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Post by valdae on Jun 21, 2012 19:47:20 GMT
As I probably mentioned in an earlier post, this coming July will make three years playing the zhongruan (I lent a friend my 12er indefinitely – my last guitar). I almost find that hard to believe (ironically, I was saving to get a banjo at the time). I plan to celebrate (my vacation begins the week after the “anniversary”), and of course, play as much as possible! We had an out of town guest for a bit who had never seen a ruan before. Upon hearing me play she remarked, “Wow, it’s like you’re playing a piece of sculpture.” I’m sorry, that never gets old.
But hey, I stray.
So, here’s my query. What was the defining moment for you on the instrument of your choosing? Was it learning a certain fingering, how you held the bow of an erhu to get the desired result, was it learning a piece you thought you would never discern, or could it have been achieving the correct angle to play the ruan in comfort?
What was mine? Glad to tell you.
It was when I realized there were things I could do with the ruan that I couldn’t with a conventional guitar. I had two less strings to work with, but believe me in that equation less was infinitely more, so much more. What would have seemed a limitation was in fact a doorway, and happy I was to walk through it!
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Post by xindi on Jun 21, 2012 20:44:01 GMT
Nice to hear your enthusiasm shining through  I think I'm more utilitarian about music: I surround myself with it, in part as an escape from the world of visual aesthetics which I inhabit when I'm not into the music. Defining moment....hmm..I'm certainly not good enough to approach any definition other than experiencing the pleasure of hearing live music played - live music, which sounds better than recorded music, no matter how good the amplification system. I like the resonance and the palpable feel of music under my fingertips in the flute, guzheng or pipa. I even like my imperfection in playing, since it gives me something to strive further for. Ultimately, the flute is my preferred instrument, since it conveys the very breath - or spirit of man - which non-wind instruments just don't (tubas don't count lol). |
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Post by valdae on Jun 21, 2012 20:52:59 GMT
I'm inclined to agree with you about wind instruments, particularly flute and sax. One of the reasons I fell in love with Jethro Tull as a teen was the inclusion of the flute. Ian Anderson was incredible and his use of the flute was so unique and distinctive in rock. For sax, my God, Trane, Bird, Rollins, to name a few. I went into Coltrane immersion for over a week a while back. A truly amazing musician.
BTW, are you a visual artist/designer?
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Post by edcat7 on Jun 21, 2012 21:23:59 GMT
I heard the hulusi tune 'Bamboo Fern under the Moonlight' wandering around a street market in Shanghai and as Xindi will tell you, it can be heard everywhere in China. It was the first tune I learnt, which luckily was also the easiest.
There are tunes I would love to play well on the dizi, erhu, liuqin and zhongruan. The trouble is they are technically difficult . When I can do, then my tuition will be complete.
Xindi is an artist in the broadest and literal sense of the word.
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Post by xindi on Jun 25, 2012 10:15:36 GMT
"I heard the hulusi tune 'Bamboo Fern under the Moonlight' wandering around a street market in Shanghai and as Xindi will tell you, it can be heard everywhere in China." It can be heard everywhere in China Valdae - Jethro Tull never made it on my radar till I made it to uni. They were still popular for their weird image and did a few folk festivals, although I had no interest in playing flute anymore then. One of the problems leading my massive disinterest in the flute, was the sheer lack of exposure: since leaving grade school, I had never encountered a single person playing flute out in the streets; the wilderness or anywhere - just privileged chamber houses or concert halls in orchestral pieces (Debussy's Syrinx springs to mind). A few years ago I was out in Fujian Province trekking around the countryside, totally bewildered at the dialect there and unable to say or communicate much. I stopped in a country park where the tourists also came in their droves. It was horrible, but there, surprisingly I encountered a traditional chinese dizi flute seller. He had a stash of dizi flutes and was playing the awful karaoke background music tracks which Ed likes  I asked him was it hard to play. He couldn't understand me and turned the music off (thank goodness!) Then he said: “什 麽？” Sign language seems to have worked. He picked one up - an alto D and played incredibly powerfully - just one phrase of a song I didn't know which had me entranced. I realised then that the summoning powers of all of the manga characters of Kyoto, Nagasaki, Shinjuku, Japan were futile when pitched against an earpiercing alto D dizi at 1 metre That made an impression on me - I didn't even know what the tune was. His flutes weren't cheap either - I had about 400 Yuan to survive until the end of the week and work my way back to Hong Kong, having overstayed in China, just drifting along the Fujian coast line back to inland . Sadly his cheapest dizi was 800 Yuan. He had his own flute cart and clearly made and sold his own, with his name etched on it by hand, all hand finished too. Looking back, I'd have bought one regardless of the cost, just for the memories of Yong Ding. He was a really venerable kind of elderly guy who was into making his own craft. Instead, I will have to go back and hope the flute seller is still there. Other defining moments - accidentally messing around in the pipa section of a music store - the salesguy was a friendly and charming guitar player, who quickly wooed me over to the pipa. He told me that if I bought a cheap pipa, he would give me a discount if I returned in a year, to show him what I had learnt. Oh crap |
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Post by ziman on Dec 7, 2012 0:59:22 GMT
On the xiao, my defining moment would be the first time I (accidentally) hit the right spot and opened up the resonance of the xiao. Particularly in the deep low notes. Although I can do that more consistently now, it still feels just as magical every time. It feels almost like the xiao is radiating sound. And if played in an echoey room with good acoustics... oh heaven! It is in those moments when I feel that, hell yeah, I chose the right instrument! |
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Post by edcat7 on Dec 7, 2012 1:34:37 GMT
I think a defining moment would be the first time I played a duet with my teacher. Playing with others, especially if they have different instruments, is a great joy.
It would be great when my teacher's other students, a yangqin and an erhu player, eventually team up.
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I asked him was it hard to play. He couldn't understand me and turned the music off (thank goodness!) Then he said: “什 麽？”