CDs, any CDs from the players below in the teacher/student tree.
The guqin is a unique Chinese musical instrument. Making it is a very complicated process, and a good guqin can last thousands of years. A guqin must be hand made by specialists using special wood and lacquer. There are currently less than 10 qualified guqin makers in China. Each can probably make 20 or fewer guqins each year. Many of them own small home factories. First choice is guqins hand made by those makers. Second choice is guqins from their factory. These guqins can usually only be found in private guqin schools or guqin shops. If you try to find a guqin made by a big factory or brand in a public store please be careful, and preferably take a specialist to look at it first, since most them are probably unplayable.
Here are some of my recommendations from our sponsor, the Chinese music specialist beijingers.com. There are some discounts for the class participation .
Teacher/student tree: the guqin was taught orally by masters from generation to generation. It is very important for students to know who you inherited the tradition from and that you belong a tradition that goes back at least 3 generations.
Professor Li Xiangting is one of the greatest living qin masters of this century. Zha Fuxi, Wu Jinglue and Guan Pinghu were the three greatest qin masters of the last century. Pu Xuezhai was the cousin of the last emperor.
| CD title |
Artist |
Price |
| Guqin Instructional Material Set
Comprises:
1. Li Xiangting Guqin instruction book
2. Set of 2 instructional VCDs with booklet
3. Audio CD-Favourite Qin Pieces of Li Xiangting 幽居
4.English - Chinese Dictionary of Guqin古琴英汉词典
5.Wang Fei Guqin Demo Audio CD or DVD |
If you do not have a teacher but wish to learn the guqin, use these to teach yourself as many people, including non-Chinese speakers do.
If you have a teacher or know how to play the guqin, use them to follow masters for review.
If you plan to take guqin classes with Wang Fei, these are required textbooks and materials.
The books are printed using simplified Chinese characters, and the VCDs are taught in Mandarin. |
$70 |
| Favorite Qin Pieces of Li Xiangting 幽居 |
Li Xiangting 李祥霆 |
$15 |
| Collection of Extemporizing Works of Qin and Xiao 唐人诗意 |
Li Xiangting 李祥霆 |
$22.50 each set or $60 for 3 sets |
| Inspiration from poems of Song Dynasty 宋人词意 |
Li Xiangting 李祥霆 |
| Yuan Qu Gu Yun 元曲古韵 |
Li Xiangting 李祥霆 |
| Tao of Peace |
Li Xiangting & Dean Evenson |
$15 |
| Sleeping Lotus |
Li Xiangting 李祥霆 |
$15 |
| An Anthology of Chinese Traditional and Folk Music – A Collection of Music Played on the Guqin 中国音乐大全– 古琴卷 (8 CD set) |
Zha Fuxi查阜西, Guan Pinghu管平湖, Wu Jinglue 吴景略and other masters of the mid 20th century |
$65 |
| Guqin Masters古琴大师 |
Some masters of the mid 20th century |
$12 |
| Guqin solos by Guan Pinghu |
Guan Pinghu 管平湖 |
$12 |
| Guqin solos by Wu Jinglue |
Wu Jinglue 吴景略 |
$12 |
| English - Chinese Dictionary of Guqin古琴英汉词典 |
book |
$20 |
| Collected guqin pieces 古琴曲集(全二册) |
Sheet music book |
$35 |
| Price |
Maker |
Material and features |
Recommendation |
Selected? |
| $399-$650 |
Factory made. At least more friendly to play and with better sound than a guqin from a general music store. |
New tong wood, unknown lacquer, traditional tuning |
Beginners who are curious about guqin and who might only study it short term, and with limited budget |
No |
| $1200-$1500 |
Hand made by a qualified maker |
New, good quality tong wood, 100% nature lacquer (the right lacquer for making guqins); traditional tuning; makers signature inside |
Serious beginners and intermediate students, and people with musical background. This is a good model that can keep your interest. |
No |
| $1800-$2200 |
100% Hand made by golden award winning qin maker |
NAGA supervised model , 400 old shan wood to 2000 years old han wood, 100% nature lacquer (the right lacquer for making guqins, good workmanship,; new tuning device; calligraphy and poem on the back as well as NAGA seal and maker's signature inside. |
Serious beginners; intermediate or even advanced; people with musical background and art collectors.
This is a good model to encourage you to play guqin long termly.
No need to upgrade until you notice the difference when you play at a certain level |
Selected by Wang Fei |
| $3500 or above
inquiries please contact with Wang Fei for consultation |
100% customized Guqins made by various master makers |
Excellent sound and workmanship, silk string available on some models. |
Suitable for all levels and all purposes: beginner, intermediate, advanced, concert performance, art collectors. These are great guqins that can inspire you for a lifetime. No need to upgrade unless you want to get another such qin for a collection. |
Selected by Wang Fei |
If you are a California resident, please add 9.75% sales tax when you pay check, check payable to: beijingers
North American Guqin Association