[The Lesson]

[Overview]

I had a bit of a gap between this lesson and the last since I went on vacation. I took a lesson a week after I came back from vacation. Luckily I didn’t lose much progress after two weeks of not playing.This lesson we just reviewed the last piece we worked on and started a new piece with a new technique.

[Technique]

This week I learned a new technique that is found in almost all the guzheng pieces that I hear. The technique is called 花指 (hua zhi) in Chinese. That should translate to “flower fingers” in English? To be honest, since I’m learning everything in Chinese all of the translations I’ve been giving you are probably nonsense. But anyways, it’s pretty much just glissando. You use your thumb, and pluck strings leading up to the next note indicated in the score. My teacher pointed out that the most important thing about 花指(hua zhi) is to play the note that comes before the next note indicated in the score. Where you choose to start the glissando is up to you, but where you end must be on the note before the next note to be played.

[Repertoire]

We started the piece 花好月圓  Hua Hao Yue Yuan, the sheet music is attached below.

[Practice]

[This Week’s Goals]

• This week I just want to be able to play the 花指(Hua Zhi) without breaking the flow of the piece.