Based on the determination of several fingering concepts in guzheng playing techniques, the article briefly sorts out and analyzes the reasons and opportunities for the "quick fingering" in combination with the social and era background. Demonstrates the technical content of "quick instruction" through specific works. At the same time, the author points out the negative effects of this technology, and further analyzes the reasons and points out the main points.

1. The generation of "quick indexing" technique

After the end of the Cultural Revolution, people got rid of the spiritual shackles that had been bound for a long time and achieved unprecedented emancipation in their minds. The implementation of the policies of "setting things right" and "reform" and "opening up" has greatly aroused the enthusiasm and creativity of musicians. From the end of the 1970s to the mid-1980s, as the main force in the creation of zheng music, performers began to examine the creation from a new perspective and from a broader perspective. change situation. Among them, from the point of view of technique alone, there is one category that is obviously different from other pieces, such as "Hora Dance", "Fighting the Tiger Up the Mountain", "The Sun is Red on Jinggang Mountain", etc. The difference is that the performance is A new method of indexing is technically adopted, namely "quick indexing". Before discussing this "new thing", it is necessary to clarify the two concepts of "traditional fingering" and "modern fingering" commonly used in the industry.

"Traditional fingering sequence" is the rule of fingering expressed in traditional playing methods. That is: "the right hand is playing, and the left is pressing". "Right-hand playing" means that the right hand uses the big, middle and index fingers for the main purpose of picking up sounds, and the division of labor is clear: the big finger is the main and the index finger is used to play the melody together, and the middle finger and the big finger play the octave. The octave relationship between the big and middle fingers is the fingering for getting started. Even if one of the big and middle fingers does not play, the corresponding relationship of "two points and one line" is maintained to ensure that you can respond in time when you play octaves quickly. Tones within an octave are played with the big and forefingers, and the same sound is played back and forth with the big and middle fingers. It mainly includes four groups of the most basic techniques: hook, hold, wipe (corresponding to split, pick, and tick), and shake fingers. The music of different regional styles is based on the use of these four techniques and focuses on it. Other techniques are mostly based on this change and combination. "Left-hand pressing" means that the left hand mainly presses the strings, instead of playing the strings directly, but pressing, trembling, kneading and sliding on the left side of the zither to polish the melody. It should be emphasized that the use of the left-hand pressing technique occupies an important position in traditional zheng music, and is an important means to reflect the characteristics of the instrument, genre characteristics, and personal playing style.

The concept of "modern finger order" is relative to "traditional finger order". With the development of the times and the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures, under the influence of the polyphonic thinking of Western music, more and more polyphonic musical elements such as harmony and polyphony are used in modern works, and the performance speed is gradually accelerated. It has the function of pressing the strings on the left side of the zither, and also plays on the right side of the zither, and shares the task of playing the melody with the right hand, so there are various and complex fingering techniques. Since the 1950s, various new fingerings that are different from traditional fingerings have appeared in creative repertoires, which the industry calls "modern fingerings".

"Quick Fingering", in short, is a complete system of rapid fingering method based on "modern fingering". Each finger of the left hand and right hand must be independent, and the word "quick" is more prominent.

The above three concepts are all products of the times. With the changes of society, the changes of people's aesthetics, and the continuous development of the art of zheng music, the playing techniques of various musical instruments are more and more applied to the performance, and the speed is gradually accelerated. In the 1950s, in the thriving and enthusiastic atmosphere of the new era, under the educational system of colleges and universities, some older generation zhengists who accepted the Western musical thinking gradually realized the role of fast playing techniques in setting off the musical atmosphere and expressing the mood of the music. effect. Therefore, when compiling innovative works, try to use some new fingering methods to facilitate the performance and improve the speed. Zhao Yuzhai's "Celebrating a Prosperous Year", Cao Dongfu's "Lantern Festival", and Ren Qingzhi's "Happy Canal" all fulfilled the objective requirements of using appropriate and relatively fast performances to express people's cheerful emotions and lively scenes. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, great achievements have been made in the reform of musical instruments. The shape of the 21-string S-shaped zheng has been basically finalized and popularized, providing a prerequisite for music creation. The first generation of school zhengists in their prime continued to adapt to the requirements of the times and reformed their playing techniques. When Yin Qiying adapted "Dance of the Yao Nationality" and "The Evening Party", she used her name finger to participate in the performance, which greatly improved the performance speed and enriched the expressive power of the guzheng. Under this influence, many zheng artists such as Ding Boling, Shi Zhaoyuan and Lv Diansheng tried to combine the name finger with the large, medium and eclipse fingers in their creations. In the practice of playing, most people have felt the importance of reasonably arranging the finger order and fully mobilizing the independence of each finger to play the fast passages of the music. In the middle and late period of the Cultural Revolution, young performers represented by Zhang Yan, Wang Changyuan, Xiang Sihua, Fan Shange and Sun Wenyan of Shanghai Conservatory of Music became the main body of creation and performance during this period. In order to meet the requirements of the style of the "high, hard and fast sounding" era, they developed new fingering techniques by drawing on the playing skills of Western instruments such as piano and harp, as well as other national musical instruments, combined with the playing characteristics of the zheng itself. Mainly through a reasonable hand shape, the movement law of the fingers and arms can be well played, and asymmetrical fast melodies can be played, such as the extensive use of finger shaking, strumming, chords, two-handed playing, and upside-down arpeggios. , playing the same strings with both hands, etc. However, these new orderings still don't solve a real problem in this issue:

During the Cultural Revolution, all kinds of musical instruments were transplanted into model plays, but the guzheng was not used, because the orchestrator had to change the key frequently and needed quick techniques. At that time, the guzheng could not be done, and it was rarely used in the band.

Suffering from the pain of "sitting on the bench", many zhengists at this time deeply realized that it is the top priority to solve the problem of lack of professional performance methods and teaching theories. From the "Cultural Revolution", Zhao Manqin began to ponder the piano playing techniques. Inspired by the "balanced development of the five fingers", he tried to combine the performance of the guzheng, adjust the hand shape, and practice corresponding finger positions to phonemes. To this end, Zhao Manqin has studied skeleton and kinematics, and has visited surgeons and read medical books many times to study the physiological composition of fingers, the natural laws of movement and performance laws, and analyze the movements of the fingers, wrist, and forearm joints and muscles. The law of the state and the frequency of action are the most reasonable feasibility. Through long-term and repeated performance practice and theoretical accumulation, he has systematized and theorized various new fingering orders. According to the playing rules of guzheng, combined with scientific principles, he has summed up a set of theoretical system of rapid fingering - "Guzheng Quick Fingering" sequence technique". Since the 1980s and 1990s, new guzheng techniques have emerged one after another, with more diversified development, but the "quick fingering" system founded by Zhao Manqin is still the most prominent.

2. Theory and practice of rapid indexing technique

The name of "Guzheng Quick Fingering Technique" is named relative to the traditional octave symmetrical playing technique, and the core is "quick". This fingering sequence aims to break through the "octave symmetry" mode and the "forward-reverse" relationship in the traditional technique. It is based on "symmetry" and "inertia" as the theoretical basis, and the fingering combination of each finger is the basis for playing. The fingers of both hands independently perform multi-joint joint movements. The left hand enters the performance area on the right side of the piano code, and fully participates in the sound selection. It can fully undertake the same difficulty and skillful techniques as the right hand.

The reason why "Quick Finger Sequence" is "fast" is that the ring finger and little finger, which are rarely used in traditional zheng performance, are used, and each finger has one note. For example, when playing a row of quadruplets, you no longer use the fingering of "Shidaishida", but use "Shida in the name" to play, and use multiple fingers together to alternately undertake the workload of the original two or three fingers. It avoids excessive fatigue caused by repeated use of one or several fingers, which is convenient for fast playing. In addition, the shift of the wrist is deliberately reduced to increase the number of notes that can be played in one shift, improving efficiency and saving time.

The finger sequence technique arranges the sequence of fingers according to the law of the melody. For different music, the sequence, non-sequence and looping methods are used for free combination to play at close range. It is suitable for special sound sequences and fast and changeable melody. Music creation opens up new paths. According to the principle of arrangement and combination in mathematics, the four fingers of the big, the food, the middle and the name can form various orders within the possible range of the fingers: it can be positive or negative, a group of two fingers, a group of three fingers, or a group of four fingers A group can be interleaved with two and three, or two and four. The sound pattern combination that was easy to see on the piano and harp in the past can also be seen in the zheng music, which greatly expands the expressive power of the zheng.

Musical instrument performance cannot be separated from technology, and skilled technology must be acquired through scientific, systematic and continuous practice. After the theory was established, Zhao Manqin began to explore different training methods for each finger, and wrote etudes with different finger sequences. Its main fingering combination exercises include: the basic combination of natural fingering and various variant combinations produced by changing the order, non-sequential form, and changing the distance between fingers. In addition, there are various special techniques of the wheel finger class. Subsequently, he adapted and created a series of works of different styles suitable for the "new technique" based on his performance practice. In the "Hora Dance" (1979), which is adapted from Romanian folk music, the rarely used four fingers are widely used in allegro passages, and the performance tasks are balanced with the big, index and middle fingers, so that the zheng can be tuned without changing the pentatonic scale. On the basis of this, the folk music composed of variable scales can be played fluently. "The Red Sun on Jinggang Mountain" is a quick order work on the pentatonic scale; "Shan Dan Dan Song" and "Fighting the Tiger Up the Mountain" use the 7-tone scale; "Mountain" has made new attempts in tuning and modulation; Evening Party" is unique because of the use of "swipe", "scratch" techniques and finger division to play chords. In addition, there are several works that, although they do not belong to the rapid indexing system, can be regarded as "attached products" of rapid indexing. For example, Capriccio with Embroidered Golden Plaque uses strumming, double-string transition portamento, quick-plucking technique and three-on-two rhythm counterpoint method, and three tones are used throughout the piece. "The Soul of the Yellow River" also uses a variety of tones, and uses a large number of double-string transitional portamentos; "Most of the Moon" adopts the tones, styles, and techniques of Chaozhou zheng music and integrates some playing techniques of Shandong zheng music; "Sakura", "Hometown" Love" made some new attempts in tuning and modulation.

Wang Zhongshan is an important representative figure of learning, mastering, applying, exerting and disseminating "new techniques". In 1981, at the first Chinese Guzheng Academic Symposium, his performances "The Sun is Red on Jinggang Mountain" and "Fighting Tigers Up the Mountain" (using the four-fingered wheel and the long-shake technique in the rapid finger sequence technique) were presented. It has been recognized by most experts and audiences, especially in the song "Fighting the Tiger Up the Mountain", the rapid techniques are one after another, and the layers are progressive, all in one go, and the spiritual temperament of the soldiers "traversing the forest, crossing the snow field, and rushing to the sky" is vividly shaped. Exciting results achieved! Since then, Wang Zhongshan has held a number of concerts at home and abroad, and successfully performed the rapid order works adapted and created by Zhao Manqin. The rapid fingering technique immediately swept the national zheng music world, and quickly spread in various art groups and music schools. It became a skill that must be mastered by guzheng students in music schools in various places, and was widely used in the subsequent zheng music creation. middle.

Although the problem that the zheng can quickly change the key and participate in the performance of the band has not been solved, since the late 1980s, more professional composers have devoted themselves to the field of zheng music as the main body of creation. Various forms of performance fields such as ensemble and concerto have been expanded. The rich musical materials they use can be realized through a variety of melody structures, color chords, and ups and downs of melody lines and other musical languages. Therefore, a number of excellent models of "new zheng music" have been born. Such as Xu Xiaolin's "Ode in Qianzhong" and "The Charm of the Mountain"; Wang Jianmin's "Fantasia" and "Lotus Ballad"; Rao Yuyan's "Thinkings of Huangling"; He Zhanhao "Jasmine Fragrance"; "; Wang Zhongshan's "Spring to Xiangjiang", "Mingshan", "Yunling Music and Painting", etc. These works have one thing in common. While fully exploiting the expressive potential of the "sound" of the musical instrument, the important principle of phonological coordination is taken into account, and the traditional chanting, kneading, sliding, shaking and other techniques of the guzheng are highlighted as much as possible, so as to show the true nature and characteristics of the musical instrument. . For example, in Xu Xiaolin's works, in order to better express the content of the music, the author has adopted quick string picking techniques, ring fingers, and quick unison inversion in many places. What is valuable is that these high and difficult fast playing skills are not isolated in the music, but combined with the traditional skills of the zheng to more delicately show the unique charm of folk tones. For example, in a piece of "Pipa Wing" in "Qianzhong Fu", due to the application of percussion, under the traditional left-hand playing technique and processing of different speeds, the local melody changes obviously, and the musical mood also takes on a new look. The charm of the music is spontaneous Health, this is just the finishing touch, leaving a deep impression.

Practice has proved that fast fingering enhances the technical content of the instrument and further broadens the artistic expression of the zheng. For example, the fast fingering technique facilitates the performance of the chromatic scale, especially in the highly difficult and dazzling allegro passages in contemporary zheng music works. Because of the solid fingering technique as the foundation, it is easy to perform, relaxed and smooth, and it is a good performance for the music. It provides a guarantee for the integrity of the music, and largely solves the problems that traditional techniques are difficult or unable to cope with when playing fast music.

three. reflection

However, the rapid fingering technique is like a double-edged sword. If used properly, it can provide great convenience and technical support for modern creation; otherwise, it will bring about negative effects. This is the truth, almost all of the zheng music since the 1990s used rapid fingering. Many works are just imitations, simply listing and stacking various modern fast techniques; performers blindly pursue dazzling skills (or the performers have misinterpreted the composer's original intention for creation), and focus on fast playing, not paying attention to left-hand recitation , kneading, pressing, trembling, showing a trend: more sound and less rhythm, fast but not slow, dynamic but not static. Many pieces of music are too fast and have no aftertaste, which exceeds the limit of the human ear's acceptance of sound. Once the music stops, there is no impression. At present, no matter in teaching, performance or competition, technical competitions are taking place, leading the development of contemporary zheng music with fast fingering techniques. The zheng is a musical instrument known for its rhythm. How to reflect this unique charm? Many predecessors and some present-day performers are quite emotional about this, and they point out that it is necessary to pay special attention to the performance of left-hand pressing in the traditional fingering sequence.

Gao Zherui:

What are the characteristics of the guzheng? It lies in the use of the left-hand sounding technique, which is relied on in its performance, and the unique charm derived from it. The unique charm and distinctive personality of the zheng music have established its position in the national music, and it is the most important part of other fixed (or semi-fixed) syllable instruments. irreplaceable.

Zhao Yuzhai:

The left hand is the soul of the guzheng!

Lin Maogen:

The right hand seems to be more busy than the left hand when playing the zheng, but the style and charm of the music often comes from the left hand. Everything in the world that is visible to the naked eye is easy to learn, and what is invisible is difficult to learn. The right hand plays the zither, and the fingers are pressed on the string, so you can see clearly; while the left hand plays the string, the control of the vibrato, the control of retraction, etc., more importantly, depends on the ear and the feeling. The flavor comes from slow work.

Ye Shenlong:

When we were young, when we were learning the zheng with Mr. Zhao Yuzhai at school, Mr. Zhao often said: The left hand is the soul of the guzheng! At that time, due to age, I didn't pay much attention to it and I didn't understand it very well. Later, I gradually understood it more and more deeply. The reason why people love the guzheng and is different from other musical instrumentsIt does not depend on how fast its playing speed is, but more importantly, on the charm of the left hand, which is unmatched by other instruments, so special attention should be paid to the learning of the charm of the left hand.

Yan Li:

In addition to the different structures and modes of zheng music in different regions, the main difference lies in the pressing, kneading, trembling, sliding, and techniques of the left hand. For a long time, various regions have formed a very rich technique of the left hand, which gives the music a beautiful and pleasant musical rhythm. , making it touching and giving the music incomparable vitality. If the left-hand playing technique is not mastered well, and a large solo piece is played, its style and charm will not be outstanding.

Cao Guifen:

According to our experience in decades of practice, we have summarized the following two sentences: fast practice is fluent and crisp; slow practice is timbre and charm. This is similar to drama and quyi.

Jiao Jinhai:

The techniques of pressing, rubbing, sliding, trembling, and tapping with the left hand of the guzheng often make the bitter sound vividly interpret people's inner thoughts, thus containing a profound Chinese charm.

Cao Yongan and Li Bian:

His father (Cao Dongfu) paid particular attention to the traditional left-hand skills, which he believed was an important aspect that differentiates the guzheng from other stringed instruments. Whether he is dealing with the head music or composing his own music, he pays great attention to using the residual sound of the strings to give full play to the skills of left-hand kneading, pressing, sliding, and trembling, so that the music has an infinite charm.

Gao Baijian:

If playing the string with the right hand is like a green leaf, then the string with the left hand should be a red flower, so there are three points and seven points.

Fu Mingjian:

The right "singing, kneading, pressing and sliding" of the left hand are the "soul" of the expressive power of zheng music. "Complement sound with rhythm, and complement sound and rhythm" is the characteristic of guzheng music. The quality of the left-hand pressing technique largely determines the artistic level of a guzheng player. Without the use of the left hand to press and vibrate, the zheng music is dull and tasteless, and loses its luster.

Wang Zhongshan:

Fast is a skill, and slow is a skill. Currently, it is wrong to replace everything with fast. Traditional zheng music should be paid attention to.

The above remarks are from contemporary zheng masters of the three age groups, old, middle and young. They have experienced different specific historical periods, different educational backgrounds, and different perspectives on problems. However, in view of the current development of zheng music, they all point directly to the problem. The key point: while developing, we must pay attention to the "root" of zheng music. This "ben" is the "flavor" produced by the left-hand pressing in the traditional finger sequence. The unique "change of sound process" in Chinese music is the most important factor and the core of zheng music, and has an irreplaceable position in the eyes of zheng artists. Just as their reminders and warnings, the left hand is the soul of the guzheng! The development of zheng music art should not only adapt to the requirements of the times, but also maintain its "fundamentals" as much as possible. The zheng is divided into two unequal areas with the piano code as the boundary. Its structure and characteristics determine the main functions of the left and right areas. The sound is taken on the right side of the bridge, which is the essential characteristic of the instrument. The so-called "liberating the left hand" means that the rapid fingering sequence enhances the left-hand sound picking technology, but the expansion of the left-hand sound picking technology is essentially a supplement to the right-hand technology; Function. Moreover, the larger the space for taking sounds with the left hand, the smaller the space for making rhymes, and the basic feature of the guzheng, which is known for its rhyme, will be significantly weakened. As a result, the sound is too complicated and the rhythm is lacking, so I borrow a phrase commonly used in the evaluation of some current works inside and outside the industry: there is no "taste of zheng".

The technical point of the zheng is in the right hand (it does not rule out the difference in the details of the music produced by the right hand due to the changes in the position of touching the strings, the angle, the weight, the speed, etc.), but the charm, personality and characteristics of the music mainly come from the left hand. Different from other plucked instruments, the important playing techniques of guzheng that can delicately express people's thoughts and feelings are the pressing, sliding, trembling and other pressing techniques of the left hand. According to the characteristics of the zheng and its advantages, it is very important to thoroughly explore the charm of the zheng. If you want the music to reflect the characteristics of the zheng and have a charm, it is necessary to leave enough space for the left hand to press the sound, that is, to use the quick fingering technique moderately and appropriately. The performance technique is the material carrier to express the soul of the music. If this carrier is lacking or the carrier is not comprehensive and perfect, the rich connotation that the music wants to express will be greatly reduced. The improvement of technology does help to better express music, but we must be clear that technology is a means and must be rooted in music. Fast performance is not our ultimate goal. After all, modern fingering is still a technology that serves the content and artistic expression of the music. German classical composer Bach once criticized those virtuoso performers: "Their superb performances really amaze me, but they do not arouse our emotions; they subdue our hearing, but do not satisfy our hearing; they stun us , but it can't touch our heartstrings." It can be seen that performance technology is not only a basic technique and skill behavior, its life lies in conveying the rich connotation of music, and in practical application, it is "technology for art's sake", rather than "" Technology for technology's sake". Moreover, the relative concept of musical aesthetics tells us that speed is relative. The unique beauty of zheng music originates from the characteristics of the instrument itself and is closely related to the nurture and nourishment of traditional Chinese music culture.