified Notes"

The earliest known qin notes were written in Chinese characters for qin players to remember how to play each song. (see Original You Lan Notation, from Tokyo National Museum Website, which is the earliest known Guqin notes from Tang Dynasty 618-907 AD). For example, the first sentence of You Lan is telling the player to recline the left middle finger on the slightly left side of the 10th dot and press down the 2nd string. The 2nd sentence is telling the player to use the right middle and index finger to double qian the 1st and 2nd string. And so on.

It was just like writing a note saying where and what the finger should play. It does not tell the rhythm. But the tuning mode was indicated in front of a group of qin pieces which has the same tuning mode. So once you know the tuning and you know where to position your fingers, the rest is a great creativity for qin players to present whatever feeling they want to present.

The early form of writing music down was said to be created by a qin player Yong Men-Zhou during the Warring States Period 480-221 B.C. So Called Wen-Zi-Pu, (literate notation). Later there was the invention of Jian-ZiPu (abbreviated Chinese notation), which was created by Cao-Rou and Zhao Ye-li in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. They simplified the Chinese characters to a symbol system that has been used until now. For more information, please see Finger Technique and Notation.

http://peiyouqin.com/construction.html

The Parts of A Qin - 1

Use your mouse to point to different parts of the drawing for terminology and discription. The Qin form in this drawing is Zhong Ni Shi (Confucian Style).

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Qin Forms - 1

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http://peiyouqin.com/assembling.html

Assembling The Tuning System

Making Rong-Do: Rong-Do is the twisted silk thread which is attached to the string at the knot, and goes through the string hole of the Qin, through the tuning peg and hangs down and is attached to the fringe. It is also used to tighten and tune the string. Preparing the silk thread to make the Rong-Do: The finished length of the Rong-Do will be around 5" long. 1, Find an object (like a back of a chair, for example) that allows you to wind the silk thread around. The ideal width will be 20". Go around 15 times.

2, Cut one end.

3, Stabilize one end firmly and use your thumb and index finger to twist it tightly.

4, Fold it in half and hold both ends together, and whip the cord against a table or hard surface, the two strands will twist themselves together evenly, then tie the ends.

Putting the Rong-Do together with the Qin fringe and tuning peg: 5, Pass the finished Rong-Do through the Qin Fringe.

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6, Pass the Rong-Do with fringe through the Qin Zhen (Tuning Peg).

7, Pull out a loop of the Rong-Do through the neck hole of the Qin Zhen, make one twist then loop over the end of the Rong-Do and back down around the neck, then pull both ends of the Rong-Do to make it tight. Adjust the length of the Rong-Do so it is not over the Yue montain.

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Please notice the correct side and appropriate size of string knots.

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http://peiyouqin.com/stringing.html

Stringing the instrument

1) Making Yuan-Bao Jie:
Yuan-Bao Jie is the knot at the head of the string where the silk tassel is attached. Before stringing the instrument, make a knot at the head of each string. If using silk string, there are added wrapped silk on the 1st to 4th string. At the head of the 1st to 4th strings, there are small parts which have no added wrapping. At the tail parts of the 1st to 4th strings, there is a long section which has no added wrapping. Be sure making the knots at the section of added wrapping after the shorter non wrapped section, and when the knots are done, cut the shorter non wrapped parts off. Below is the demonstration of how to make a Yuan-Bao Jie.

2) Combine the tunning pegs with Rong-Do and strings:

Pass the Rong-Do through the Xian-Yan (string holes), then loop over the knots. Adjust the length of the Rong-Do, so that the knots will be located (face up) in the middle of the Yue mountain.

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For assembling the tunning pegs and appropriate size of the knot, please see the page of Assembling The Tuning System. For stringing the insrument, please see the next page.

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http://peiyouqin.com/tunning.html

Basic Tuning

Tang Dynasty, Zhou Fang (AC 780-810) (attributed) Tuning Qin, Drinking Tea (Detail) ()

Tuning Position: Use your right thumb and index fingers to turn the tuning pegs to tighten or loosen the strings. At the same time, you can also use your left thumb and index finger to slightly push the knot (Yuan-Bao Jie) towards your right or left to help to tighten or loosen the strings. The movement is very subtle, unless it is really way out of tune.

The basic tuning for metal string is C D F G A C D (open string from 1st to 7th string). If with silk strings, it can start with B-flat, or even lower, from 1st string and lower the rest of strings accordingly. In general, silk strings can tune to as

17 high as metal strings. But tuning a half or whole tone lower will lengthen the life of the strings. My silk string qin is set up as Bb, C, Eb, F, G, Bb, C. As long as the 1st string is not out of tone.

Basic Tune Open String

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (String)() C D F G A C D Sol La Do Re Mi Sol La (Singing Name)() It can also sing as Do, Re, Fa, Sol, La, Do, Re.

Fan Yin Tuning

Using Fan Yin technique to play and listen the sounds by follow the instruction below:

(1) Skipping 2 strings, same note

7 (String) 7 (Hui) --- 4 (String) 5 (Hui) D --- D La --- La Meaning: Playing the 7th string on the 7th dot should sound the same (La and La) as playing the 4th string on the 5th dot.

6 7 --- 3 5 C --- C Sol --- Sol Meaning: Playing the 6th string on the 7th dot should sound the same (Sol and Sol) as playing the 3rd string on the 5th dot.

5 7 --- 2 5 A --- A

18 Mi --- Mi Meaning: Playing the 5th string on the 7th dot should sound the same (Mi and Mi) as playing the 2nd string on the 5th dot.

4 7 --- 1 5 G --- G Re --- Re Meaning: Playing the 4th string on the 7th dot should sound the same (Re and Re) as playing the 1st string on the 5th dot.

(2) Skipping one string, same note

7 (String) 5 (Hui) --- 5 (String) 4 (Hui) A --- A Mi --- Mi Meaning: Playing the 7th string on the 5th dot should sound the same (Mi and Mi) as playing the 5th string on the 4th dot.

6 5 --- 4 4 G --- G Re --- Re Meaning: Playing the 6th string on the 5th dot should sound the same (Re and Re) as playing the 4th string on the 4th dot.

4 5 --- 2 4 D --- D La --- La Meaning: Playing the 4th string on the 5th dot should sound the same (La and La) as playing the 2nd string on the 4th dot.

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3 5 --- 1 4 C --- C Sol --- Sol Meaning: Playing the 3rd string on the 5th dot should sound the same (Sol and Sol) as playing the 1st string on the 4th dot.

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http://peiyouqin.com/scales.html Chinese Music Scales Vs. Western Music Scales

Old scale the half note occurred between the 4th and 5th tones in the pentatonic scale. New scale the half note occurred between the 3rd and 4th tones in the pentatonic scale.

21 That is also why in Guqin, from the 1st string to 7th string can be sing not only Do, Re, Fa, Sol, La, Do, Re but also Sol, La, Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La. Because both scales has the same distance, or same relationships, between each tones.