平沙落雁 Ping Sha Luo Yan

This is my favorite tune of all time 平沙落雁 Ping Sha Luo Yan . You can read about the story behind the tune at this webpage.

It seems that every different master or school has a slightly different version. So far I have learned 2 versions of this tune, an earliest 1634 version, 打譜 (pinyin: da2 pu3) by Mr. John Thompson, and another more modern version which I self-learned using this book.

Personally, I prefer a style of playing that is more 大氣 (pinyin: da4 qi4), crudely translated by me as a more 'resolute and magnificent' style. For my personal tastes in guqin tunes, I try not to play in a 扭捏 (pinyin: niu3 nie1) 'dainty' kind of style. Some other people prefer that style. There's nothing wrong with the niu3 nie1 dainty kind of style; it's just not my cup of tea, that's all. haha


Here are two different versions played by two very famous legendary guqin masters.









Here are some other interpretations of the same tune by some other very good guqin players:





This player sounded very happy and played this tune very fast on his red guqin (which he made himself). Maybe because it was Christmas then. haha





I think this version by Stephen Walker is by far, my most favorite, even though he played with metal-nylon strings on his guqin. It sounded very 大氣 (pinyin: da4 qi4). How about you? Which version do you like most? *smile* Please feel free to post a comment? Thanks! ^_^