Tag: guzheng plucking

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4 Points Technique – An Important Guzheng Plucking Technique

The 4 Points Technique is a widely used plucking pattern played on the Guzheng. It consists of playing 4 notes with a combination of 3 fingers – middle finger, thumb, index finger, thumb.

If you are new to the Guzheng be sure to check out our previous blog post on Basic Guzheng Plucking Technique.

We Will Start With Our Right Hand

The 4 Points Technique can be played on any string combination, but let’s choose to start on ‘Sol’. Your middle finger would play ‘Sol’, then your thumb would play a “Sol’ one octave up. Your index finger is next and it plays a note that is in-between the 2 Sols we have already played, so it can play ‘Re’ , then the thumb plays the higher ‘Sol’ again.

The pattern of the notes is ‘Sol’ , higher octave ‘Sol’ , ‘Re’ , higher octave ‘Sol’, as shown on this picture. The fingering is middle finger, thumb, index finger, thumb.

You can move this pattern to ‘La’ by shifting the first note and being mindful of the rest of the pattern going up one string.

Once you are familiar with the pattern move it to different registers and be mindful of your plucking technique. Be sure to keep your wrist stable, move only your finger knuckles when playing, and keep your palm open.

Lets Move To The Left Hand

Mastering the fingering on the left hand is very important. The left hand typically plays the lower registers for harmonic and rhythmic support for the right hand higher melody. Take special care to make this technique effortless to provide the best foundation for your playing.

The 4 points technique is a very useful technique as you can use the same fingering to play different combinations of notes

Here we are playing ‘La’ in octaves and ‘Mi’

Here we have ‘Mi’ in octaves and ‘Do’

Experiment and come up with your own variations of notes. Be sure to practice proper plucking technique from the beginning to establish proper habits.

This blog was based on an excerpt from Bei Bei’s Guzheng Tutorial, video is below

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Basic Guzheng Plucking Technique – Bei Bei’s Guide

In this blog post we will explore basic Guzheng Plucking technique – we play the Guzheng by plucking the strings with our finger picks. Let’s make some sound!

We will first review the correct hand shape, remember to have your hands in a “C” shape. Or think about how you would hold an apple but with palms facing downward. Keep all your knuckles slightly curved like this:

Lets Start Our Lesson With The Right Hand

When plucking a string have your picks angled on the string at about a 45 degree angle. Single Finger Guzheng Pluckingand pluck from your fist knuckle towards your palm. Remember to keep your palm relaxed and your wrist flat. Start by practicing on one finger, perhaps your middle finger, until you understand the mechanics to add more fingers.

The thumb is plucked the same way, at a 45 degree angle and towards the palm. Guzheng plucking with the thumbResist the urge to curve your wrist – keep it straight.

If you are just starting, focus on each hand’s movements independently before trying to integrate them. The mechanics of plucking on the left hand are no different than that of the right, but care must be taken to shift this hand in different registers. Refer to our blog Where To Pluck On A String for more on that topic.

Combining Different Fingers

Start by practicing with the middle finger and the thumb. These 2 fingers often play in octaves of each other in Guzheng music, so it’s a good place to start. Pick any note, ‘Sol’ (A) for instance and play a lower-pitched A with your ring finger, and the higher-pitched A with your thumb.

Notice how in the picture the index finer is curved, but relaxed. Isolate the movements by playing one of the ‘A’ notes at a time. Middle finger only, thumb only, both together, etc. Move this exercise through all registers and notes as slight hand adjustments are necessary. Move to you left hand and practice and refine in the same way.

Beginners might hear a noise before a note is plucked – the noise of the pick scraping against the string. This is normal and expected for a beginner and you can come back to solve this problem once you progress in other areas of the instrument. For the more intermediate players wishing to correct this issue you will need to work on not touching the string before you pluck it. This requires more control but if you work on this with the rudiments above your notes will sounds more pure.

Another finger combination is the first finger and the thumb, which plays notes that are close together, like “Sol’ and ‘La’ , or ‘Sol’ and ‘Do’ , even ‘Sol’ and ‘Re’. Your thumb would play the ‘Sol’ notes and index finger would play the lower-pitched note.

Once you have worked on the right hand move to the left. Go through the same process of isolating each finger to get the correct movement and technique, and move through different note combinations when practicing.

Here is an excerpt on plucking technique from Bei Bei’s Guzheng Tutorial: