Finger pressing plays a very important role in performance. Many beginners suffer from the inflexibility of their fingers. In fact, the main reason is their inexperience. Let me tell you how to use your fingers flexibly to make your performance natural and smooth.

In erhu performance, the flexibility of the left finger is crucial. With flexible fingers, skills such as continuous rapid notes, vibrato (tr) vibrato and ornamental sounds have the necessary performance conditions. Erhu has no fingerboard. When the left finger is pressed, the reaction force of the strings is weak, just like an acrobat walking on a tightrope. If you are not playing the erhu, the flexibility of the left finger is very important. With flexible fingers, skills such as continuous rapid notes, vibrato (tr) vibrato and ornamental sounds have the necessary performance conditions. Erhu does not have a fingerboard. When the left finger is pressed, the reaction force of the strings is weak, just like an acrobat walking on a tightrope. Without excellent touch and skilled movements, it is difficult to be light, flexible and fast. Therefore, in the left-handed technique of the erhu, the flexibility of the fingers becomes a prerequisite for playing. Here are a few personal experiences on this issue:

1. The shape of the hand and the state of the tiger's mouth

In erhu performance, the shape of the left hand's pressing hand and the state of the tiger's mouth are directly related to the flexible and accurate pressing and the relaxed and natural changing of the handle. What kind of hand shape the performer adopts when pressing the sound is related to the size of the hand, the length and thickness of the fingers, and the habit of pressing the sound. In the performance, the practical application of the sound-pressing method is generally divided into three types: the first is "lifting and stretching". "Form": that is, the tiger's mouth is slightly downward, and the index finger and the little finger are in opposite stretched states when pressing the sound (the index finger is stretched up, and the little finger is stretched down). Such a sound-pressing hand shape can make the fingers fully stretched, and it appears to be more relaxed in the bass region or when the fingers are stretched to press the sound. However, due to the upward force of the index finger, it is not easy to feel stable when pressing the sound. The stability of the pitch and the feeling of strength are also easily affected when the speed is fast; the second is the "convex wrist type": that is, the wrist is slightly convex, and the middle finger and ring finger are slightly oblique and straight downward to press the sound. This kind of hand type is basically based on the position of the belly of the fingers, which seems to be easier to exert force, but the fingers tend to tighten during the ups and downs and form the feeling of "pinch" the strings. At the same time, because the finger pads are mainly used to press the sound, it is also easy to hinder the relaxation and change of the kneading (rolling) movement; the third type is "half-grip": that is, the wrist joint is in a natural relaxed and coordinated state when pressing the sound. The tip is the basic percussion position. The fingers are in a "slanted arc" state, and the "half clenched fist, oblique arc" (rather than the "horizontal arc") is achieved, and the "feel" of the palm faces downward. This type of hand is between the first and the second type, with more relaxed and flexible pressing movements, and a more stable feeling of finger force. To this end, I advocate the premise that the sound intensity is stable. It is more appropriate to use the first or third type of hand. No matter which hand type is used to press the tone, the left wrist, the tiger's mouth and the thumb should be in a natural relaxed state to match the movements of the tone-pressing fingers. At the same time, the width of the jins should also be suitable for people. In order to make the fingers press the sound and exert more slack, it is appropriate that the index finger can be inserted loosely and stick to the bottom of the jins (palms facing down). If it is too wide, it will affect the flexibility of the fingers to press the sound, and if it is too narrow, it will not be easy for the fingers to relax naturally. When holding the piano, if you can place the piano bar at the metacarpophalangeal joint of the tiger's mouth near the base of the index finger, it will be easier to change the handle and press the sound quickly.

2. Touch point and sound intensity

Where should the left finger touch the strings? Some people think it should be on the fingertips, because the feeling is sharp; some people think it should be done with the belly of the finger, because it is hard and the sound is thick. Because each player's finger thickness and fingertip muscle state are different, and the different emotions in the music have many changes in the timbre requirements. Therefore, in my opinion, under the premise of ensuring the agility of pressing the sound, the touch point should be appropriately "different from person to person". People with thin fingers can press the sound slightly to the belly of the finger, but if combined with the vibrato, the touch point should The arrangement of the chord points needs to be "different from song to song". For example, the melody in 6/8 time and the slow melody in 2/4 time of "The First Erhu Rhapsody" (Wang Jianmin's song), and the slow part of "Spring Poem" (Zhong Yiliang) are played in a "tumbling" way. Or in the singing passage of "Sunshine Shines on Tashkorgan" (arranged by Chen Gang) in 7/8 time, the position of the sound should be at the fingertips. Because pressing the sound at this position can make the finger joints more relaxed, the rolling up and down movements and the feeling of force are more uniform, and the sound effect is more singing. If you are playing "Jianghe Shui" (Northeast Folk Music, transplanted by Huang Haihuai) and "One Branch of Flowers" (Folk Music, Arranged by Zhang Shiye), you need to press the sound with your fingertips and use the grip of your hand, combined with "pressing" Kneading" and "retaining the fingers" based methods are more effective. At this time, since the force of the pressing finger is relatively stable, as long as the frequency of the action is controlled evenly, the change of the sound wave will be more stable, and the sound will be relatively thicker and more honest. As for the degree of effort and feeling of the fingers when pressing the sound, I think that when the melody of the music requires a weak force, it should be in a state of "three-point confrontation", that is, the part where the thumb and the base of the index finger touch the piano bar and the finger pressing the sound should be in contact with each other. Combined, press the sound under the dominant drive of the pressing finger (at this time, the tiger's mouth is in a natural state of slack). When it is necessary to express emotions such as excitement, tenacity, grief, anger, and pain in a heavier way of pressing and kneading, the wrist joint should be slightly "concave", and the active pressure of the pressing fingers should be combined with the anti-pressure feeling of the reserved fingers and the tiger's mouth. . In short, no matter how hard the left finger is in the process of pressing the sound, the left shoulder, elbow, wrist joint and relevant parts of the piano should be coordinated in a natural and coordinated state, so as to achieve smooth finger-dropping, even pressing, coordinated movement, Pronunciation texture.

3. Raising the finger when pressing the sound

In the process of playing, the pressing action of the left finger has been in a state of frequent pressing and lifting of the finger, especially in the process of rapid finger movement and rapid change of the handle, the running state of the fingers on the strings is directly related. Depending on the quality of the performance, some players attach great importance to the feeling of the force of the fingers on the strings when practicing the percussion movement, and often ignore the active and quick finger lift. In fact, the ups and downs of the finger pressing movement and the elastic feeling of the fingers mainly depend on the flexibility of the metacarpophalangeal joints. If the movements of the metacarpophalangeal joints are not active, the pressing movements will not be neat. This is just like the situation when a person walks. If the hip joint is flexible, the feeling of lifting the leg (foot) or walking will be easy and neat. If the leg (foot) is lifted slowly or passively, it will not be as easy as the elderly or the sick. Poor control of the rhythm and balance of walking. In the process of pressing the sound, there is another rule that should be followed, that is: the slower the speed of pressing the sound, the larger the ups and downs of the finger, that is, the free stroke, and vice versa. Therefore, you must pay attention to the speed of finger pressing and the coordinated feeling of raising your fingers when practicing the action of pressing the sound. Generally, you should follow the law of "slow speed, large movement, fast speed and small movement". In the beginning stage, you can practice from the finger trembling (tr) movement according to the ratio of the beat (such as eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and thirty-second notes, etc.), and pay special attention to the flexibility of the metacarpophalangeal joints and the lifting of the fingers time initiative. Do not straighten your fingers when lifting them, and keep the bent state when you press the sound (the joints are slightly bent), otherwise it will affect the flexibility of your fingers and the natural feeling of effort. After the ups and downs of the fingers on the strings are controlled freely, according to the need, in the form of slurred (at this time, the focus should be mainly focused on the left hand) with the left hand to carry out various trainings such as changing the fingers in different fingering sequences.

4. The movement of the pressing finger

During the performance, due to the change of the melody tone, the fingers that press the tone are constantly changing and changing. When children are just learning to walk, they are often nervous, stumbling, and staggering. The reason is that the center of gravity of the body is unstable, and the center of gravity of the two legs is not transferred in time. Transfer, not only the center of gravity of the body is more stable, but also the footsteps are much easier. The transfer of the pressing movement of the left finger of the erhu is also similar to that of a beginner: when I was just learning the piano, the relevant links of the left hand were not relaxed and coordinated due to the tension, which made the left finger feel stiff and clumsy when pressing the sound. This is because the "action chain" of the relevant parts of the left hand has not yet formed a stable and coordinated sense of linkage, and cannot cooperate with each other freely. Once the independence of finger movements is enhanced and the sound-pressing movements are coordinated, each finger is pressing When the center of gravity of the movement is shifted, a natural transition can be achieved. During practice, the finger shaking (tr) practice of each finger can still be used as the basic content. Because when the fingers are vibrating, the fingers that press the melody must match the vibrating fingers in the state of the reserved fingers. Otherwise, not only will the speed not meet the requirements, but the two fingers will frequently rise and fall on the strings quickly, which will also increase the fatigue of the fingers. Feel, affect the normal vibrato effect. In addition, practice the diatonic scale in the first position of the D key with a fast sixteenth note, or even a thirty-second note slurred up and down. In this way, it also plays an auxiliary role in the training of finger flexibility, so that the four fingers can be balanced, coordinated and connected evenly and smoothly in the process of pressing the sound.

Because the ring finger and the little finger are inherently less durable and flexible than the middle finger and the index finger, the change in the magnitude of the force is not large enough. Therefore, in the process of practicing the ups and downs according to the sound, the shifting feeling of the center of gravity and the change of the force range, the function of the ring finger and the little finger should be trained. 4 fingers) for quick cross exercises, etc.

5. Finger training in the process of changing the handle

When the pressing action of the original handle is more flexible, the finger pressing state and flexibility in the process of changing the handle become another important link in the performance. Among the erhu songs transplanted and created in modern times, such as "Sunshine Shines on Tashkorgan", "Gypsy Song", "Fantasia on the Theme of Carmen", Wang Jianmin's four Erhu Rhapsody, Liu Xuexuan's Erhu Concerto, etc. The fast up and down passages of the paragraph appear frequently in the melody of the music. At this time, how to maintain the flexibility of the left finger in the melody of the fast switch has almost become a symbol of the player's skill.

In actual performance, the change in the position of the center of gravity of the handlebar change has a direct relationship with the speed of the handlebar change. the laws of nature. In a slow melody, the joints of the left finger and left wrist can be naturally bent and stretched with the movement of the handle, and the position of pressing the sound is also freer, but avoid lazy and weak movements and stagnant movement of the handle; In a fast or even fast handlebar change, the movements of the fingers and wrist joints should be in a controlled state and subject to the change of the center of gravity of the handlebar change. It can be said that the clearer and more stable the center of gravity of the handle change, the more relaxed and comfortable the fingers feel when pressing the sound. If it is said that the center of gravity of the action is on the hand when changing the handle at a slow speed, then as the speed of changing the handle increases, it should be gradually transferred to the forearm. When it is necessary to change the handle with a rapid action, the left arm should be driven by the feeling of explosive force. At this time, the pressing action of the fingers should be completed by the rapid rise and fall of the fingertips on the strings.

To sum up, the training of the flexibility of the left finger should start from the natural coordination of the hand shape and the position of the tiger's mouth. In training, the position of pressing the sound, the feeling of force, the independent state of the fingers and the natural transfer of the center of gravity need to be carefully solved. The flexibility and endurance of finger movements fundamentally depend on the flexibility and durability of the metacarpophalangeal joints. Therefore, while training the flexibility of the left finger, the training of the function of the metacarpophalangeal joint cannot be ignored. For example, using the left hand to quickly "stretch" (extend all five fingers) and "grip" (clench the fist) is a good exercise for exercising the metacarpophalangeal joints and the flexion and extension of the finger joints. Only when the metacarpophalangeal joints have stamina and the movements are flexible and free, the conditions and foundations of the movements can be achieved when the fingers are pressed to the sound, so that they can fully play their role in the process of playing.

6. Finger muscle exercise

The focus of finger muscle training is the ring finger and the little finger. The index finger and middle finger have more opportunities to use in daily life, and they are generally sufficient. I teach students to use the following methods, which have proved to be very effective:

1. The index finger, the middle finger, and the little finger remain on the string, and the ring finger moves across the string on the outside of the string to the inside. When the entire nail surface crosses the string, it quickly returns to the outside of the string. Repeated practice, from slow to fast, is a bit like a child jumping Like a rubber band. Every time you practice at least until your hands are sore, take a break.

2. Shake hands in the air, straighten the five fingers, make a fist, then quickly straighten the five fingers, make a fist again, and repeat the action quickly. Make the forearm muscles sore and take a break. Note that the five fingers must be straight, otherwise the effect will not be good.

3. And 2 like imitation, single practice the little finger. Hold down fingers 1, 2, and 3 with your thumb, and stretch your little finger repeatedly until your forearm muscles are sore and take a break.

4. Press the tip of the index finger, the middle finger, and the little finger on the table and keep it still. Try to lift the ring finger to the highest point and hit the table quickly. Repeat the action to make the forearm muscles sore and take a break.

5. Repeatedly stretch the ligament between the little finger and the ring finger, and each stretch makes the plane angle between the little finger and the ring finger equal to 90 degrees.

6. It is better to use a grip ring to assist exercise.