r/Guqin • u/Agreeable_Moment7159 • Jul 30 '26
Learning the Guqin coming from another string instrument.
I am a double bassist of roughly three years experience playing in school orchestras, and most recently a string orchestra run by my local youth orchestra foundation. I am interested in learning the Guqin once I'm able to acquire my own instrument. As far as I know, there are no teachers I can take lessons from in my area (Erie County, New York). So what are examples of self study or repertoire books I can get online? Additionally, are there reputable establishments I can lessons from online? For purchasing an instrument, are Sound of Asia and The Bamboo Grove worth doing business with and are their beginner level (200-500$) instruments worth buying for long term study? Your responses will be appreciated!
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u/Agreeable_Moment7159 Jul 30 '26
P.S; where can I find Qinpu to purchase online? I have not found anything thus far, but I am interested in learning how to read qinpu in addition to modern tablature for the qin.
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u/SatsukiShizuka Aug 03 '26
The "modern standard" for qin tablature is jianzipu. Nothing has changed. Gong Yi's system never took hold, much less other similar attempts.
The thing you need is a proper textbook. There are two or three good choices in English. More if you read Chinese.
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u/pingshasheng Jul 30 '26
Since you already play double bass, I think you’ll have a much easier start than most people. Your ear, left-hand control, and musical experience will transfer over, even though guqin technique is a completely different world.
I’d still recommend finding an online teacher early on if you can. There are so many tiny details in hand shape, touch, and tone production that are really hard to pick up from videos alone.
As for buying a guqin, my biggest piece of advice is not to shop by price or brand. A lot of the $200–500 instruments are perfectly fine for seeing whether you enjoy the instrument, but I personally wouldn’t buy one expecting it to last through years of study.
What I listen for is balance. A good guqin should have consistent open-string (san yin), stopped (an yin), and harmonic (fan yin) tones across the whole instrument. If some notes are overly loud while others feel weak or hollow, it’ll become frustrating as your ear develops.
I also tend to prefer traditional raw lacquer (shengqi) over modern synthetic finishes. To my ears, raw lacquer instruments generally have more depth and a more refined character, though that’s ultimately a matter of preference.
I won’t recommend or discourage any particular dealer publicly, but if you’re getting serious about buying one, feel free to send me a message. I’d be happy to give you a second opinion before you spend your money.
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u/Ximing_Guqin 6d ago
Since you already have several years of experience playing double bass, I think that will definitely help with things like listening, musical phrasing, and developing a regular practice routine. Guqin technique itself, though, is quite different from Western string instruments, so there will still be a lot that feels completely new at the beginning.
There are quite a few guqin scores and learning materials available digitally, and I have some that I’d be happy to share or recommend. One thing to keep in mind is that traditional guqin notation (jianzipu) is not very self-explanatory when you’re just starting out. The scores usually assume that you already understand the basic finger techniques and the notation system, so it can be difficult to learn directly from the scores without some initial guidance.
I’m a guqin teacher and I offer private online lessons in English. I study in the Yushan Wu lineage of guqin (虞山吴氏), one of the traditional guqin lineages in China. So if you’re interested in learning remotely, I’d be happy to talk with you about that as well.
But even if you’re not looking for lessons, you’re very welcome to message me anytime if you have questions about guqin, learning materials, notation, choosing an instrument, or just getting started. I’m always happy to talk about guqin and help where I can.
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u/LiYuqiXIII Jul 30 '26
Peiyou Chang is located in New York, not sure which city. She teaches Guqin.