With the rapid development of various social, economic and cultural undertakings in our city, the art of guqin has gradually attracted the attention of the general public in our city, and has become an integral part of social and cultural life with an increasing proportion. In order to meet the learning requirements of the majority of Guqin enthusiasts, the excerpts of the works of Gu Meigeng, Li Xiangting, Gong Yi and other masters on Guqin are organized as follows for the readers.

1. Introduction to Guqin

Guqin is the oldest plucked instrument in my country and the essence of Chinese music. Guqin has a very long history. According to legend, it has a history of 5,000 years. It can be traced back to 3,000 years. It can be said that it basically runs through the history of civilization of the entire Chinese nation. In the long history of thousands of years, the guqin has integrated the crystallization of people's wisdom, expressing the praise and pursuit of beautiful things by Chinese children, and has gradually developed and improved so far. Its charm is naturally unique. It is an art form that condenses the connotation of traditional Chinese culture, and is a typical representative of traditional elegant art. It has profoundly affected all aspects of traditional Chinese culture, and its significance and value far exceed ordinary traditional music.

The guqin is three feet six inches long and five minutes long, symbolizing three hundred and sixty-five days in a year; six inches wide, symbolizing Liuhe; two inches thick, rich in the yin and yang of heaven and earth. There are thirteen emblems marking phonemes on the surface of the piano, symbolizing the twelve months of the year and the intercalary moon every four years. Legend has it that the guqin originally had five strings, which were tuned according to the palace, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu, representing the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Later, King Wen of Zhou added one string, and King Wu of Zhou added one string. Hence the seven strings. Its surface is arched and the bottom plate is flat, which corresponds to the ancient saying that the sky is round and the place is round. The images and magical metaphors such as Yueshan and dragon gums on the strings, wild goose feet on the qin, and dragon ponds and phoenix marshes in pronunciation contain ancient people's love for green mountains and green waters and their dedication to Chinese civilization.

As a musical instrument, its timbre is beautiful and deep, and it has three different timbres: overtones are elegant, elegant, and ethereal, just like the sounds of nature, so it is called the sound of heaven; Voice; according to the sound is delicate, soft and slightly sad, very similar to human singing, so it is called human voice. Heaven, earth, and people complement each other, complement each other, and complement each other, forming a rich platform for the performance of Guqin's music and art. "High Mountain", "Flowing Water", "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms", "Falling Wild Geese in Pingsha", "Three Die in Yangguan", "Drinking Crazy", "Guan Shanyue" and more than 3,000 distant and beautiful ancient songs and a large number of Documents about qin masters, qin theory, qin making, and qin art have left a rare cultural heritage for future generations.

my country's earliest poetry collection "The Book of Songs" has repeatedly mentioned the guqin - "I have guests, drums and drums". "The chair is painted with tungsten, and the piano is cut down." "Qinse is in control, don't be quiet." In "Lü's Spring and Autumn Period: The Original Taste", it describes the famous qin master Boya of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period - high mountains and flowing water, and Zhong Ziqi sighed after listening to it: "The towering ambition is in the mountains, and the expansive ambition is in the mountains. Running water." Since then, the two have become bosom friends. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius was both a thinker, an educator, and a musician. Not only could he play the guqin, but he was also skilled. He once learned to play "Wen Wang Cao" from Shixiang, can perfectly express the content of the music, and has an amazing appreciation ability. The "music" among the "six arts" he taught included the content of playing the piano and reciting poems. He also composed piano pieces such as "Huo Lin Cao" and "Yi Lan Cao". Sima Xiangru, a great writer in the Western Han Dynasty, once played and sang "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix" for Zhuo Wenjun, thus achieving a happy marriage, which was passed down as a good story by later generations. Cai Yong of the Eastern Han Dynasty was not only a master player, but also a famous composer and master. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: The Biography of Cai Yong", when Cai Yong was in Wudi, once a neighbor was burning firewood for cooking, he heard the crisp crackling sound of the firewood in the fire. Knowing that it was good material, he immediately asked his neighbor for it. When it comes out, it has a beautiful sound when it is made into a qin. Because the tail of the qin still has scorch marks, it is called "Jiaoweiqin". This qin, together with Duke Huan of Qi's "Horn Bell", Duke Zhuang of Chu's "Round Liang", and Sima Xiangru's "Lvqi", is known as the Four Famous Qins in Ancient China. Ji Kang, a qin master in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, ranks first among the "Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest". He is erudite and talented, admires Laozi and Zhuangzi, is musically accomplished, and despises corrupt regimes politically. He was later killed by the Sima Clan. Before his execution, he calmly played "Guangling San" to express his resentment and injustice. It can be said that there are countless legends, historical facts and literary works related to the guqin.

In addition, the guqin is also a handicraft - the body of the violin made of high-quality wood (the top is generally made of sycamore, fir, and the bottom is generally made of fir or catalpa) is painted (that is, painted) with a jet black mirror. The lacquer tire layer will also be mixed with antler ash and eight-treasure ash (gold powder and precious jade such as malachite, agate, and jadeite are crushed and mixed). The thirteen emblems have various textures such as snail, jade, gold and silver. The strings are also made of wood, ivory, horn, jade and other materials. The silk tassels add a touch of beauty to the guqin. The qin bag is made of elegant and luxurious silk and satin, and some qins are also decorated with qin cases made of precious woods such as red sandalwood or huanghuali, and there will be exquisite carvings inside and outside the qin boxes. Because the guqin is exquisitely made and has a beautiful timbre, the owners of the guqin often regard the guqin as a treasure, and name the guqin according to its characteristics and timbre.

The famous Tang Dynasty qin "Jiuxiao Huan Pei" now collected in the Palace Museum is in Fuxi style, and the bottom plate is also engraved with verses and inscriptions - the four characters "Jiuxiao Huan Pei" in seal script are engraved on the top of the Dragon Pond, and the seal script is engraved below the Dragon Pond. "Contains" the big seal side, and then there is a poem by Su Dongpo: "Ai Ai Spring Breeze, Loud Rings Pei Yin, Hanging Curtains New Swallow, Cang Hai Lao Long Yin. Su Shi Ji" 23 words. The left side of Longchi is engraved with ten characters "Super Trace Cangxiao, Happy Taiji. Tingjian", and the right side is engraved with ten characters "Ling Ranxi Taikoo, Shimengzhai Collection" and the side of "Shimengzhai Seal". Above the phoenix marsh is a small oval seal in regular script "Three Tang Qinxie", and below the marsh is inscribed "Chu Yuan Tibetan Qin" in seal script. On the left side of Nayin in the belly of the qin is engraved with seven characters in regular script "Kaiyuan Kuichou Three Years".

There are many styles of guqin. The "Sounds of Ancient Times" (a copy of the Song Dynasty) compiled by Tian Zhiweng in the Southern Song Dynasty is the earliest monograph on the guqin style in my country. It has 38 styles: Shennong, Fuxi, Lingji, and Xiang. Spring, Feng style, Lianzhu, Zhongni, Liezi, Lingguan, Shikuang, Luoxia, etc. The most common styles are Zhongni, Fuxi, Lianzhu, Luoxia, and banana leaves. The name of the qin style mostly comes from the name of the inventor, myths and legends, historical allusions or objects in nature, and each name has its own specific meaning.

There are a large volume of poems, words, songs and fu written by literati and writers of all dynasties especially for the guqin. Li Bai, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote the poem "Wave your hand for me, like listening to ten thousand pine trees".

There are heaven, earth, and people in the qin; year, moon, and sun; mountains and water; dragons and phoenixes; Beichen, five elements, and so on. It is like a small universe. It has gone through the vicissitudes of life and is still simple and unpretentious, full of charm but not ostentatious. It tells the world the long history of the Chinese nation with its own charm, and shows the deep and simple hearts of Chinese children.

2. How to learn guqin well

"How to learn guqin well?" is a very common question worth discussing. There may also be different opinions on this issue within the scope of qin practitioners, and there is no consensus. However, as a musical instrument, the guqin, like the erhu, pipa, piano, and violin, has a learning process from shallow to deep, from easy to difficult, and from From entry to advanced study, the law and process should be the same.

When opening the fingers at the beginning of the manipulation, the learner should master the more correct playing methods and understand the basic principles of finger movement. Through practice, understand and master the rules. Under the guidance of the teacher, players who learn to play can carefully experience and practice carefully, so that the method is correct, the movement is free, the tone is mellow and changing properly, and the posture is stretched and generous, beautiful and natural. In fact, paying attention to basic fingering and correct fingering is the same requirement for all musical instruments including Guqin. Many pianists listed "Xian Weng Cao", "Autumn Wind Ci" and other small pieces as open-fingered music in their teaching, because these pieces themselves have the nature and function of etudes. Some individual piano students want to learn a certain large or medium-sized piece of music when they are just starting out. Their mood for studying is understandable, but it is by no means the best policy. When starting to learn, not only is there no need to learn difficult and well-known classical music, but also when playing "etudes", you should not be too hasty and seek "advancement". Because only by mastering the correct and firm basic skills, will there be a foundation for improvement and further study. It can be seen that the initial "open finger" teaching is a very important lesson.

When practicing a regular piece of music, a targeted practice program is also required. Because the basic skills training of etudes cannot cover all the technical skills training, not to mention the playing skills and skills are constantly developing. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out targeted exercises that grasp the key points of focus.

Finally, through meticulous processing, expressing the thoughts and feelings of the music through performance, and completing the shaping of the artistic image.

How to practice the piano is as follows:

(1) In the process of practicing the piano, always keep the whole body relaxed and inner peace. For the mastery of fingering, there can be a sense of serious effort, and there should be no impatient force. It is necessary to allow the process of never coming to the meeting, from raw to cooked, from shallow to deep. Even allow the process to take longer, so that haste is not enough. When you are a beginner, you will feel pain when pressing the string on your left index finger, you should stop and practice again after a while, so as to avoid blisters, and don't wear them out. If the blisters have already blistered, stop practicing until the blisters are completely gone. If the arms, fingers, and wrists feel sore and tired, it is caused by the wrong method and local tension, and it is necessary to stop the activities immediately, relax and practice again. When practicing kneeling fingers, you can just do "kneeling" and put it on the string at the beginning without actually pressing it on the string. After a few days, when the part where you press the strings gradually becomes less painful, increase the strength a little bit, and then officially press the strings.

(2) You should arrange time to practice every day, and should not stop for many days, or practice for several hours at a time. The effect of several hours at a time is not a substitute for the effect of an hour a day.

(3) The requirement for left-hand pressing is that in the case of real pressing, the lowest possible intensity is to be so small that it will be muted if the sound is smaller. It is difficult for beginners to do it, but you should always pay attention to yourself to feel the relaxation and saving of the force. This saving is also for the flexible use of the left hand. When practicing to move your fingers left and right, keep the intensity constant. And practice at a slow speed, see the phoneme first, and then move the finger in the past, not blind, random, and ineffective repetition.

(4) When practicing, try to understand and examine the sentences in the qin music and even the etudes, and clearly divide the sounds into groups. Memorize the notation while watching the left hand practice. It will be more effective to practice the amuses, phrases, and passages in the music from small to large, from part to whole. In the practice, we should also observe whether the two hands are correct and whether they are tense. To correctly pop up a group of sounds, sentence by sentence. And each sentence or each group of sounds needs to be repeated many times to practice well. It is also necessary to practice the whole song from the beginning to the end without stopping in the middle. in order to be conducive to real mastery. When practicing the piano, you should sing the melody in your heart, and use the melody in your heart to control and master the performance of both hands.

(5) When listening to the recording, it is best to sing along, or at least sing silently in your heart, and tap each time with your hands or feet. It is necessary for beginners to play each beat with their feet. But as the level of performance increases, the beat action must be removed. The feeling of one beat, one beat, one click can be used as the rhythm and scale of the music.

(6) After you can memorize a complete piece of music, you can use a tape recorder to record your own performance, listen to it objectively and repeatedly, and you can clearly find the problem, which is conducive to focusing on practicing to overcome the problem. It is naturally better if you can record yourself to examine yourself objectively.

(7) Imitation is an effective method for beginners. When you have been able to play that piece from memorization proficiently, you can tune the strings to the same pitch as the piece of the recording provided by the teacher and play along with the recording. The counterplay method used by many people to teach the piano in the past is this an imitation-based approach.

3. The taboos of playing the piano

When playing, not only the shape and movements of the five senses and limbs have certain norms, but also the spirit, thinking and breathing should not be sloppy and rude, in order to achieve the wonderful state, especially when you are beginners, you must first lay a solid foundation and practice skillfully, so as not to become accustomed over time. sex, difficult to change. The ancients here had a lot of rules and regulations. Hereby, the appropriate and taboos are listed below, and the most important ones are selected. Scholars must always self-examine, pay attention to correction, and naturally obey.

(1) The spirit must be quiet, the body must be upright, and not impetuous and crooked.

(2) The thoughts must be pure, the affection must be focused, and not cluttered.

(3) Breathing should be well-balanced, audio-visual should be concentrated, and rude indulgence should not be allowed.

(4) The movements of the fingers should be simple and quiet, and should not be chaotic. When using the fingers, both the nails and the flesh must be combined. Too many nails will make the sound irritable, and too much meat will make the sound muddy.

(5) Don't feel the force of both hands, don't push too hard, don't be frivolous, and don't be rude.

(6) When pressing the strings with the big finger, do not pinch the index finger to make a circle, help force, and do not open the tiger's mouth.

(7) When pressing the string with the name finger, the distal end should be protruding and not concave. The concave is called the folding finger, and the pressing cannot be firm. And you can't press the upper helper with your middle finger.

(8) When the index finger plays the string, although the big finger can reach it, it should not be squeezed tightly, so as not to affect the force of the index finger.

(9) The left and right fingers should be in posture, which should be elegant and beautiful. The fingers of the left hand should not stick to the strings.

(10) Although the form should be serious, it should not be extremely tense and open. Although the movements should be lively, they should not be slick and glamorous.

Fourth, the choice of new guqin

Different from those who play the piano and those who only make collections, they must first buy a piano that can be used. Especially if you buy a new guqin and you can't use it, it will be the biggest regret for the people who play the guqin. So what are the minimum conditions for a usable piano?

(1) First of all, the strings must be able to go down, that is to say, the strings should not be too high from the surface of the piano. Too high is called anti-fingering, which will affect the method of playing the piano and even tire the fingers. Generally speaking, the position of the seven emblems should be 0.5 cm away from the piano surface. If it is too low, it is easy to produce a shaky sound (or sandy sound), and the empty strings may slap the surface of the piano. For Yueshan, it is ideal if the qin is 1.5 cm high and the qin is not resistant to fingers. Some pianos are bent down in the middle, commonly known as folded waist. Such pianos also need to resist fingering (on the contrary, if the back is arched, there will be problems such as string suppression and sandy sound).

(2) The surface of the piano should not be too flat. If it is too flat, pressing the seventh string with the left hand will not hinder it, and it will be difficult to press the first, second, third and fourth strings at or above the seventh emblem. The flat surface of the piano is that the arc on the string between the first string and the seventh string is too small. Some pianos are almost flat on the string path at the fourth or fifth emblem, and such a piano is not usable. Although some pianos are flat, but the sides outside the strings are very curved, or they are flat only above the four emblems. Such problems can still be ignored.

(3) The string spacing should not be too wide or too narrow. The width of the string spacing refers to the distance between the strings at Yueshan. Due to insufficient material, the distance between the two strings is very narrow, which will make the fingers of the player become rigid and flat. If it is too wide, it will be difficult to control. It should be 1.7 cm. Most ancient pianos have similar string spacing. In this way, the playing habits developed by the string path can be adapted to the pianos encountered in most situations. The string spacing between the first and seventh strings is more than 3.5 cm see and appropriate.

(4) The effective chord length of the qin refers to the length from the Yueshan Mountain to the gingival at the tail, which is usually 110 cm to 111 cm. If the strings are shorter than 108 cm, the strings will be too loose, the tension will be insufficient, the vibration will not be enough, and the sound quality and volume will not be produced. If the string is longer than the above index, it is difficult for the pitch to meet the standard requirements (even if the pitch reaches the standard, it may be difficult to finger or easy to break the string).

(5) The surface of the piano should be flat. Some piano surfaces are not finely made. In addition to the unevenness and smoothness of the paint, there are still high and low bumps, which will produce evil sounds (or sand sounds). When choosing, you can slowly deflect the piano face to the front, back, left and right, such as the reflection of the piano surface, all unevenness is clearly visible. If you press the strings and move your left hand left and right there, there may be sand sounds. If no sand sounds are produced, it can be ignored.

No matter what other aspects of a qin are, if there are no problems with the above items, the qin can be dropped. At least fingering exercises are available.