Guzheng playing skills

The playing methods of Zheng are mainly divided into right-handed method and left-handed method. Right-handed job bomb, with big, food, middle and unknown four-fingered strings to sound, control the rhythm and sound intensity changes. Pressing with the left hand and pressing with the middle finger can suppress the zither strings, control the change of pitch and string sound, and show different phonology. Left-handed pressing is the main feature of its technique, and it also needs professional playing. The professional playing technique is the same as the right hand.

The posture of playing Zheng

There are vertical, disc, kneeling, sitting, etc., generally sitting.

Sitting posture of playing the zither: the zither is placed on the piano frame or table, and the piano stool is placed on the right side of the zither (near the piano head). When sitting, the body is close to the right end of the Zheng, about 15 cm away from the Zheng. The legs are naturally separated under the kite frame, and the feet are in front. The upper body is straight, the arms are relaxed, the elbows are bent on the zither strings, the wrists are relaxed, the fingers are naturally unfolded, the head is slightly drooping, and the manners are natural and generous.

Hand-played Zheng

Playing guzheng emphasizes the natural hand shape, that is, the relaxed hand shape in which people's hands naturally droop when standing. According to the needs of playing, the big finger is slightly unfolded, and the finger naturally bends, showing a semi-clenched fist shape. This relaxed natural hand shape is not only displayed in static state, but also in the process of playing; It is not only the basic form of playing strings with the right hand. It is also the basic form of left-handed string pressing and playing.

Elastic string position

The position of the right-hand strumming is 3 cm away from the front beam, which is the basic strumming position for beginners. The best contact point is one-eighth of the pronunciation string (from the front beam to the Zheng column). This happens to be the overtone position of the third octave of the local sound. This position is pure and loud, and it is the best plucking point for basic sound quality. Due to the different arrangement of Zheng columns and the length of strings, the change of one-eighth optimal plucking point is relatively large, and the range of plucking strings is also relatively large. Choosing different timbres (light and dark, rigid and soft) in the process of playing will make the range of motion of the chord position larger.

In the basic training, we should master the basic position and the best position of playing strings, learn to choose different timbres on different strings, and enrich our own means of expression. Generally speaking, the pronunciation near the front beam is bright and the sound quality is stiff; Nearly half of the Zheng column has a dark tone and a soft pronunciation. We can make different changes according to the needs of music performance to avoid playing the stiff position of strings at one point.

Chord position

Emptiness is Zheng's characteristic. The proper position of left-handed string pressing plays a decisive role in the performance of skills. The ideal string pressing position is about 16 cm from the left side of the Zheng column, which is determined according to the tension of the Zheng string and the moderate extension of the left hand. Our common inappropriate posture is often more than 20 cm. Because the closer to the Zheng column, the greater the tension of the strings, and the strings are not tightly pressed; The farther away from the Zheng column, the softer the string, and the smaller the tension of pressing the string. In order to press the sliding sound more easily, some guzheng players extend their left hand far away, so the position of pressing the strings has changed. Excessive extension of the left hand increases the burden on the arm, and the playing form becomes unnatural, and sliding often touches the panel. There are many nail prints on the left panel of some common Zheng, which is caused by improper position of strings. In basic training, we should pay attention to the accuracy and freedom of the left-handed string pressing position, so as to give full play to the left-handed skills.

Elastic string method

There are two basic playing methods of Zheng: the clamping method and the drawing method.

Clip-on method: the fingering direction is from oblique top to oblique bottom, with an angle of 45 degrees, thick blue and full sound quality. When playing, the ring finger is often naturally placed on the zither string, so that the hand is supported and the hand shape is naturally relaxed. Clamping is the basic method for beginners to play guzheng, and it is also the basic method of traditional techniques.

Pickup method: Finger-playing string direction is from inclined bottom to inclined top, with a 45-degree angle, with clear pronunciation and clean sound quality. There is often no support when playing, so hang up. Don't be nervous about the hand shape in basic training, but you still need to keep the hand penalty relaxed naturally. Lifting is an important method of quick practice.

In addition to these two basic methods of playing strings, the depth of touching strings, the adjustment of touching angles, and the different speed and strength of touching strings have all brought great changes to the pronunciation of Zheng. In basic training, we should learn to master different methods of playing strings, learn to adjust the angle, strength and speed of touching strings, and apply them freely to music performance.

Chord method

The left-handed string pressing method is to control the tension and pitch of the zither string by pressing the string, and to change the residual sound after playing the string with the right hand, so as to achieve the purpose of "taking rhyme from the string" and "supplementing the sound with rhyme".

Main points of pressing strings: relax your shoulders and arms, bend your elbows naturally, with your wrists parallel to the back of your hand, put your forefinger and middle finger on the strings of the Zheng naturally, press the strings with your fingertips, and press the strings with your fingers. Never press your wrist.

Traditional technology

The traditional technique of right hand mainly refers to the use of three fingers: big, middle and food. Whether supporting, splitting, hooking, picking, wiping, picking, pinching, turning and shaking, its core principle is: the technical law characterized by the eight-degree internal hook method of the pentatonic series with the thumb as the axis (the thumb pointing outwards is called "supporting", the middle finger pointing inwards is called "hook", and it is called "hook" with the folk hook method). Whether it is an enlightenment beginner or a typical school of Zheng music, the position of playing the strings is the octave of the big finger and the middle finger-the big finger is the main finger of playing the melody, and the index finger moves on the four Zheng strings within the octave of the big finger and the middle finger, which is the main feature of the traditional right-handed technique.

Traditional left-handed techniques are characterized by singing, rubbing and pressing, with rhyme and simple sound as the main features. Various changes in techniques are the main means of expression of local schools. First of all, we should master the expression techniques of basic concepts such as yin, kneading and sliding, and then we should master the special expression techniques with local style and characteristics.

current technology

With the development of the times, the techniques of Zheng widely draw lessons from and absorb the techniques of other musical instruments to enrich their own means of expression. From playing with both hands to expressing special sounds, from arranging pentatonic and heptatonic scales to arranging special scales, Zheng's playing ability has been greatly enriched.

The fingering of fingering sequence is arranged according to the law of melody, which is suitable for special music sequence and rapidly changing melody. "Finger-sequential plucking" makes the fingers plucking strings not limited to the big, middle and index fingers of the right hand, but ten fingers of both hands, emphasizing finger function and finger independence, and plucking strings is the main plucking method. This further developed Zheng's techniques.

The "finger-shaking method" with the point as the line is one of the important means of expression of modern music, which makes the rotation coherent and smooth, strengthens the intensity, broadens the scope of expression and gives modern music new meaning of expression.

Finger-shaking-a guzheng playing technique, in which the thumb or forefinger is used to pluck the strings inward and outward continuously and quickly to achieve a coherent tone. In recent years, with the continuous development of playing skills and the requirement of musical expression, fingering has been further innovated, and various playing forms based on fingering have been derived, such as octave swing, two-finger swing, sweep swing, buckle swing and multi-finger sweep swing.

The following is a brief introduction to several finger shaking methods and playing essentials:

[Thumbs tremble]

Thumb Tik Tok is the most commonly used finger Tik Tok, which uses the thumb to support and split the strings alternately. According to different genres, different performance requirements and different learning stages, thumb shaking can also be divided into four types:

1, Wrist shaking-the forefinger gently pinches the big finger, the palm root lightly presses the piano head at the foot of Qian Yue Mountain as the fulcrum, and drives the finger with the wrist as the axis. Don't hold your hand too tightly or open it too wide, you need to keep it relaxed and natural. You can adjust the volume of finger jitter by pinching your thumb with your index finger. This kind of finger jitter is suitable for beginners.

2. Shake the pile-the basic point is the same as shaking the wrist. The difference is that it is not supported by the whole wrist, but by the little finger at the bottom of the front beam of the string to be played. Pay attention to lowering your wrist when playing. In the initial practice, when the thumb is split, it needs to be hit on the lower string to stabilize it. You need a little force when holding your fingers, but you don't need to rely on strings, which will affect the flexibility of fingering.

3. Wrist hanging and swinging-fingering is further liberated on the basis of the first two fingering methods. Hanging the wrist and swinging does not need any support, and it is completely completed by the control and strength of the wrist. This fingering method gets rid of the limitation of piling, and can complete the timbre requirements from Qianyue Mountain to any place in the yard, such as wandering and swinging.

4, quick shake-pluck the string with the knuckles of the thumb, that is, use the joints of the thumb and palm as the moving point to drive the whole finger to move. When playing, all fingers are completely relaxed, and the hand shape that is naturally relaxed when playing is maintained. This shaking method generally uses piling when playing long notes quickly or for a long time (piling is usually carried out with the ring finger); You don't need to bet when playing some notes with short duration changes. It's hard to shake your thumb quickly. The first three kinds of thumb shaking are mainly done by the strength of the wrist, and this kind of shaking is done by the strength of the thumb joint. It takes some effort to play smoothly.

Thumb Tik Tok can be practiced in stages, for example, each string shakes four notes at first, and then gradually increases to eight notes and sixteen notes, until the thumb Tik Tok can be played continuously, evenly and quickly (except for the fast split Tik Tok, the thumb usually shakes to the head). When playing, the angle, depth and correctness of nail touching strings directly affect the timbre and volume of fingers.

[forefinger shakes]

The forefinger plucks the strings inward and outward by continuously and alternately wiping and fingering. When playing, the thumb should gently pinch the first joint at the bottom of the index finger nail to stabilize the index finger and increase the auxiliary strength; The middle finger, ring finger and little finger are naturally relaxed, and there is no need to stick the little finger or index finger when playing. You can gently put your palm on the head of the kite outside the mountain, or you can shake it by hanging your wrist, so that the strength can be transmitted to your forearm through your big arm and drive your wrist to shake, forming a dense plucking of your fingertips. At this time, the main power of the index finger itself is small, which mainly plays a role in controlling the depth and angle of touching the string. In melody and long notes, forefinger shaking is as common as thumb shaking.

[Two fingers tremble]

Thumb and forefinger are pulled alternately from inside to outside by chopping, wiping and supporting. The double command lever generally adopts the hanging wrist swing method. The thumb and forefinger maintain a chord position of three degrees or close to three degrees, the finger joints naturally bend and remain motionless, and the other three fingers naturally relax, which is driven by the strength of the wrist when playing. Two-finger shaking can also be done with thumb and middle finger. Gently pinch your thumb with your index finger to control the stability and strength of your thumb. The middle finger and thumb remain in a chord position of three degrees or close to three degrees. It is based on the shaking of the thumb and the middle finger to complete the effect of a continuous chord. But the difficulty has increased a lot, and it needs to be practiced frequently. Two-fingered rocking is also played by a few people with their forefinger and middle finger.

[buckle]

When the right hand plays the string, the thumb of the left hand tightly presses on the pronunciation string or gently pinches the string with the index finger and thumb, and moves left and right between the front beam and the yard according to the requirements of the music. Buckling is mainly used to render the atmosphere or simulate the wind in music (such as the music Typhoon).

[scanning]

The middle finger sweeps the string quickly within eight degrees, and the big finger shakes the finger. Sweeping is based on shaking, so you must practice shaking first, then add middle finger sweep rhythmically (that is, the middle finger plays more than two strings quickly), and then gradually increase the speed and consistency of sweeping in practice.

[Multi-finger swipe]

Multi-finger scanning is different from the scanning we usually play. It is not based on the wrist swing (because the wrist swing is controlled and assisted by holding the thumb with the index finger). Multi-finger scanning is carried out on the basis of fast chopping. He needs an index finger, a middle finger and sometimes a ring finger, and takes turns to sweep the strings, combined with the swing of his thumb. This fingering is very difficult, so it is rarely used.

Excerpted from the network.