Today, I will explain to you the rules and techniques of using the guzheng "vibrato".

The technique of "vibrato" can be briefly summarized as follows:

First

The shoulders are relaxed and lowered, concentrating the strength of the arms on the fingertips. After a quick fret, the tension of the string is quickly restored.

second

The left-hand pressing should be small and even.

third

The right hand first plays the left hand and then vibrates, and the left hand vibrates on the reverberation after the right hand plays, and must not change the pitch of the original sound.

fourth

The frequency and amplitude of the vibrato should be uniform, not fast and slow, big and small.

Details about vibrato:

When playing the zheng, if you don't use the "slip" and "press" techniques to rhyme, you must use "vibrato" (kneading, chant) to play the role of "filling the sound with rhyme". However, generally on the notation, only the "slide, press" symbols are clearly marked and the "vibrato" is usually not clearly marked. "Vibrato" is handled by the performer according to the style, content and emotional expression of the music, and only in special and must be emphasized places are marked with symbols.

This provides players with a lot of space for secondary creation. Players can make different choices according to their mastery of the music style, understanding of the music content, and different aesthetic tastes. Greater difficulty came. Therefore, for the same piece of music, different people will have great differences in the use of "vibrato".

Vibrato is a very important technique among the many techniques of left-hand rhyme. It gives music its color through rapid and detailed pitch fluctuations, and "vibrato" is a general term for the traditional "kneading and chant" techniques. The traditional "kneading and chanting" is to place the left hand on the string section about 15 cm to the left of the zheng code, and use the three fingers (or middle and ring fingers) of food, middle and ring to be aligned, slightly curved into an arc, and gently. Glue to the string played by the right hand.

When the right hand plays the string, the left hand presses vertically on the string, so that the sound played by the right hand produces a regular wave effect. The undulations are always repeated regularly at "on" (the pitch of the string itself), "high" (pressing down with the left hand, the tension of the string changes, and the pitch of the string is raised). The traditional "kneading" and "chanting" are only distinguished by the fluctuation amplitude of the string sound.

"Vibrato" is a simple and complex technique for the left hand. It is simple because it seldom appears on the score, and even some music can't find a "vibrato" symbol throughout. Even if it is marked with "vibrato", the symbols are mostly one kind. However, in the music, in addition to playing with both hands, the effect of "vibrato" is intermittent or continuous from beginning to end, and these "vibrato" are constantly changing the speed, strength and amplitude of the pressing, which is more than the left hand. The technique of rhyme is more distinctive, it is most commonly used, and its use value is the highest, but its stipulation is extremely poor. Therefore, "vibrato" is a very complex technique.

General rules for the use of "vibrato"

1. Since the mark of "vibrato" is difficult to see on the score, even if there are symbols, the symbols are relatively simple. Only the symbols of "light tremolo" and "heavy tremolo" are generally consistent, and the other "vibrato" symbols are very inconsistent. Therefore, , the symbol does not accurately indicate the category of "vibrato". But the use of "vibrato" still has its own rules to follow, as long as you master it well, you can use it freely.

The following three situations generally need to add "vibrato":

① Time value (beat) sound plus "vibrato";

②Add "vibrato" to the sound on the rebeat;

③ The sound of the right thumb is added with "vibrato".

The above three situations should not be understood in isolation and rigidly. When using them, the relationship between the three should be handled dialectically according to the phrases and emotions, so that the "vibrato" can be used reasonably and appropriately.

2. "Vibrato" is an important means of expression of local style, so when playing local style music, pay attention to the usage rules of its "vibrato":

①The style of northern zheng music is rough, pungent, and clear, and the "heavy vibrato" and "small vibrato" with large and long duration are mostly used;

②The style of southern zheng music is soft and tactful and elegant, mostly using smooth and slow "light vibrato".

Follow the above basic rules to play, that is, the taste is not strong or authentic, and it will not be out of taste or completely overwhelmed. Of course, in order to master the "vibrato" of each genre, it is necessary to gradually master the zheng music of each genre and famous masters of each genre.