Carry forward the spirit of craftsmen and play a strong voice of the times
Qin Huabei, the fourth-generation descendant of the Zhuang nationality's Longzhou Tianqin making skills, has been learning how to make qin from his grandfather since the age of 13, and has been focusing on Tianqin production for 45 years.
Choosing a high-quality gourd is only the beginning of making a good piano, and the top is the key. The top of the Tianqin is made of sycamore wood, among which the blue and paulownia woods produced in Longzhou are the best. In Qin Huabei's eyes, there are substitutes for other accessories in piano making, but the panel cannot be replaced.
Under the guidance of Professor Fan Sim, a famous folk musician in Guangxi, Qin Huabei first changed the Tianqin from a three-section rod to a through-section, and then changed the cotton yarn strings to nylon strings, and fixed the pitch according to the positive fourth to expand the range. To four octaves, it can be transposed at will; finally, the hand plucked strings are changed to plucked strings.
The improved new Lyra, which can only play and sing one part, can play and sing two parts and three parts, which enriches the rhythm of playing the Lyra. The Lyra also gained a wider range and a more elegant appearance.
Tianqin became more and more "fresh" in Qin Huabei's hands. His improvements have retained the traditional production methods of the Zhuang people's lyre, and have continued to improve. But Qin Huabei did not stop there. With the government's protection and encouragement of Tianqin culture, there are more and more opportunities for Tianqin performances and the stage is getting bigger and bigger. To make the performances more diverse and richer, Qin Huabei feels that Lyra instruments can be more varied.
Qin Huabei uses the principles and raw materials of Tianqin, combined with wireless receivers, to innovate and produce a series of different musical instruments, striving to integrate Tianqin into the modern music trend, while maintaining its simple and elegant characteristics, in Qin Huabei's hands , Tianqin achieved the second improvement.
From the beginning of choosing a craft, it is destined to fight for it for a lifetime. Qin Huabei tirelessly explores a new direction in the inheritance of Tianqin skills, not only improving Tianqin musical instruments, but also organizing literary and art lovers around him to discuss and innovate the sky piano performance form and repertoire.