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Post by edcat7 on Nov 29, 2014 21:20:06 GMT
I don't think one instrument is particularly more difficult than another especially at the beginner's stage. What is often noted is that the ambitions of a student are greater than the skill set. My guess is that if you had tuition you would spend a fair amount of time just doing scales. I don't play the guzheng but there is no way anyone can expect to remember all the strings in such a short period of time.
Keep at it. Best wishes,
Ed
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Post by violinvampire on Nov 30, 2014 4:44:04 GMT
thanks for your idea ed...
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Post by carol on Dec 3, 2014 18:10:57 GMT
The guzheng soundboard can be from very rough to very smooth. It depends on who the maker is. The newer Dunhuang is on the rougher side.
In the video, she tuned part of the guzheng into diatonic scale, so bending is not necessary for a lot of the notes. There are a few scores of this piece in D-major pentatonic. I think it's not a good piece to play on guzheng because there are too many 4 and 7, especially in the climax. That means you cann't play chords with your left hand when doing all the 4 and 7 bending...... It will be easier to arrange in the diatonic scale.
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Post by violinvampire on Dec 5, 2014 17:38:40 GMT
thanks Carol,
does diatonic mean regular notes? can you give me an idea about it?
im actually having a little challenge at the D major pentatonic but i am practicing nightly.
My questions are:
1. is it a "good idea" to tune the guzheng to diatonic?
2. i play the violin so will it be easier for me if guzheng is diatonic?
3. Assuming I go diatonic, do i have to change anything on bridges or string number?
by the way Carol, thanks for the free guzheng lessons in PDF file. i downloaded the lessons and i enjoy practicing nightly.
yujin ~violinvampire~
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Post by violinvampire on Dec 5, 2014 18:41:02 GMT
follow up questions
what are pros and cons of shifting pentatonic to diatonic?
thanks
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Post by carol on Dec 6, 2014 17:58:31 GMT
Tuning into diatonic will enable you to play a lot more music. However, it also means it will be hard to play standard guzheng music.
If you plan to tune part of the guzheng into diatonic, you don't need to change the strings. If you plan to tune the whole instrument into diatonic, it's better to replace the strings with the diatonic strings. Otherwise, the tension of the high and bass strings will be changed too much that they won't sound nice.
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Post by davidmdahl on Dec 6, 2014 18:07:50 GMT
follow up questions what are pros and cons of shifting pentatonic to diatonic? I can't really think of any significant benefits from retuning a guzheng to a diatonic scale. Of course, I like playing Chinese music on the guzheng, and the five note scale works very well. I can still bend strings up to the notes I want. With a seven note scale, the range of the guzheng will be smaller, and it may be necessary to replace some of the strings with different gauges. At least the colored strings which indicate octaves will need to be shifted or replaced. The guzheng is great for traditional and modern music with pentatonic tunings. The need for strings to cover diatonic scales calls for a different instrument, in my opinion. Best wishes, David
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Post by violinvampire on Dec 6, 2014 20:09:42 GMT
hello David and Carol,
It was written
"If you plan to tune the whole instrument into diatonic, it's better to replace the strings with the diatonic strings"
2 questions
1. Can you give a sample brand and packaging picture if possible of diatonic strings?
2. i saw one forum, and i think it was Carol who replied on that too, where in someone asked for string number equivalent of regular guzheng strings to be diatonic.
sadly i cant find that link anymore.
thank you so much.
I still feel determined...
Yujin ~violinvampire~
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Post by carol on Dec 7, 2014 19:46:51 GMT
Here is a link I have the same model strung with pentatonic strings and diatonic strings. The diatonic strings cover 3 octaves, for easier reading, the G are in green, and the C are in red. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHG7VTHQgXIThen here is another video showing what diatonic scale can do. It's on a 25-string guzheng for more notes. 21 notes are really limited for playing in diatonic. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuBDky4Dvw
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Post by violinvampire on Dec 8, 2014 13:03:54 GMT
thank you
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