Quick bow is one of the basic skills of the erhu. When we talk about Erhu Kuaigong, we often talk about graininess, but there is very little explanation about the graininess of Kuaibong.

Today I’m going to talk about the graininess of the erhu quickbow. Many people comment on the graininess as soon as they hear the quickbow used by the erhu. As for what the graininess is, some people are not very clear. ? What are its characteristics? How did it form? How can we play a high-quality fast bow with graininess? So I will start from the concept of graininess to the way of playing. First, I will understand the graininess of the erhu fast bow. This will fundamentally understand the graininess of the erhu. A grainy effect when playing.

1. The concept of Erhu Kuaigong granularity

Graininess refers to the effect of pulling a stringed instrument when playing a fast bow, giving people a clear graininess, like pearls inlaid together, big and small falling on the jade plate.

Generally speaking, when we play fast bows, we have to pull out a clean sound, clear and full sound, equal timing, and change strings without showing traces, and with granularity. What is clear and full? That means there is power, the strings are tight, and the sound is strong without floating; what is clean? This means that the hands have a high degree of cooperation, do not drag; the so-called equal timing and no trace refers to the distance between the bow and the string and the technical requirements of the left hand. Old textbooks describe fast bows as described above. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the characteristics and shape of a fast bow, so the term "grainy" or "grainy" has been coined.

Although there is no clear definition of fast bow granularity, the figurative expression of granularity or graininess reflects the characteristics of fast bow. According to this feature, what we call granularity is the pronunciation of fast bows. Each note is like a "grain", which is firm, clear, and neat, and the size of each grain is the same. . Saying this briefly summarizes the sonic character of the Quickbow, so it was slowly embraced by everyone and quickly recognized by all professionals. Coarseness and graininess were then written into textbooks by many experts and demanded on the technical side. Many counterparts also use particle size as one of the standards to measure the performance of Erhu Kuaibong. Let me talk a little more about the properties of graininess.

Based on the above, I think the meaning of Kuaigong granularity can be defined as follows: Granularity is an image description of Kuaigong, which vividly reflects the sonic characteristics of Kuaibong, and is a standard to measure the performance quality of Erhu Kuaibong.

2. Characteristics of Erhu Kuaigong Granularity

Let's talk about the graininess of the fast bow. We should now understand that the so-called graininess is not a quantitative hard indicator, but a qualitative subjective perception. For example, the sound of the plucked pipa is like "big beads and small beads falling on a jade plate"; another example is the sound of the dulcimer in the percussion instrument, like collapsing beans.

These are quite grainy. But when the graininess is applied to the erhu, its particularity is very different from other musical instruments. The graininess here is not the same thing. It is mainly the graininess of plucked and percussion music, which is the musical feeling of popping and hitting; the graininess of the erhu we are talking about today is drawn, and they are produced by the friction between the bow and the string. There is also the graininess of plucked and percussion instruments, which are small single particles, and the two notes are broken apart. The characteristics of their sound are point-like, and the waveform presents a sharp column. However, the graininess of Erhu Kuaigong is a block-like continuous grain, and its ends are connected.

Its musical sound is not spherical or jujube-like, it is a line segment, and the two musical tones are tightly connected by line segment and line segment. Even a fast bow still sounds like a point, but when we zoom in on this, it's still just a small line segment. Because the formation of the sound quality of the fast bow depends on the friction time and distance between the bow hair and the strings, even if the distance of the bow hair on the erhu strings is less than 1cm, it is still a line segment but not the point that everyone thinks.

According to this, the erhu fast bow is the connection between the lines, but why do we emphasize the graininess again and again? This is where the person who came up with the word Kuaibow granularity excels. The graininess can not only use the graininess to show the texture of the fast bow, but also let us know that the short and short line segment of the fast bow can be pulled into the shape of block and large grain sound quality. There should be no gaps in the connection of the large particles in the block. To achieve a seamless connection, the high level and high quality of the fast bow should be improved according to this standard.

This is a unique feature of bowed stringed instruments such as the erhu, and this is also the difference between the erhu fast bow and the jump bow.

The texture of the erhu fast bow. Texture is the use of artistic means to reflect the characteristics of different substances. Painting uses color, while photography uses layers of light to reflect the texture of matter. These are all visual arts. Erhu is an auditory art, which uses the sound of musical instruments to express the emotion and situation of the music.

In order to deepen the understanding of the characteristics of the fast bow, I introduced the concept of texture to express the characteristics of the sound of the erhu fast bow. The texture of erhu music depends on different techniques to reflect. The texture of the sound of the fast bow should be displayed with the fast bow technique. The texture of the Quickbow is essentially characterized by granularity. Below we discuss from three aspects.

First, the granularity of the musical sound is the inherent characteristic of the texture of the fast bow, and it is also the center of the texture of the fast bow. Granularity expresses the characteristics of the fastbow sound quality, each note is grainy as hard, full, and crisp. This shows that the texture of the sound of the fast bow is dense but not empty, hard but not sticky, rigid but not soft, clear but not astringent. This is a feeling that the fast bow gives people in hearing.

Second, the balance of time value is the external feature of the texture of the fast bow. The notes played by the fast bow are the skill product of the fast bow. Equality of time value is the standard and consistent feature of Kuaigong products. It is achieved by the strict control of the action time by the left and right hands. Regardless of the unevenness of the interval, regardless of the thickness of the sound, the length of each note must be uniform and the time value is equal, which makes people feel that the organization of the fast bow is strict, neat and well-trained. All products are compliant.

Third, the coherence of notes is the overall characteristic of the quickbow texture. The fast bow is the product of the bowed stringed instrument, which will inevitably reflect the unique characteristics of the bowed stringed instrument. The articulation of the fast bow is the result of the friction between the bow and the chord. Whether pushing or pulling, the bow and chord are always attached and never separated.

Therefore, each note played is end to end, closely connected, and there is no room for a little gap. No matter how fast the pipa is played or the denser the dulcimer is played, there will always be gaps between the notes of each movement. Erhu Kuaigong follows the roughness of the melody, like moving water, strikes while the iron is hot. To sum up, this is the texture of the sound of the erhu fast bow, which is an essential feature that distinguishes it from other musical instruments, and a unique feature that distinguishes it from other erhu techniques.

The violin, which is also a bowed stringed instrument, has a different texture of the fast bow than that of the erhu fast bow. Apart from the differences in the structure of the instrument, sounding materials, and timbre, there are also great differences in the playing skills of the left and right hands. These all form the different texture characteristics of their musical sounds. The erhu without a fingerboard is more difficult to control than the violin in terms of strength control and changing strings, but it also reserves more space for the innovation of erhu techniques.

Listening to Mr. Prom playing "Flying Bumblebee", the fast 6666 in the bass section of the inner string has increased the intensity and increased the elastic tension. It sounds like a group of wild bees flashing past you. With the bumpiness of the melody and the control of strength and weakness, the "Doppler" effect of the frequency bumps changing with speed and distance seems to be happening around you. The texture of such a realistic sound can only be expressed by the erhu.

The fluidity of a fast bow. The fast bow creates a feeling of rapid flow of notes, which can imitate wind blowing, and can imitate running water. The continuity of the plucked music is the feeling of wearing round beads; the continuity of the fast bow is the chain that tightly bonds the block particles. This sense of movement is two distinct sensations, reflecting the different characteristics of the two instruments' sound patterns. The mobility of the Quickbow is formed on the basis of the particles of the Quickbow, with the sound color of the Quickbow texture. The faster the bow speed, the stronger the sense of movement, like flowing clouds and flowing water. This feature of Kuaigong enhances the expressiveness and appeal of the erhu. Some distinctive pieces provide room for the dynamic characteristics of the Erhu Kuaibow. For example, the large section of fast melody in "The Galloping Horses" fully reflects the scene of a group of fast horses galloping and moving at high speed. The "Wild Bee Flying" played with erhu, vividly reflects the situation of a group of wasps passing by suddenly far and near, suddenly up and down, and flipped over. The active characteristics of the fast bow can also create an atmosphere of seriousness, fiery, fear, and insecurity. The development of erhu fast bow skills has completely changed the image that people thought that erhu was only suitable for expressing sadness and sorrow in the past, and then improved the performance of erhu, and promoted the innovation and development of erhu's difficult skills, making the music world of erhu more colorful. 

3. Elements of Erhu Kuaigong Granularity Formation

As mentioned earlier, the fast bow is an erhu playing skill with high difficulty, so where is the high and where is the difficulty? The editor thinks that the high and difficult of the fast bow is still in the granularity. Although our bows are sharp, full of sound quality and flexible in pressing, they are not grainy, so they lack the texture of fast bows and are not high-quality fast bow performances. What we call granular composition, it has at least three elements.

The first is the degree of friction. The bow hair must bite the strings tightly, as if they are stuck to the strings, so that the friction force can be increased. Only in this way, the sound made by the erhu will be strong, tough and clear. This is a prerequisite for the formation of granularity. The sound of some people pulling fast bows is neither solid nor hard, without the feeling of the sound head that we often say, so there is no graininess. The key point is that the wiping force is not enough. The rubbing degree of the inner string and the outer string should also be the same, so that the sound of the erhu will not hear the difference in strength.

Sometimes we need to pull a light and fast bow, but the principle of wiping the string is constant, and the feeling of granularity cannot be changed. We can move the erhu rubbing point from the middle bow to the tip of the bow to strengthen the control of the bow with the right hand.

The second is that the cooperation between the two hands is very crucial. In addition to the bowing of the right hand, the left hand also has a crucial effect on the composition of the grain. Experts call the two-handed quickbow two-point alignment. That is to say, the starting and stopping time points of a note's right hand rubbing the string and the up and down time point of the left finger pressing the string should be accurately synchronized and aligned, and there should be no misalignment. The reason is that speed is the first element of the erhu fast bow, the speed of the fast bow should be at least 120 beats, and the higher fast bow can reach 180 beats. If calculated at 180 beats per minute, 3 beats are played in one second, and one beat only takes 1/3 of a second. There are two 8th notes or 4 16th notes per beat, which should be completed in such a short time. On average, each note only occupies 1/6 of a second or 1/12 of a second. It can be seen that the harmony and control of both hands at all times. How accurate.

Failure to achieve this level of accuracy affects granularity. The fast bow requires the left hand to press the strings firmly and elastically. The flexibility of the left hand to press the strings and the speed of lifting the strings are generally not as fast as the speed of the bow. Pulling the bow and pushing the bow is just an erhu movement, but the left finger needs 2-4 movements, and also needs to change fingers and handle, so it seems that the movement of the left hand must be much more difficult than the right hand. If we want to eliminate the time lag caused by the lag in the left hand, we can only do it through hard bowing practice.

The third is to keep both hands highly relaxed. The high-speed fast bow has almost reached the limit of finger movement. In this way, the movement of the two hands has become a subconscious conditioned reflex. If there is no high degree of relaxation, showing the slightest seriousness, the flexibility and acuity of the hands cannot be exerted. If a single note goes wrong, the fastbow's grainy chain will break.

The relaxation of the right hand ensures the fast and stable movement of the bow and the flexibility of the wrist, which can maintain the balance of the force in the transformation of pushing and pulling the bow, resolve the inertia of the left and right movement of the bow, and overcome the laziness of fast string changing; the relaxation of the left hand , which can ensure that the fingers can press the strings easily, the intonation is in place, the change of the handle is accurate, and the action lag is eliminated. Therefore, as long as you are highly relaxed, the movements of your hands can be highly harmonious and accurate.

The foundation of fast bow lies in the practice of basic skills. The fast bow section of a piece of music is the installation and combination of fast bow techniques. Through dozens or hundreds of drills, talents are technically finalized and become an image stored in the player's mind, which can be recalled at any time for natural presentation. And this stereotype is completed under a high degree of relaxation. If there is a serious mentality during the performance, it will inevitably affect the serious loss of control of the action, resulting in abnormal performance of the established technology. Therefore, a high degree of relaxation includes the relaxation of the mind and the relaxation of the action, and the relaxation of the action should be regulated by the relaxation of the mind.

Among the above three elements, relaxation is the premise, wiping the strings is the core, and the alignment of the two hands is the key. They complement each other and are indispensable.

4. The grainy playing method of Erhu Kuaibow

The "granularity" of the fast bow is the embodiment of the induction skills of the fast bow performance. In order to play a "grainy" fast bow, the performer must have a quick and powerful induction ability.

1. Fast: This means that the speed must reach 120 beats per minute when drawing the short bow.

2. Powerful: It means that the stringing force of the bow hair must be relatively increased when the bow is carried, and this force is elastic rather than rigid. Moreover, it is required to have the same strength when pulling and pushing the bow, including the strength when changing the bow and string. When practicing the fast bow at the beginning, the strength can be slightly larger, and the sound of "quack, quack, quack" can be heard when playing, which is slightly noisy. When the training is very proficient, the strength of sticking the strings can be slightly reduced, and the sound of "dang, dang, dang" can be heard when playing.

3. Clarity: It means that at the moment of playing, the coordination of the left and right hands must be at the same point. In order to be clear, in addition to the flexibility of the left hand, the most important thing is that the right hand must have the correct posture of fast bow and bow, and the right hand has more than 70% of the kung fu.

The correct stance for playing the fast bow is to move the bow with the elbows, wrists, and fingers together, like fanning a fan against a stove, rather than swinging the bow left and right with the wrist. At the beginning of the exercise, the movement of the bow can be moderately large, and the movement of the bow can be gradually reduced after being proficient.

These ideas are easy to say, but hard to do. Someone learns erhu at the age of 50. For three years, I practiced the piano for more than six hours a day and never took a day off. Just practice one action of the fast bow, countless times a day. Without countless hard exercises, how can we practice "graininess"!