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Post by danielachoresh on Mar 24, 2018 17:49:47 GMT
Hi!
So I have zero experience with stringed instruments and there is one thing I don't understand, if there are scales, and in every scale your fingers make different notes, how do you know what finger to use mid-song when you switch scales?
It's difficult to explain but let's say you play something in a certain scale (holding the fourth finger) and you need a note from a different scale that you need to play with your fourth finger as well, will you swipe your pinky to the note although it may be way easier to just use a different finger?
Hope it wasn't too confusing because I am.
Thanks!
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Post by howiehobbit on Mar 24, 2018 19:35:42 GMT
Hi! So I have zero experience with stringed instruments and there is one thing I don't understand, if there are scales, and in every scale your fingers make different notes, how do you know what finger to use mid-song when you switch scales? It's difficult to explain but let's say you play something in a certain scale (holding the fourth finger) and you need a note from a different scale that you need to play with your fourth finger as well, will you swipe your pinky to the note although it may be way easier to just use a different finger? Hope it wasn't too confusing because I am. Thanks! Hi Daniel, So, I guess to answer that question, we'll have to go back to basics. So you're right that there are different scales. Let's take D major. Your D major scale would be D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D. The basic fingering would be Open D, 1 on D for E, 2 on D for F#, 3 on D for G, Open A, 1 on A for the B, 2 on A for C#, 3 on A for D. So if you play a piece in A major, for example, the notes are A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A. You can see that regardless of what scale you're playing, there'll be common notes, which means that to play an E on the D string in a piece which is written in A major would be played the same way you'd play the E in a piece written in D major: simply 1 finger on the D string. If you wanted to play the A with your forth finger on the D string, you'd use your forth finger in the same place to play the A regardless of whether it's the A of D major, or the A of A major. The notes are generally the same, just in a different order depending on the key of the piece. Does that help? Let me know if that wasn't actually your question though. H |
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Post by danielachoresh on Mar 24, 2018 19:51:17 GMT
Thank you! So if I need to play a note with a certain finger regardless of the scale I'd play it with the same finger?
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Post by howiehobbit on Mar 24, 2018 20:12:25 GMT
Thank you! So if I need to play a note with a certain finger regardless of the scale I'd play it with the same finger? Yeah, pretty much. But for example, if a piece is in C major, there are no sharps. So for example, you'll play the F of C major with the second figure slid back slightly towards the first on the D string, because otherwise you'll be playing an F#. But otherwise, that's it. This is where I find western musical notation easier to make sense of for teaching fingerings. Would suggest looking up on Wiki at the notes on the stave of all the different major keys. It'll make more sense about the notes being just the same (or thereabouts excepts with the changes in sharps), but just in different orders depending on the scale. |
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Post by danielachoresh on Mar 24, 2018 21:25:06 GMT
Thank you! So if I need to play a note with a certain finger regardless of the scale I'd play it with the same finger? Yeah, pretty much. But for example, if a piece is in C major, there are no sharps. So for example, you'll play the F of C major with the second figure slid back slightly towards the first on the D string, because otherwise you'll be playing an F#. But otherwise, that's it. This is where I find western musical notation easier to make sense of for teaching fingerings. Would suggest looking up on Wiki at the notes on the stave of all the different major keys. It'll make more sense about the notes being just the same (or thereabouts excepts with the changes in sharps), but just in different orders depending on the scale. So this out of the way, it seems like learning to play the Erhu shouldn't be too hard, once you memorize the scales and how is every note played, work on a good bowing technique (I heard that is pretty hard) you can start practicing songs? Of course I'm not saying the Erhu is an easy instrument but I thought it would be weird to learn with the scales. (Luckily I was wrong  ) And with all that, the chinese notation system is really weird, and because I'm currently learning the western one I think I'll wait some time before getting into it  Thank you for your time! |
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Post by howiehobbit on Mar 24, 2018 23:36:16 GMT
Yeah, pretty much. But for example, if a piece is in C major, there are no sharps. So for example, you'll play the F of C major with the second figure slid back slightly towards the first on the D string, because otherwise you'll be playing an F#. But otherwise, that's it. This is where I find western musical notation easier to make sense of for teaching fingerings. Would suggest looking up on Wiki at the notes on the stave of all the different major keys. It'll make more sense about the notes being just the same (or thereabouts excepts with the changes in sharps), but just in different orders depending on the scale. So this out of the way, it seems like learning to play the Erhu shouldn't be too hard, once you memorize the scales and how is every note played, work on a good bowing technique (I heard that is pretty hard) you can start practicing songs? Of course I'm not saying the Erhu is an easy instrument but I thought it would be weird to learn with the scales. (Luckily I was wrong ) And with all that, the chinese notation system is really weird, and because I'm currently learning the western one I think I'll wait some time before getting into it Thank you for your time! It's okay. No problems at all. I've been lucky enough to have played the violin for over 20 years, so my transition isn't too laborious, luckily. The principles of a stringed instrument is pretty much the same. Strings are the same as the two middle violin strings, and the notes are found the same way too, so I guess I am cheating a little. The only thing that I have to get used to us reading Chinese notation rather than notes on a stave, but that should be okay. Practise a piece and commit it to muscle memory, and then recite it. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions though. |
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Post by davidmdahl on Mar 25, 2018 6:09:35 GMT
I have been using staff notation for decades, so it is very comfortable for me. When I started to learn Chinese music, I made the decision to learn jianpu. Fortunately, I took to it very quickly, and found that it suits traditional tunes and the erhu very well. I also love it for the dizi and guzheng. It is somewhat cumbersome for some Western tunes. I really like how portable a jianpu score is for playing in different keys. For any tune, I can use the same notation for playing in any key. I only need to map a different fingering position. I can transpose with staff notation as well, but it is harder brain-work.
I highly recommend learning jianpu for anyone wanting to learn Chinese tunes on Chinese instruments. Tunes in jianpu notation are much easier to come by. I do find it handy to be able to read both staff and jianpu though. Both get easier with patient practice.
Best wishes,
David
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Post by howiehobbit on Mar 25, 2018 9:44:51 GMT
I have been using staff notation for decades, so it is very comfortable for me. When I started to learn Chinese music, I made the decision to learn jianpu. Fortunately, I took to it very quickly, and found that it suits traditional tunes and the erhu very well. I also love it for the dizi and guzheng. It is somewhat cumbersome for some Western tunes. I really like how portable a jianpu score is for playing in different keys. For any tune, I can use the same notation for playing in any key. I only need to map a different fingering position. I can transpose with staff notation as well, but it is harder brain-work. I highly recommend learning jianpu for anyone wanting to learn Chinese tunes on Chinese instruments. Tunes in jianpu notation are much easier to come by. I do find it handy to be able to read both staff and jianpu though. Both get easier with patient practice. Best wishes, David Totally agree with this. You should definitely learn how to read music written in Chinese jianpu notation, but one step at a time. Focus on the theory of playing the instrument first. Make sure you get basic bowing correct, open strings, before starting to add fingers. I've been playing the violin for over 20 years and I still spend time doing only basic bowing practise in order to just keep it up, where I don't do anything but bow on open strings just to concentrate on bowing techniques. Have you got a teacher, danielachoresh? Would serious recommend you getting one, especially if you have no previous experience with stringed instruments. Learning by yourself can be a very satisfying achievement, but if you pick up bad habits, it could impact your ability to play more "difficult" pieces and thus frustrate you in the longer term. |
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Post by danielachoresh on Mar 25, 2018 11:55:46 GMT
I have been using staff notation for decades, so it is very comfortable for me. When I started to learn Chinese music, I made the decision to learn jianpu. Fortunately, I took to it very quickly, and found that it suits traditional tunes and the erhu very well. I also love it for the dizi and guzheng. It is somewhat cumbersome for some Western tunes. I really like how portable a jianpu score is for playing in different keys. For any tune, I can use the same notation for playing in any key. I only need to map a different fingering position. I can transpose with staff notation as well, but it is harder brain-work. I highly recommend learning jianpu for anyone wanting to learn Chinese tunes on Chinese instruments. Tunes in jianpu notation are much easier to come by. I do find it handy to be able to read both staff and jianpu though. Both get easier with patient practice. Best wishes, David Totally agree with this. You should definitely learn how to read music written in Chinese jianpu notation, but one step at a time. Focus on the theory of playing the instrument first. Make sure you get basic bowing correct, open strings, before starting to add fingers. I've been playing the violin for over 20 years and I still spend time doing only basic bowing practise in order to just keep it up, where I don't do anything but bow on open strings just to concentrate on bowing techniques. Have you got a teacher, danielachoresh? Would serious recommend you getting one, especially if you have no previous experience with stringed instruments. Learning by yourself can be a very satisfying achievement, but if you pick up bad habits, it could impact your ability to play more "difficult" pieces and thus frustrate you in the longer term. Unfortunately, I live in a small country with zero teachers. That's why I'm worried to learn the Erhu, if I had any experience with stringed instruments I guess I wouldn't be. It's far from the piano and (I heard) bad habits are easy to pick up with stringed instruments and the Erhu is a very technical instrument, videos aren't a replacement for teachers. I'm sure I want to play the Erhu, and as soon as possible, I just need to get the base and technique right. Do you have any advice for people learning on their own? Things like common mistakes you've seen? Again thank you so much for your time, it helps me |
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