Questions related to learning guqin

[guzhenglover]

Dear all!

I have a few questions and am hoping that you guqin lovers out there would be able to help!

(1) Where are the guqin teachers? Or I guess my question is, how does one find a guqin teacher? There aren't many of them around in so far as I am aware, esp. when you don't live in China;

(2) How long (or how many lessons) does it roughly take before a serious beginner can sort of practise on his own without needing weekly guidance for some time and still progress? I know this is not an easy question (and in a way, this is a foolish question) but I've asked it because the serious guqin student may sometimes need to find a way to continue in the event that he or his teacher relocates, etc.; and

(3) Does being able to play the guzheng help at all with guqin learning? I know they are supposed to be totally different instruments (or at least they should be seen that way), but surely a guzheng has more in common with the guqin than does, say, an erhu?

Thank you in advance to those of you who can shed light on these questions!

[Charlie Huang]

1) This is like asking where are all the piano/etc teachers. It would depend on where you live. Some cities have one or two, others don't. You need to ask around, search the internet, etc. If your city or area has a Chinese community, then there maybe some players of other instruments who can help. Other than that, you can always teach yourself, provided that you are serious about it.

2) That question is relative. It depends on the teacher, the commitment of the student and length and amount of lessons as well as personal study. For the serious learner, you can get most of it in less than three months of pure study alone. A teacher will speed things up and correct bad habits which is important, if sometimes crucial. Once you have learnt the basics, and importantly, the notation, you can essentially learn all pieces on your own (provided that you are intuitive enough to de-code the scores and ask questions). For someone who has access to a teacher regularly, learning finger technique is most crucial; if learning on your own, notation is more crucial (after which, fingering is).

3) Playing guzheng does not necessary make playing guqin any easier. The only similar thing is the right hand techniques but that is so slight.