The piano environment is deep and unfathomable, the melodious rhythm of the piano, fluttering like a fairy. The artistic charm of the qin is in the same line as our traditional poetry and painting, reflecting the pursuit of elegance and taste by ancient Chinese literati. It is no accident that this ancient music is still so poetic and vivid after thousands of years. It has been cherished by bosom friends of all dynasties, and it can only be passed down from generation to generation to today.

But with the rapid development of contemporary life, this art is farther and farther from reality, which is very worrying. In particular, some people don't understand the ancient music, and they even ask to replace it with a new one. In this way, this ancient art is even worse.

In order to save it, the United Nations listed it as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity that needs to be rescued. This is far from enough. In the final analysis, only when we truly understand it and have feelings for it can we take the initiative to maintain it. In order to improve the understanding of the qin, this article lists the characteristics of the qin as follows, and discusses with the readers.

1. The matching of shades and shades

Painting needs color contrast, and music needs timbre contrast. The qin music mainly relies on three kinds of timbre: thick scattered tone, light overtone, and soft pressing tone. Based on this, various collocations and different fingerings have been added to evolve more changes. Through these changes, it is used to divide the phrases and passages, and to shape the music image to lyrically freehand. Timbre is the foundation of the structure of the qin music, and it is the basic knowledge that must be possessed to understand music rules, means of expression and various functions.

Let's talk about scattered sound first, it is the lowest note of the string produced by plucking an empty string. Because it does not require the left hand to control the pitch, and does not require fingers to hold the string position, it is called scattered sound. Its characteristics are: high volume, low range, long lasting, can roar in the bass part for a long time, quite harmonious effect, thus enriching the musical expression.

Using its strong strength, it can strengthen the rhythm of the tune, and this strength has the spirit of bravery and strength. Han Yu described it in listening to the qin poems as "suddenly changed into high spirits, warriors go to the battlefield". Using his two-tone (pinch) can create a solemn and solemn atmosphere, which has played such a role in "Wind and Thunder" and "Pu'an Mantra".

The overtone is the light and illusory musical sound that the left hand touches on the emblem. Her characteristics are: light volume, short duration, light color, suitable for playing brisk, gorgeous and other decorative tunes. In "Xiaoxiang Shuiyun" and "Ou Heron Forgetting Machine", the effect of splashing water is played with overtone rolls (that is, seven-string legato). In "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms", the overtone phrases are used to play the theme of light and transparent plum blossoms to show its white and fragrant character. Before the finale, "Jieshi Tune · You Orchid" played an octave double tune, which was considered to have the effect of "like a fairy's sound". For this reason, Han Yu's poems describe it as: "The floating clouds and catkins have no roots, and the sky and the earth are wide and far away."

Pressing the sound is to press the string position with the left hand to control the pitch, and move the finger sliding to play various changes, including chant (micro-movement), kneading (big movement), Chuo (slide up), note (slide down), etc., with delicate performance , Like a human voice chanting and singing, Han Yu's poems describe it as "the girl's language, the grievances and grievances" are like young men and women quietly talking about love. The use of finger-pressing distinguishes the qin from other plectrum instruments, which greatly enriches the expressive power of the tune, which is a big leap in the development history of qin music. This kind of fingering was gradually developed after about the Song Dynasty. Compared with the previous tunes that lacked fingering, people called it "more sound and less rhyme". This is a difference in style as well as a difference in times. The development of timbre is a sign of the maturity of qin music.

In general, the three kinds of tones, strong, light and soft, have their own strengths. The ancients used to describe them as the relationship between heaven, earth and man: overtones are like the nebula in the sky, unpredictable; scattered sounds are like the earth that loads all things; The voice is singing, the expression is rich and delicate.

2. the urgency and orderly rhythm layout

Mature qin music generally pays attention to the rhythm and layout, just like a good article must have a succession and a succession, otherwise, incoherent and disorderly words will not have a good effect. For this, a comprehensive arrangement is required. There is such a structure title in the existing ancient spectrum "Guangling San" before the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Although there will no longer be such a mark in the piano score in the future, this structural principle is still inherited. Generally speaking: first slow, gradually fast, and then slow to the end.

At the beginning, it is caused by a slow loose board, called "scattering", and the rhythm is free like a leisurely stroll, seemingly aimless, and gradually enters the role. Showing individual tunes one after another is called "entry tune". This tune represents the character of the whole piece, and all subsequent pieces will be based on it and will be expanded one by one. The contrast of timbre and sound area is gradually strengthened until it reaches the peak of the whole song. Afterwards, in order to lead to the finale, the tempo begins to slow down. The score here is specially marked with the sign of "slow into slow". Large-scale works are also divided into several levels, and the words such as entry slow, gradual slow and big slow are described respectively.

Before the end of the whole piece, there is often a "rounding" fingering, that is, the homophony is repeated between octaves or the same degree, like a long sigh of relief after a long run, and then the last adagio is introduced. There are some pieces here that use inflections to make the whole piece feel fresh. In "Xiaoxiang Shuiyun" and the ancient version "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms", there are such inflections. The last is "overtone ending" or "entering the original tone pan", using a few overtones, slowly introducing and ending, giving people a sense of unfinished, lingering aftertaste Effect.

Although there are a lot of changes in the whole piece, it is always in a calm and slow state, and it is gradually transitioning. This may also be a manifestation of the gentleness and honesty of our national character.

3. Unique image design

Artistic works must rely on images to exert their appeal. Artistic images in poetry and paintings are seen with eyes, but the images in qin music must be heard with ears. How can the image be heard? We can only find another way out, with the help of imagination, we can design a set of plans ingeniously.

The first is the title of the track, a concise text title, which introduces the theme and theme of the work, so as to guide the audience to appreciate the music according to the idea of the work, so as to avoid blind people and blind horses. This title should be both figurative and artistic, full of poetic and pictorial, and should not be too abstract, like the title of a thesis. Nor can it only talk about form and numbering without regard to content like Western European classical music. The poetic title helps to resonate, the majesty of the mountains broadens the horizon, and the rush of water inspires the will. Such mountains and waters have life and exert their infectious power.

The second is sound simulation. Many images and sounds coexist, such as the fisherman's Eno, the Shiifu's logging, the chirping of geese, and the flow of water. Although the mountains are silent, they can rely on the sound of the wind. The mountains are high and the wind is rushing, so "wave your hand for me, like hearing ten thousand pine trees" (Li Bai).

Again the plot changes. Some images make different sounds with the help of the progress of the plot, which inspires imagination and is fascinating. For example, in "Flowing Water", it goes from trickling to surging, and in "Falling Wild Goose", it hovers from high altitude to roaring on the ground, and so on.

Finally, there is the meaning of acquaintance. There are many common metaphors in traditional Chinese poetry and painting, and it is not difficult to understand with a little cultural background, such as the pure white fragrance of Meilan, the ambition of the fisherman in the mountains and forests, the flying of the wild geese and so on.

Artistic image is subject to artistic conception, and without the artistic conception, the image loses its meaning. Some performers focus on how realistic the image is, but they are out of purpose, and some qin poems use metaphors one by one but leave the main point.

4. the elegant taste of the subtle and distant

Tone, rhythm and image all depend on the needs of the taste. Appetite is the ultimate goal of qin music. What kind of taste should be shown in qin music has always been a concern of scholars, and there are many discussions and comments on this. During the Northern Song Dynasty, this question was relatively mature. At that time, the scholar Fan Zhongyan once asked Cui Zundu for advice: "Why is the qin right?" Cui's answer was: "It is beautiful and quiet, and it is moist and far away. Fan felt the same way, and based on it. This play said: "beautiful but not quiet, will lose dryness, and harmony but not far away, will be lost, not dry but not flat, and the way of harmony is deceiving?" It means: "One-sided pursuit of beautiful voice (qingli, harmony) ) and ignoring the content performance (quiet, far) will lead to impetuous and shallow drawbacks. Overcoming dryness and shyness, isn't that the way to neutralize it?"

Neutralization is the core of Confucianism, a moral standard as well as an aesthetic standard. Later generations of qin artists accepted this standard and took "neutralization" as their motto, engraved on the back of the qin and printed on the title page, and followed this standard at all times. The "Sixteen Methods of Qin Sound" in the Ming Dynasty and the "Twenty-Four Conditions of Streams and Mountains" in the early Qing Dynasty were all developed on this basis, but they are too trivial to avoid overlapping or lose the big because of the small, which is not conducive to memory. Therefore, some people condensed and supplemented it according to the formulation of "beautiful and quiet, harmonious and distant", leaving the words "clear and distant" at the beginning and the end, and added the words "micro and light", emphasizing that overcoming "dryness" requires While pursuing beauty, we must be meticulous and know the details carefully, so that we can truly be quiet and have content; it is emphasized that in order to overcome "prosperity", we must first be indifferent to life and honor and disgrace. In this way, while pursuing "harmony", it is natural It will achieve the detached realm of "happy but not promiscuous, sad but not sad".

Starting from the discussion of Fan Zhongyan and Cui Zundu, combined with the actual performance of qin music, the requirement of "light and distant" was summed up, which has been affirmed by qin artists.

5. The spiritual home of the literati

The tone of the qin music is subtle, the rhythm is calm, the image is elegant, and the artistic conception is far-reaching. Through different levels and different aspects, it reflects the spiritual pursuit of the literati. This is the result of the tireless efforts of bosom friends of all dynasties. To fully and deeply understand the art of qin music, one cannot fail to understand the close relationship between literati and qin music.

Playing the qin is an indispensable part of the literati's life. Whenever you encounter troubles and you can't sleep at night, the qin is the most ideal partner: "If you can't sleep at night, sit up and play the qin." You can get rid of troubles and seek happiness from them. "Let's play the qin book, so that you can forget your worries" (Tao Yuanming's "Returning and Returning Ci"), it can be seen that playing the qin and reading are equally important, so: "You can play the plain qin, read the golden scriptures, without the confusion of silk and bamboo, without the slips. The form of labor." (Liu Yuxi's "Inscription of the Shabby Room") The joy of playing the qin lies in the ability to eliminate daily disturbances, so Bai Juyi believes: "Qixian is a good friend, and two ears are bosom friends." This kind of evaluation is appropriate.

Playing the piano alone can be enjoyable, and listening to friends playing the piano is also beneficial to the body and mind. Li Bai's feelings when he listened to Shu monks playing the qin: "When you wave your hand for me, it's like hearing ten thousand pine pine trees, washing your heart with running water, and the lingering sound of the frost bell." Listening to the rolling pines on the high mountain, watching the surging clear water beside the flowing water, broadens the mind and purifies mind. The close relationship between bosom friend and qin is more deeply analyzed in Zhu Xi's "Inscription on Ziyang Qin": "The righteousness of nourishing the monarch is neutral, and the evil heart of anger is forbidden. It's very deep." Playing the qin not only cultivates the good and forbids evil, but also is a close friend who jointly explores the mysteries of the universe: "I am alone and the child is very deep", what a cordial relationship! It is enviable!

Under the cultivation of literati, qin music and traditional culture are connected by blood and become the spiritual home of literati. Representatives in the cultural field are often reflected in the qin music. There are the most qin songs about Confucius, "Huo Lin Cao" and "You Orchid" which sympathize with him, and "Si Xian Cao" and "Weeping Yan Hui", which miss his teacher-student friendship, are especially popular. About Qu Yuan, there are "Yin on the Zepan", "Qu Yuan Went on the Crossing", "Li Sao", others such as "Lie Zi Yu Feng", "Zhuang Zhou Dreaming of Butterflies", "Mozi's Sad Silk". There are also some works of Taoism, such as "Yizhen", "Forgetting Machine", "Xuanmo", etc. The famous masterpieces include Cai Yan's "Hu Jia", Ruan Ji's "Drinking Crazy", etc. It can be seen from this that the art of qin music is an important field of traditional culture, and the inheritance and promotion of traditional culture must not be taken lightly.