Guzheng is a Chinese Zither that lead to the development of both the Japanese Koto and Korean Kayageum among others
Body Position:
You may sit cross leged on the floor with the end block resting on your right knee/thigh with the Guzheng extending toward your left if you're right handed. The other possibility is to sit in a chair and to place the Guzheng on a table which is low enough so that your arms don't have to reach down too far in order play it or force you to extend your arms too far directly out in front of you. You should be able to reach the lowest sounding string on the opposite side of the instrument without leaning your torso in order to access it.
Tuning:
The lowest sounding string is usually tuned to a C and the next string after that is usually tuned a fourth up to an F. The next subsequent string is most often tuned to a G. These three strings can be considered the bass strings. They are using the notes which correspond to the I, IV and V chords in western music and various patterns of alternating between them will produce "progressions" related to western blues and popular music. This is just a coincidence though because traditionally Chinese, Japanese and Korean music were not conceived as utilizing chord progressions per se. Chinese and Korean music in particular, traditionally have no instrument that plays in the bass register. These "bass" notes on the Guzheng also correspond to the drone in Styles of Traditional Indian Music most often played by the Tamboura. Anyway, the remaining strings can be tuned to various scales, the most common Chinese one being CDFGA and it's modes such as : CDFGBb, CEbFGA, CEbFGBb. Japan has an elaborate tuning system using fourth chords which can be found in one of my other articles and Korea usually follows the Chinese example. If you're fortunate enough to have a children's Guzheng then it will probably have guitar type tuning pegs. Most people don't have children's instruments in which case you have to grab the string with one hand and pull on it firmly enough so that the loop can be loosened and pulled tight again with the other hand. This takes a bit of practice but isn't too difficult to accomplish with persistence. Fine tuning is then accomplished by adjusting the moveable bridges located somewhere along the length of the string underneath them.
Hand Position;
The blade on the side of the right palm is placed resting where the stationary bridge meets the sound board. The fingers are inserted between the strings so that much of the pad of the last phallange of the finger is grabbing the string. This is a bit different from guitar. If you were a guitarist before picking up the Guzheng, you will have a habit of not plucking the string with enough of your finger and having a thin tone as a result. To work on being more ambidextrous, it's possible to pluck out bass lines on the 4 low sounding strings usually with the left hand. The right hand may also be suspended above the strings especially when trying to get a warmer tone by playing farther up the strings away from the bridge. You can get more control if you plant all the fingers first before beginning to pluck the strings. This means inserting all your fingers individually between neighboring strings simultaneously and have them resting in a position in which they are ready to play when called upon either separately or simultaneoulsy depending on the circumstance.
Exercises;
Exercises on any instrument tend to be fairly universal. I'll assign numbers to the notes of the strings CDFGAcdfga in two octaves as 1 2 34 5 6 7 8 9 10 respectively like this;
1234,2345,3456,etc...
123,234,345,etc...
121,232,343 etc...
321,432,543, etc...
4321,5432,6543,7654 etc...
You should also play these backwards and with both hands first separately then together. Later, you should make the other hand melodicallly and rhythmically independent from each other.
Patterns:
Melodies:
Effects:
One effect is to produce harmonics. It's the same concept as on guitar or harp. Just place your index finger on the point exactly half way between the stationary bridge and the moveable bridges the pluck the string with the finger then quickly moving the index finger off of the string to let it ring. This places a node in the strings vibration raising it an octave. There are other places along the strings length that will produce other divisions of the string but don't ring as well on the much shorter strings in the high register.
Another effect is string dampening. Sometimes you don't want a note to continue ringing after you've plucked it so it doesn't interfere with a new note you're going to pluck or that you've already plucked. In that case you have to strop the initial string from vibrating by placing your hand on it effectively muting it's sound.
If you move your plucking hand up and down the strings you'll hear that playing closer to the stationary bridge creates a thing tone and playing farther along the string creates a warmer and fuller sound.
Vibrato is accomplished by placing the left hand on a string at the opposite side of the moveable bridge from where you plucked it and then pushing quite firmly up and down. This creates the Guzheng's characteristic wide vibrato which can be slow or fast.
You may also prebend the string with the left hand before you pluck it creating a downward slide in the tone.
One final technique is that of flicking one of the fingers, usually the index at a string in a direction away from your body with the back of your finger nail.
Good luck and I hope that helps.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น