The guzheng (古筝 lit. 'ancient zheng'), is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21 (most common like the one in the recording), 25, or 26 strings, is 64 inches (1.6 m; 5.3 ft) long, and is usually tuned in a major pentatonic scale. In this piece, I tuned it completely different from the traditional scale. It was inspired by Arabic music.
Guzheng has a large, resonant soundboard made from Paulownia wood, walnut or rosewood. Guzheng players often wear fingerpicks made from materials such as plastic, resin, tortoiseshell, or ivory (rare) on one or both hands.
I met some new friends over the weekend who were interested in knowing more about my instrument. If you want to read more about the guzheng (strings, history, performance culture, repertoire and performers etc.), please click here.
Hope this piece brings you a moment of peace to start this new week.
Wu Fei 吴非
Wufeimusic.com
