Whats your fav qin piece!

[Si]

I wanted to make a poll but seems like it will not work cos u have to make a list then ask people to pick from it. So the next best way is to list fav 3 tunes. maybe we can keep a ranking table - yeah its all a bit of a waste of time but I read my sisters "Smash Hits" magazine (80s Uk teen mag) when at school and they always had tables of favourite things, so there!

1. Pu An Zhou
3. Wen Wan Cao
3. Tune of the drunken fisherman

Yes SCWGuqin - very perceptive of you!!!!! I did not realise it at the time but I suppose your right.

[SCWGuqin]

In other words, CGL's ROI album.

My favorite pieces change on a highly irregular basis. Here are some good contenders right now:

1. Xiao Xiang Shui Yun
2. You Lan
3. Qiao Ge

[laoqinyou]

1. li sao
2. xiao xiang shui yun
3. sao shou wen tien

[Charlie Huang]

1. Qiu Shui
2. Xiaoxiang Shuiyun
3. Qiao Ge

[guzhenglover]

I am wondering how long it took you guys before your teacher allowed you to tackle things like yu qiao chang wan (The Drunken Fisherman), mei hua san nong and/or liu shui? I feel ready to give these a go but my teacher won't let me. Not sure if my teacher's been a bit pedantic. Do most of you out there play at least one of the three compositions mentioned here? How long did it take since you started playing before you learnt them? Are these the kind of pieces that you think could be self-taught?

[charliecharlieecho]

Meihua San Nong was the 2nd piece my teacher taught me (Guan Shan Yue was the first) and Zui Yu Chang Wan (the drunken fisherman) was 4th, I think, after Yangguan San Die. I'm a slow learner so that probably took about 18 months.

[Charlie Huang]

You certainly can learn them self-taught but I would advise at least 2 years experience before even attempting them. MHSN is the easiest of all three, followed by ZYCW then LS.

[guzhenglover]

Sorry I meant qiao yu wen da, not zui yu chang wan. My teacher said that qiao yu wen da is slightly easier than meihua san nong. Well my! You must quite a genius charliecharliecho if your teacher let you learn meihua san nong after guan shan yue, esp. if Charlie reckons that one needs at least 2 years experience playing before tackling that piece! Did you take that long before you attempted MHSN, Charlie? BTW, which version(s) did you use for the three pieces I mentioned? And did you learn complete versions? Just curious.

[charliecharlieecho]

My Meihua is Wu Jinglüe's, I think, and the Liu Shui is definitely Guan Pinghu's. I haven't learned the Dialogue, but did learn Yu Ge from Gong Yi.

When you should learn Meihua or any other piece is very much a matter of judgement, and it's not based solely on the student's ability to play - there's also the matter of how well the teacher feels qualified to teach it. I once asked GY to teach me Zhi Zhao Fei and he refused because, in his own words, he didn't know it well enough. Specifically, the techniques in Meihua aren't all that difficult (but there is a stretch with a lot of gui zhi, which can be painful). The problem is getting the yijing, the mood or feeling or even the sense, of it right. I've been playing it on and off since 1988 and am still not satisfied. Maybe I'm looking for things that aren't there or ignoring things that are, but any way there's some distance to go.

[guzhenglover]

Well I am going to learn Qiao Yu Wen Da! Yeah!

[Si]

I have also just started learning Dialoge of the druken fisherman. For me I think I would find some parts impossible without a teacher for the fang he parts.

As for the mood or feeling of the piece, surely that will come eventualy once you are very comfortable with the piece.

[charliecharlieecho]

Yu Qiao Wenda = Dialogue between a Fisherman and a Wood Cutter
Zui Yu Chang Wan = A Drunken Fisherman Sings in the Evening

[Si]

When I listen to a piece it often sounds easy but when u first learn it, there are often strange fingers that make it more difficult and seem impossibe at first, but after a while of playing u get used to it.

I remember that Mei hua is lvl9 in the NAGA grading - it sounds easy though, and some of u seem to feel its not very demanding. So is ninth lvl due to its lenght?

[guzhenglover]

I've got guidance from a teacher. I am told that Mei Hua San Nong is more difficult than Yu Qiao Wen Da in part due to (I think) the tricky guizhi passages. Personally I think I prefer MHSN to YQWD, but I quite like the latter still.

How far into YQWD are you, syburn? Are you learning that with your teacher? Whose version are you using?

[Si]

Im learning:

Wei Zhongle based on LI Zizhao, which starts on p. 100 of Guqin Quji

Nowadays I only have a lession once a month or so cos im not in shangha these days. But Im still playing PAZ and Chang Men Yuan so I have enough to do.

If I manage to get a teacher in Singapore I would probably just have 1 lesson per month as well.

Have u met any guqin players in Singapore - I dont kow of any

[charliecharlieecho]

The only qin teacher I know of in S'pore is KEE Chee Koon (Mandarin JI Zhiqun). He has a school/shop called 3 Tunes and was a student of GY in the early 90s.

[guzhenglover]

So do you travel back to Shanghai every month for your monthly guqin lessons? Wow, that's dedication!

Would you consider learning from KEE Chee Koon of Three Tunes Music?

Apr 21, 2008 7:49:02 GMT Si said:

Im learning:

Wei Zhongle based on LI Zizhao, which starts on p. 100 of Guqin Quji

Nowadays I only have a lession once a month or so cos im not in shangha these days. But Im still playing PAZ and Chang Men Yuan so I have enough to do.

If I manage to get a teacher in Singapore I would probably just have 1 lesson per month as well.

Have u met any guqin players in Singapore - I dont kow of any

[Si]

No I do to shanghai for biz and have lessons as well.

This teacher is still in china doing his MA as far as I know. I prefer a teacher once or twice a month - he is more regular pay package style.