Fingering problem - help needed

[ed]

How does one play the following passage (from Yimeng Mountain Song) - the section outlined in red. The piece is in D, which makes the fingerings seem wrong.

Ps. You need to double click the image or download it to make it large enough to view the detail.

Ed H

Attachments:

[davidmdahl]

Hello Ed,

The key to understand the indicated fingering in the circled section is the character above the third "2" (grace note). The top Chinese character indicates the note and notes following are played on the inside string. The first four notes are played on the outside string, then stretch the third finger reach the second octave 2 and slide down to the 7. The following notes down to the 5 are also to be played on the inside string. On measure 39, play the notes on the outside string.

The same character indicating inside string is in measures 20 and 21. The character indicating outside string is in measure 23.

Best wishes,

David

[ed]

Thanks David - you are always so ready to help.

What bothers me is that the fingerings in these few bars are not the normal ones for the key of D.

The whole hand seems to be shifted up by one finger! For instance 3 dot is usually played with the third finger but here it seems we use the second finger - and so on, each note played by a finger one lower than normal.

Is it common to change the fingerings like this? I am accustomed to some flexibility for single notes, but this is a fairly long passage.

I hope these unusual fingerings don't get stuck in my memory so that I can't play with normal fingerings again!

Ed H

[edcat7]

Hi Ed How are you? It's been a long time since I played my erhu but I would like to attempt it, Can you upload the whole score?

Thanks Ed

[ed]

Hi Ed

I haven't heard from you for so long. I have sometimes wondered how you were getting on - I know you have done a lot since we met up, was it 2012?

Anyway, I have sent you a personal message with more details - look in the messages section.

Ed H

[sanmenxia]

I think you could play the notes circled in red on the outer string in the usual position, ie first finger on G inner string (3rd position in violin terminoloy), if you want. You don't have to follow the fingering on sheet music, unless you're trying pass an exam, or it's a composed and well established piece, IMHO!

I think the reason for playing with first finger on the inner string A (4th position) is you can reach the high E (above dot 2) by bending your wrist without shifting position. Whereas in third position you have to shift with your 3rd or 4th finger. Obviously, playing the 2 7 6 part on inner string is to get a different timbre.

The version of Yimeng Shan in question seems to be an arrangement of the song, the song is actually quite short. It seems performers/arrangers like to pad it out and extend it, eg Zhu Changyao's version/arrangement, only the first 8 bars are the actual song, the first four notes in the 8th bar and the rest of the piece is all new:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj7JTPraD2E
Tuning (could be more accurately called fingering) is 3,7 or mi,si, 1=B flat.
Open strings are D,A.
www.cnscore.com/Jianpu/u4ml0cmpsyct.html

Song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqvqNU0kJLg

[edcat7]

Mar 14, 2021 20:41:06 GMT sanmenxia said:

I think you could play the notes circled in red on the outer string in the usual position, ie first finger on G inner string (3rd position in violin terminoloy), if you want. You don't have to follow the fingering on sheet music, unless you're trying pass an exam, or it's a composed and well established piece, IMHO!

I think the reason for playing with first finger on the inner string A (4th position) is you can reach the high E (above dot 2) by bending your wrist without shifting position. Whereas in third position you have to shift with your 3rd or 4th finger. Obviously, playing the 2 7 6 part on inner string is to get a different timbre.

The version of Yimeng Shan in question seems to be an arrangement of the song, the song is actually quite short. It seems performers/arrangers like to pad it out and extend it, eg Zhu Changyao's version/arrangement, only the first 8 bars are the actual song, the first four notes in the 8th bar and the rest of the piece is all new:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj7JTPraD2E
Tuning (could be more accurately called fingering) is 3,7 or mi,si, 1=B flat.
Open strings are D,A.
www.cnscore.com/Jianpu/u4ml0cmpsyct.html

Song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqvqNU0kJLg
View Attachment

Oh it's in the key of B. I haven't played in B or C for a long time. Time to brush up. Thanks

[ed]

Hi sanmenxia

Excellent analysis as always, many thanks.

I have now had time to practise this piece in four different ways - on the inner string, the outer string, using the standard fingering or using the fingering as it appears on the score.

I have gradually begun to see that the fingering given in the score is much easier and sounds nicer than any other - but I do still have to force my poor fingers to play notes different from those I originally learnt!

Ed H

[ed]

Ive just realised that this fingering is actually standard in the scale of C. I have never learnt the C scale so I only spotted it by chance in a book.

Ed H