Sunday, January 12, 2014

跪指 Kneeling Fingering Technique

因想確認跪指的其他指頭要怎麼擺, 便查幾位名家網上能看到的影像,可惜沒有吳老的跪指影像
I wanted to see how qin masters doing the left hand kneeling technique, so took what I can find on youtube...



成公亮先生 - 小指微彎, 其他二指亦自然彎曲
Master Cheng Gong-liang - Pinky bent, other two fingers (index and middle) also naturally bent a little bit. 


龔一先生 - 小指伸直, 其他指自然微彎
Master Gong Yi - Pinky straight, other fingers naturally bent a little bit,



袁中平先生- 食指較直,其他指彎曲
Master Yuan Jung-ping - Index finger straight, other fingers bent.



李祥霆先生- 其他三指均伸直
Master Li Xiang-ting - Other three fingers (index, middle and pinky) all straight.



李孔元先生彈滄江夜雨 - 食指較直, 中指與小指彎曲
Master Li Kong-yuan - Index straight, middle and pinky bent.


查指法輯覽,跪指的說明只有到了清道光十三年, 1833年的二香琴譜, 蔣文勳先生的說明中才提到:"名指屈曲兩節按音....凡跪指, 食,中,禁三指最易同屈,要練習至直而不動乃佳." 後人對跪指的其他指的說法便是跟蔣的說法照寫.
According to the Qing dynasty handbook, Er Xiang Qin Pu edited by Jiang Wen-xun in 1833, says that when doing kneeling technique, the other three fingers need to train to be straight. That is the only one explanation of Kneeling Fingering that had mentioned other three fingers' position, the index, middle and pinky.  Later people's explanation basically follow Jiang's explanation. 



2 comments:

  1. Below is copied from my facebook comments:
    Would like to ask all qin friends if you think the other three fingers should be straight or not while doing Kneeling technique? 想問琴友你們覺得跪指時其它三指一定要伸直嗎
    Peiyou Chang: 這問題就好像有人問張大千先生睡覺時鬍子是放在棉被裡還是棉被外:P

    Juni L Yeung: Hmm, I was trained to think that clawed fingers are 'ugly and barbaric' and needs to be straightened. But then, I was trained on a difficult surface board, so the idea of loose hands/fingers does stand.

    Yang Shu Chin: 要伸直,很難呢!

    Juni L Yeung: Au contraire.
    伸直等於放鬆,卷在一起才是用力。最糟糕的是,你竟然不自知。

    Yang Shu Chin: 哦 是還沒教到 自己亂撫的。現《玉樓春》還沒過關。

    Peiyou Chang Juni: 不會吧~不自知有很糟糕嗎?

    Juni L Yeung: 做錯而不自覺﹐在過程中不感覺甚麼﹐但之後糟糕那當然。
    --跪指縮起一個拳頭的人 留

    Peiyou Chang: 呵呵! 不會啦! 那些名家不也都是彎曲的, 除了 Master LXT以外

    太極琴: 李老師顯然是琴界獨一無二的,當然,另外兩位大師也琴藝高超。我最欣賞成老師彈的慢曲,慢而不散。

    Yang Shu Chin: 很老很老,骨頭變型,會彎啊

    Jim Binkley: In the fall of 2012 when my left hand basically was badly damaged the physical therapist told me that e.g., there are 2 distinct classes of people. You bend your index finger and the middle finger goes with it OR the middle finger can stay straight

    Jim Binkley: Actually I think two aspects of this are truly important: 1. the sound should be clean and 2. the string should not be impossibly high (if string 6 is >= 7 mm at hui 7 there may be trouble)

    Yang Shu Chin: Yes, very trueth and clear.

    Frederic Chan: 明代袁均哲輯《太音大全集》指辨:跪指.文豹抱物勢。興曰:有豹待變兮隱於南山,抱物而食兮孰窺其斑,狀其形而取其象,蓋在乎作勢之間。

    Frederic Chan: 三指舒鬆而略收

    Peiyou Chang: "三指舒鬆而略收" 覺得那才是自然的

    Howard Huang: 三指不直,在圓琴上很容易去碰到其他的弦啊...但估計不會碰到的話應該沒什麼差別?

    Juni L Yeung: 所謂“直‘﹐其實並非現代人想到的”筆直“﹐而是相對於琴面”地平線“而言的。”彎/曲指“﹐所指乃刻意收指如拳或訣狀。

    Taiji Wu: 曲而不曲,直而不直,松而不散,按若入木!

    Peiyou Chang: 清道光十三年, 1833年的二香琴譜, 蔣文勳先生的說明中提到:"名指屈曲兩節按音....凡跪指, 食,中,禁三指最易同屈,要練習至直而不動乃佳... 那麼蔣文勳的"至直" 就不應理解為完全伸的直直直的!? 感謝大家的指教.

    Juni L Yeung: 水至清則無魚﹐指至直則(請填充)

    Peiyou Chang: 無力

    Frederic Chan: 可否解為:…食、中、禁三指最容易同時跟著彎曲,應練習到這三指能伸直而不隨著名指動作才是最佳的
    “至”可解為“極致”(如:水至清則無魚),亦可解為“到”(如:翩翩而至)。此處應解為後者

    Peiyou Chang: 我也是這麼認為, 那個水至清的填充題是填好玩的:P

    Peiyou Chang: let me brif translate this discussion in Engish: in the old qin handbook from Qing dynasty, it says that when doing kneeling fingering technique, the other three fingers (index, middle and little finger) need to keep straight. But when I checked all th...See More

    Taiji Wu: Great translation!

    Jim Binkley: I can't control my little finger in that regard. Fortunately it doesn't seem to be a problem. But common sense for index/middle -> you have to keep them out of the way.
    January 15 at 12:50pm

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  2. "See More" -- let me brief translate this discussion in English: in the old qin handbook from Qing dynasty, it says that when doing kneeling fingering technique, the other three fingers (index, middle and little finger) need to keep straight. But when I checked all the master's videos, only Master Li Xiang-ting keep all other three finger very straight. So I was wondering if it is really need to keep the other three fingers all straight?
    Juni says yes, clawed fingers are ugly and it is actually not relaxed. Frederic then quote from an even older record, a Ming Dynasty qin book, that kneeling technique is like "a leopard holding objects", which means the other three fingers should be relaxed and bent a little bit. And then Juni add that straight does not mean very very straight, it is to compare with a fist-like fingers. Then Master Zhongxian Wu said 曲而不曲,直而不直,松而不散,按若入木!which means bent but not fully bent; straight but not fully straight; loose but not disperse or fall apart; pressing down as pressing into the wood (indicate the strength of the kneeling finger).
    So my conclusion to the kneeling technique, to the other three fingers, is that they are naturally bent a little bit, but cannot be like a fist.

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