The fast bow is a high-tech bowing method, which refers to a bowing method that uses a separate bow to play sixteenth notes at a speed of more than 120 beats per minute. It requires a high degree of close cooperation between the players' hands to achieve accurate phonemes, uniform timing, clear pronunciation, and extremely grainy. Moreover, in the fast passages, there are often difficult techniques of fast string changing and fast bar jumping, which increases the difficulty of fast bows. Therefore, the mastery of the fast bow technique is often used as a yardstick to measure the level of a player's playing technique.

In the previous erhu textbooks, it was always believed that the quickening and shrinking of the longbow was the action of splitting the bow; But with the rapid development of modern erhu techniques, there is a different understanding of this point of view. The first part of this point of view, namely: the action of the longbow is accelerated and reduced, is the action of the split bow, which I think is correct. But the performance of the fast bow is definitely not the acceleration and contraction of the long bow. We can clearly see the difference between the longbow and the fastbow when we analyze the pivots (the "axes" of motion) of the longbow and the fastbow.

Let’s talk about the longbow first. When pulling the bow, as the wrist is used as the first action point to pull out to the right, the right arm gradually extends outward until the tip of the bow; when the bow is pushed, the upper arm is pulled in as the first action point to move to the left. Push forward, and the forearm and wrist return to the root of the bow. It can be seen from this that when playing a longbow, the upper arm, the wrist and the fingers all move in the same direction (that is, when the bow is drawn, it is extended to the right; when the bow is pushed, it is returned to the left. ), the "pivot" of their movement is at the shoulder. As for the fast bow, when the bow is drawn, the fingers drive the bow to the right, but the elbows swing to the left; when the bow is pushed, the fingers drive the bow to the left, but the elbows swing to the right. It can be seen from this that when playing a fast bow, the hands and elbows swing evenly in opposite directions to each other at the same time, and the "axis" of their movement is in the middle of the forearm. We might as well use a small stick to do an experiment: pinch the middle of the stick with your left thumb and index finger, and then use your right finger to hold one end of the stick and gently swing it from side to side. At this time, you can see the other side of the stick. One end will also swing with it. The movements at these two ends are the same in frequency, amplitude, etc., except in opposite directions. We associate this stick as our forearm. If we set an invisible "axis" in the middle of the forearm, as if holding the middle of the stick with our fingers, then the hand and elbow are like a stick. The two ends of the machine, swing one end evenly, and the other end will move equally lightly in the opposite direction. To give another similar example in life: when I was a child, I used a briquettes stove for cooking and boiling water at home. Every morning when the stove was turned on, the fire was lit, and a fan was used to support the combustion. The movement of the fan is exactly the movement of the arm when the erhu plays the fast bow.

From the above, we can see that the longbow is wide, so the "axis" of its action should be placed on the shoulder, and it will become a split bow after speeding up and shrinking. Because the speed is not too fast, the "axis" of its action can still be placed. on the shoulders. But if you continue to accelerate to become a fast bow, then the action will appear very stupid and rigid, and the speed will also be limited to a certain extent, and the bow cannot be guaranteed to run straight. Therefore, when playing a fast bow, the "axis" of the action must be moved to the middle of the forearm, and the elbow is driven by the big arm. , so as to drive the bow to move left and right quickly. In this way, the action of the fast bow can become easy and natural. If our right hand becomes the head of a fish and the elbow becomes the tail of a fish, then the fast bow action can be described as "shaking the tail". Speeding up and shrinking this action is the playing action of the trembling bow. Since this action can reach the speed of the trembling bow, it can be seen that there is more than enough to meet the speed requirements of the fast bow. This is the main difference between longbow and fastbow movements.

Another big difference between the longbow and the fast bow is that the first move point of the bow is different. When playing a longbow, the bow is drawn to the right with the wrist as the first action point; when the bow is pushed, it is pushed to the left with the forearm as the first action point. When playing a fast bow, the action of pulling and pushing the bow is first driven by the big arm to swing the elbow, and then completed by a series of movement mechanisms of the left arm. In this sense, the fast bow action is the real "big arm". With the forearm" action. The wrist only plays a role in adjusting the strength, so that the fast bow action will not be stiff, and there is no role of the first moving point.

The stringing degree of the fast bow is much larger than that of the longbow and the split bow. This degree of stringing must be maintained at all times, that is to say, when changing the bow, the bow hair should also be close to the strings. There is a sound of "ga", the sound is like when making steamed buns, knead the flour into a long strip of dough, and then use a knife to cut it into sections. The pronunciation of the fast bow is like cutting the dough into such sections. a paragraph. If you play this method slowly, the sound will be very noisy and unpleasant, but when you play it faster, the pronunciation will be very clear and full. If the stringing degree cannot be maintained when changing the bow, so that each note loses its pitch and is played in the shape of a jujube nucleus, then the pronunciation of the fast bow will be "snoring and snoring" indistinct.

The straightness of the bow is still the basic requirement of the fast bow, which can be seen by observing the adjustment screw of the bow head when playing the fast bow. For fast bow performances that meet the standard, the adjustment screw of the bow head moves in a horizontal straight line; for fast bow performances that do not meet the standard, the adjustment screw of the bow head moves in a circle or up and down diagonally. This difference is directly related to the playing quality of the fast bow, so players should pay great attention to this. Although the fast bow is a right-handed technique, it is inseparable from the close cooperation of the left hand in order to play it clearly and granularly. Therefore, the cooperation of both hands is an important part of the fast bow training subjects. In fast bow performance, the right hand is the active factor. The speed of the rhythm, the beginning of the sentence, the change of strength and weakness, etc., are all mastered and controlled by the right hand. When playing it must do: ① the time value of the sixteenth note is very accurate and even; ② the pitch of each note is clear and decisive; ③ changes in strength or rapid string changes cannot affect the speed stability. The left hand is a passive factor, and the requirement for it is to make the "point" of the finger exactly match the sound head of each note of the right hand. No matter how complicated the notes are, or how difficult it is to change or jump, it is not allowed. Make the action lag and offset from the pitch of the bow. In fact, the difficulty of the fast bow is still on the left hand, because the movements of the left hand are much more complicated than the two hands, and actions such as pressing the fingers, changing the handle, and jumping the handle must be extremely small between the bow sounds and the sounds. It is indeed quite difficult to complete it in the interval of time, but also to ensure its intonation. Only after a lot of rigorous training can it be used freely.

Practicing the fast bow can be divided into the following steps:

The first step is to practice the bow to play the sustain note with a greater degree of sticking to the string, which can be practiced on an empty string. The method is: put the touch point of the bow on the middle bow, rotate the right arm slightly to the left to increase the pressure on the string, suddenly start the bow, play the sound, pull the bow about 10 cm and stop suddenly, but the string is attached. The pressure should always be maintained, and the sound produced is: "Gah!" If you push the bow suddenly, you still have to play the pitch. After the bow is pushed back to its original position, it suddenly stops. The pressure of sticking the strings should always be maintained. Gong also made a "ga-!" sound. Repeat this practice until you are proficient. When doing this exercise, special attention should be paid to: ① the string should be attached tightly; ② the speed of moving the bow should be fast; ③ the pressure of the bow hair on the string should be maintained from beginning to end and cannot be loosened, even when the bow suddenly stops; It feels that there is a lot of friction, and the bow hair cannot slide over the strings; ⑤ The pronunciation should be consistent with the head and tail, and the effect should be like a knife cut, not like a jujube.

In the second step, without holding the bow in the right hand, practice the action of fanning with empty hands. When practicing, consciously place the "axis" of the movement in the middle of the forearm, so that the two ends of the balance between the elbow and the hand swing evenly left and right. Repeat the practice until the movement is correct and natural.

The third step is to use the bow in the right hand to practice fast empty string bows. Practice the movements first, so that they are as correct and natural as the movements of the empty-handed fan, and make them proficient; then practice the pronunciation, so that the sound quality is full and clear, and the sixteenth note timing is accurate; then practice every eight tones and Add an accent to every four tones, and practice until you are proficient.

The fourth step is to practice the cooperation of both hands. Choose a simple tone pattern, such as: l=D (15 strings), start with eight repetitions of each tone, and consciously align the left-hand action with the right-hand accent every eight tones, and play as follows: l=D(15 chord) After practice, each note will be repeated four times, the left hand should pay attention to aligning with the stress of every four notes of the right hand, and it will be played into two l=D (15 strings), and then it will be repeated twice for each note after practice. , the left hand can stress the eight notes of the right hand once, or the stress of the four notes of the right hand once, and play it: l=D (15 strings) After practice, it becomes one note for each note, and the left hand can stress the eight notes of the right hand. One stress, and finally cancel the stress, play: l=D (15 strings), and then gradually complicate the sound pattern to practice, such as: adding quick handle change, jump handle, quick string change, etc., you can master it Enter the training of the fastbow etude.

The main problems that players are prone to have in the fast bow are as follows:

(1) The position of the "axis" of the right arm movement is incorrect. Usually, the "axis" is not placed in the middle of the forearm, but is still placed on the shoulder like a split bow, turning the fast bow action into a "stretching and shrinking" of the right arm. "sports. In this way, as the speed increases, the arm becomes very tense and rigid, and the pronunciation is dull and inflexible. Therefore, when playing a fast bow, the first thing to do is to ensure the correct position of the "axis" of the action.

(2) The bow cannot keep running "flat and straight", which is manifested in the oblique or circular movement of the adjusting screw of the bow head when playing the fast bow, which makes the fast bow add a lot of "click, click" noise. The correct fast bow performance should see the adjustment screw of the bow head move in a straight horizontal line, so as to ensure clear and clean pronunciation.

(3) The degree of sticking to the strings is low, and each sound of the Kuaibong is played into a "jujube-like" shape, which makes the pronunciation of the Kuaibong unclear and lacks graininess. To play a good fast bow, the strings should be firmly attached, and each note should be played into a knife-like "Ga Yi!" inspiring effect.

(4) The pronunciation of the pull and push bow is not balanced, and the fast bow is played into a "lame" style effect. The unbalanced pronunciation of the fast bow, pulling and pushing the bow is different from the situation of the long bow and the split bow. The long bow and the split bow are mostly caused by the difference in the length of the heavy arm of the bow; while the fast bow itself uses a very short bow, and the length of the heavy arm is not different. The main reason for it is the improper angle of the forearm and the bow. If the forearm is too adducted when playing the fast bow, and the bow part is too far left, then the forearm and the bow will form an acute angle, so the degree of sticking of the bow will be different, and the pronunciation will be unbalanced. . The solution is: slightly abduct the forearm, keep the bow part slightly to the left of the middle bow, and make a right angle between the forearm and the bow, so that the sticking degree of pulling and pushing the bow can be kept consistent, and the pronunciation can be achieved. Naturally balanced.

(5) The coordination of the two hands is not close, and the left hand often lags behind, especially in the difficult skills of the left hand such as changing the handle quickly or alternating fingers, etc., it is easy to slow down and not match the "point" with the right hand, which is also unclear when drawing a fast bow. an important reason. In order to play the fast bow clearly and elastically, first of all, the right hand must ensure that the sixteenth notes are very uniform, and there should be no difference in the timing; The "point" of the bow must be aligned with the "point" of the bow. In order to ensure this, the movement of the left hand must have a certain amount of advance, that is to say, after the previous sound is issued, the left hand should prepare for the finger-pressing action of the next sound, such as: when changing the handle quickly, the wrist and the tiger's mouth The action started long before the sound was changed. Another point is that in the fast bow performance, the left hand cannot have a portamento, and the sound should be in a point shape, not in a line shape. In this way, the flexibility and clarity of the fast bow can be improved.