Video: How a guqin is made, by famous guqin maker Wang Peng

How a guqin is made, by famous guqin maker, Wang Peng. Enjoy!

Video: Guqin concert in Japan

Guqin concert in Japan. Enjoy! I support Japan-China friendship. The guqin performance starts at 2:00 in this video.

Video: 滄海一聲笑 (Smiling Proud Wanderer)

This is the best rendition of 滄海一聲笑 (Smiling Proud Wanderer) I have ever seen, played by Chang Peiyou, using silk strings on her guqin. Enjoy!

Dr Tse performs Reflections on a Lake on a Qin with silk strings

Dr Tse performs Reflections on a Lake on a Qin with silk strings. Enjoy!

Notice the total absence of jarring metallic twangy noises. That's because there is *no* metal inside the silk strings. Enjoy!

Most tiny speakers in laptop computers sound too trebly. You'd need to listen to this with earphones or headphones (that are capable of pumping out deep bass sounds) in order to even come close to hearing what a person playing with silk strings on guqin hears.

Guqin Album: Lost Sounds of the Tao, by Lo Ka Ping

I just purchased and downloaded Lo Ka Ping's guqin album from iTunes. Really very cantonese and nostalgic. You can listen to the track samples at Lo Ka Ping's page at Amazon.com and at Lo Ka Ping's iTunes page

More info can be perused at Lo Ka Ping's liner notes page

More guqin masters should consider selling their albums on iTunes. You can submit your music to CDbaby.com orTuneCore.com and they'd submit to Apple on your behalf. Apple does not deal with individual artists, only with music clearing houses, and music publishing companies.

Video: Professor Lau's performance with silk strings on guqin

Professor Lau's performance with silk strings on guqin. Notice the total absence of jarring metallic twangy noises. That's because there is *no* metal inside the silk strings. Enjoy!

Most tiny speakers in laptop computers sound too trebly. You'd need to listen to this with earphones or headphones (that are capable of pumping out deep bass sounds) in order to even come close to hearing what a person playing with silk strings on guqin hears.

Singapore-based address registered DBS/PosBank credit cards now accepted by TaoBao.com

Rejoice guqin aficionados in Singapore!

It seems that DBS/PosBank credit cards registerd with Singapore-based addresses can now be accepted at http://www.taobao.com/index_global.php

However, I'd still prefer to use the always reliable SgShop.com.sg to purchase and track the shipment from China to Singapore for me, because the last time I used Vpost.com.sg, they lost my package of guqin strings even though the package was successfully delivered (verified by online tracking) by the courier service from China merchant to Vpost's Shenzhen office.

Great music recording device for capturing guqin sounds

I've tried condenser microphones, and the built-in microphones on handycams to capture the sounds from my guqin, but the results were not good. They could not capture the mellowness of guqin silk strings. Instead, condensers microphones and the built-in microphone on handycams tend to make the silk strings sound more metallic and trebly. Further, those microphones could only capture in mono (or L and R channels sounding exactly the same), which is disappointing.

So, the first time I tried out my ICD-SX713 Sony voice recorder (with a built-in option to record music in Linear PCM), I was blown away. It sounded very open and spatial, like "surround sounds". It even comes with a tripod adapter so I can mount it on a tripod and stick the dual stereo microphones *into* the smaller sound hole of my guqin so that it could capture the sounds of the wood and the natural reverberating echoes inside the sound box of the guqin.

Click here to hear a short sample recording, with the thickest gauge silk strings mounted on my guqin. You can only hear the extremely low bass "thumps" if you wear ear phones. There is a very low note in the video recording shown at the link above; it sounded like a very low bass bell. You can only hear that if you use earphones or headphones. Most speakers on most computers (yes, Windows PCs and Macs included) cannot produce low bass sounds often heard by the actual guqin player.

How about you? What recording device are you using with your guqin? Please post your comments! Thank you!

Here's a newer Sony ICD-SX813 model, available at your favorite Sony store near you.

(No, I am not getting any commission from anyone for recommending this. hahaha. LOL)

Noise Feedback-Suppressing Smart Speaker System from Line 6

Problem:
If you have ever performed with a musical instrument (for example, a guqin) in public, you'd know that the number one challenge is the sound from the speakers themselves looping back into the microphone which could result in a loud shrieking feedback loop.

Solution:
Use this (relatively affordable, if you are a professional making $$ from your music) smart speaker solution from Line 6. Click here to check out the demo video. If you are in Singapore you can buy this from City Music. No I do not get any commission from anyone. haha. Personally I have used Line 6 gear. They're very reliable.

Apple wishes you Happy Chinese New Year (24 hour sale for Asian stores only)

I don't want to sound like an Apple fanboy or Mac fanatic (afterall I'm typing this on my vader-like Thinkpad), but just a gentle reminder, there is a 24 hour special sale this Friday 25th Jan 2013 for Asia's Apple Online stores in Singapore, Malaysia, HongKong, Taiwan, China, and South Korea. Sale starts TONIGHT midnight at 12:00am Friday 25th. Don't say nobody told you about this lobang, ok lah? Huat Ah!

What's Apple products got to do with guqin? Everything! The real pros in the music industry use Macs for audio post production!

http://store.apple.com/sg/browse/new_year/red_friday

Purchased Wu Jinglue's guqin album from iTunes

I just purchased and downloaded Wu Jinglue's guqin album from iTunes. Sounded like he used silk strings for the recordings. Beautifully played. Simply sublime. You can listen to the track samples at Wu Jinglue's page at Amazon.com and at Wu Jinglue's iTunes page

More info about Wu Jinglue can be perused at Wu Jinglue's wikipedia page

More guqin masters should consider selling their albums on iTunes. You can submit your music to CDbaby.com or TuneCore.com and they'd submit to Apple on your behalf. Apple does not deal with individual artists, only with music clearing houses, and music publishing companies.

Logictec Skype TV webcam for Guqin lessons

Logitech just launched a new Skype web cam that is optimized for HDMI screens. Great for guqin skype lessons! You can contact guqin master John Thompson (silkqin.com) for skype lessons.

Yes, that was little old me in the little rectangle in the 2nd picture below in a skype lesson with my teacher John Thompson. The little kid in a blue top in the first picture was a child model; that's not me. ;-)

 

Listen to guqin podcasts without installing Apple iTunes

Folks, you can listen to any podcasts without installing Apple iTunes.

All you need is PodBay.fm

You can listen/watch podcasts related to guqin at http://podbay.fm/search/index.php?term=guqin

21st Jan 2013 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today 21st Jan 2013 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. It is a day of community service and practicing tolerance and harmony with our fellow human beings, regardless of color, or religion or nationality. 世界一家、人類兄弟。All humans in world belong to one race, the human race. No, I am not American. However, yes, I do support the ideas of Martin Luther King, Jr. You don't have to be American to like or support the ideas that he espoused. What does this blog post have to do with the guqin? Nothing and everything! ha! (*smile*)

Video (black and white): 瀟湘水雲 by 丁承運

Black and white video footage. Might be in the 1960s or 1970s. 瀟湘水雲 by 丁承運 Not sure which year this was filmed or in which country. Not sure whether it's metal-nylon strings or silk strings on the guqin, but it sounds fantastic. Sometimes even silk strings can sound kinda metallic if the recording equipment used is the kind optimized for recording human speech (focused mainly on capturing treble)

Teaching material: Guqin book for kids with DVD and CD

There is an excellent guqin book to teach kids (and adults) the basics. Comes with 1 DVD and 1 CD. Excellent work. It's structured like the Suzuki violin curriculum for children, except that it's just one book (that's very good) not 8 books.

If you have a China-addressed registered credit card, you can buy it at this webpage http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.10.149.mJRCNi&id=21432488914

If you don't have a China-address registered credit card, you can use your favorite Taobao agent to purchase it. For example, if you live in Singapore, you can use the reliable www.SgShop.com.sg to buy it, track it, and ship it to Singapore for you.

Video: Little boy playing guqin tune LiangXiaoYin 良宵引 (in 2008)

Video of a little boy playing guqin tune LiangXiaoYin 良宵引(in 2008, five years ago from this blog post). He must have progressed a lot more by now. Inspiring!

Video: young guqin star playing 龍翔操

Young guqin star (13 years old) playing my favorite tune 龍翔操. Enjoy!

Video: young rising guqin star playing Flowing Water 流水

Another young rising guqin star playing Flowing Water 流水. Her guqin performance starts at the 4:00 mark in the video. She was then 13 years old in this video. Enjoy!

Guanglingsan 广陵散 (three different performance versions)

Young rising star 娄力丹 playing Guanglingsan 广陵散 (abridged 2 min+ version) guqin 古琴 in a televised show. Enjoy!




The same tune played by an established master 赵家珍 (9 min+ version)




Finally, here's the same tune performed by Guqin Grandmaster Wu WenGuang 吴文光



Which version do you like best? Why? Please post your comments! Thank you!

Beautifiul banana-leaf guqin with interesting gold-flakes-like speckles on lacquered surface

Saw pictures of this very beautiful banana-leaf shaped guqin at http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.10.289.sj12Sq&id=5016694251 with interesting gold-flakes-like speckles on its lacquered surface.

Price: RMB6800, which is about USD1093 or SGD1338. The taobao merchant indicated on the webpage that 10 units are in stock. If you're in Singapore, you can buy it via the reliable Taobao agent www.SgShop.com.sg (no I am not affiliated with SgShop.com.sg, neither do I earn any commission from anyone. haha)

Comes with nylon-metal strings, but you can always change it to silk strings to make the guqin sound much better (i.e., no jarring metallic sounds to cause aural fatigue). Plus silk strings will not scar the lacquered fingerboard of your guqin, unlike nylon-metal strings (ouch!).

Video: China guqin masters in concert at Jun Tian Fang

China guqin masters (from PRC, HongKong, and Taiwan) in concert at Jun Tian Fang

The video of the concert can be watched at http://www.juntianfang.com/YYLS/juntianfangmingjianguqinyanxihuiyi/JTFMJGQYXHY.html

Enjoy!

[Latest update: Sorry, it seems that access to the video has been blocked; it can only be accessed from *within* PRC]

Video of master guqin maker Wang Peng on CCTV

There's a new video of master guqin maker Wang Peng on CCTV. Enjoy!

Video can be watched at http://www.juntianfang.com/YYLS/guojiadajuyuan/JTFMJGQYXHY.html

蕉叶古琴 Banana Leaf shaped Guqins from TaoBao.com

If you have been hoping to buy a banana leaf shaped guqin, but balk at its prohibitive prices, fret not! You can buy them directly from China. Taobao.com merchants only accept credit cards that are registered with a China address, so you'd need to use your local area TaoBao agent to purchase, track and ship it from China to your country. For example, if you live in Singapore, you can use SgShop.com.sg who can ship even furniture and other bulky items via sea-freight (takes about 2 weeks from China to Singapore). Important: Please remember to purchase a hard foam case from the Taobao merchant and ask the merchant to construct a little wooden crate-like structure so that your guqin would not get crushed during sea-freight!

I used these keywords "蕉叶古琴" on Taobao.com

Click on this link to see banana leaf shaped guqins available at TaoBao.com

In my humble personal opinion, as long as the guqin sounds loud with nylon-metal strings (most makers in China would ship guqins with nylon-metal strings), it would sound great with silk strings. Silk strings do not have any jarring metallic noises, as there is no metal in silk strings, and so unlike nylon-metal strings, there would be no aural fatigue from listening to silk strings when you play the guqin. For more info on how to buy silk strings from China, click here.

Further, metal-nylon strings can damage the lacquered fingerboard of your guqin, but silk strings would not, as silk strings are gentle.

Knowing Without Thinking

Latest book I'm reading/attempting to plough through is "Knowing Without Thinking: Mind, Action, Cognition, and the Phenomenon of the Background." edited by Zdravko Radman. Published in 2012. It's not an easy read at all as it assumes that the reader is already very familiar with Philosophy; in particular, Phenomenology. The Big P!

Now I know why philosophers of yore tend to have beards. They fell asleep reading such books by their esteemed colleagues, and when they woke up, years have gone by! Hahaha! My eyes are getting heavier. Need. More. Coffee...

What does "Knowing without Thinking" have to do with learning to play Guqin? Everything and nothing! It may related to pre-Buddhist and pre-Confucian early Chinese thought called Effortless Action 無為.

Book recommendation: Wealth from Within by Kathryn Lim

The lady who sold the guqin to my friend Kenny has published a book (in 2004), available for your reading pleasure in Singapore's national libraries titled "Wealth from Within: Unlocking Your Innate Wisdom". She's so talented! Amazing! I always think writers and poets are so awesome! Such an inspiration!

http://eservice.nlb.gov.sg/item_holding_s.aspx?bid=12332264

If you wish to buy Guqin table or Guqin from her, visit her website at http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaraKatSu