NAGA guqin classes 2010:
Introduction to the Guqin

 

 

NAGA has recently received many requests for guqin classes. In response to these requests, NAGA is offering the following guqin classes for 2010. NAGA usually offers such classes every one to two years. The number of places is limited, and space is available on a first-come-first-served basis, so please register now!

10 week course of guqin group lessons (qin playing)

The Appreciation of Chinese Culture through Chinese Guqin music (qin study)

The Appreciation of Chinese Culture through Chinese Music is the first class of the 10 week course. Therefore, if you are attending the 10 week course, you do not need to register for The Appreciation of Chinese Culture through Chinese Music.

10 week course of guqin group lessons

Time: Starts January 31, 2010 Sundays 1:00pm to 4:00pm (no classes during the holiday week).

Venue: Union City, CA. Address to be announced after registration. Easy access by public transportation.

Class size: Space is limited to a small, beginner-friendly group and a traditional teaching style, one student per guqin.

Class Summary

This series of hands-on classes will provide systematic coverage of guqin playing and performance techniques, as well as guqin history, tradition, theory, handbooks, repertory and a lot more. At the end of the course you will able to play 4 to 5 pieces, sing famous Chinese poems while playing, and will have gained a broad appreciation of Chinese culture. You will also learn how to appraise the guqin music you hear, how to observe a player's posture and hand gestures, and how to recognize different styles. It will also give you an opportunity to experience other aspects of Chinese culture and tradition, including philosophy, religion, opera, literature, poetry, calligraphy, painting, tea, and food.

You will learn to play the following guqin masterpieces:

1.               长相思 Longing

2.               秋风词 Autumn Wind Song

3.               凤求凰 The Phoenix Woos His Mate

4.               阳关三叠 Three Variations of the Yang Pass

5.               酒狂 Drunken Ecstasy

Instructor

Classes will be led by NAGA Director and China Guqin Committee Council member Wang Fei. Wang Fei studied qin under Professor Li Xiangting, one of the great qin masters of this century, since 1985. She has inherited the traditions, styles, concepts and masterpieces of her “grand teachers” Zha Fuxi, Wu Jinglue and Guan Pinghu, the three greatest qin masters of the last century, and transmits them through her own guqin teaching, performance and promotion in the Western world. Wang Fei is one of the few qin teachers who offer qin lessons in traditional form, covering both qin playing and qin study. She frequently uses the guqin as a vehicle to promote Chinese culture in mainstream universities. She has won several awards for Chinese music, has toured internationally and has given speeches, lectures, workshops and seminars on the guqin at many prestigious universities including UC Berkeley, UCLA and the Central Conservatory of Music. She has also given presentations on Chinese culture to many Fortune 500 companies.

Instruments

Instruments can be either rented for the full 10 weeks duration of the course(rental can be credited towards the purchase of a qin) or purchased from the teacher.

Chinese music specialist and NAGA class sponsor Beijingers.com will provide discounts for students enrolled in the 10 week class, with prices of guqins starting from only $399 (please see the description of each model recommended for students enrolled in this class).

Good guqins will be provided for use during the classes, one for each student. Students do not need to bring their own instruments.

Fee

$680 for 10 weekly sessions, total 30 hours. Your reservation is not confirmed until NAGA staff contact you and your registration is fully paid. No refunds or exchanges are possible once payment has been received.

Registration

Fill out the registration form below, print it and send it with your payment to:

North American Guqin Association

PO BOX 7113

Fremont, CA 94537-7113

Please click here for registration form:
http://www.chineseculture.net/guqin/newsletters/08nagaevents/workshop/nagaclassregisterform.doc

For details of any of these classes and to enroll, please email info@guqin.org or call 1-866-841-9139 ext.1555.

The Appreciation of Chinese Culture through Guqin music

Time: Sunday January 31, 1:00pm to 4:00pm

Venue: Union City, CA

Fee: $60

Class summary

Confucius said: “To educate somebody, you should start with poetry, emphasize rituals, and finish with music”. The guqin is not merely a musical skill, it embodies the whole gamut of Chinese culture and tradition. So the guqin was a very important subject in his education system.

Wang Fei studied guqin under Professor Li Xiangting, one of the great qin master of this century, since 1985. She has inherited the traditions, styles, concepts and masterpieces of her “grand teachers” Zha Fuxi, Wu Jinglue and Guan Pinghu, the three greatest qin masters of the last century, and transmits them through her own guqin teaching, performance and promotion in the Western world. Wang Fei is one of the few qin teachers who offer guqin lessons in traditional form, covering both qin playing and qin study. She frequently uses the guqin as a vehicle to promote Chinese culture in mainstream universities.

The topics Wang Fei will cover include, but are not limited to, the following:

-      The Guqin in Chinese art

-      The Guqin in Chinese poetry

-      The Guqin in Chinese philosophy

-      The Guqin as a musical instrument

-      Qin history, tradition, theory, handbooks and repertory

-      Introduction to qin masterpieces

-      How to evaluate the guqin music you hear, how to observe a player's posture and hand gestures, and how to recognize different styles

-      Dapu (reconstruction of early pieces from the original scores) and improvisation

-      Tips for playing and performance

-      Appreciation of qins from different makers: form, construction, sound quality etc.

-      Fitting strings, tuning, how to select a qin, and qin maintenance

These classes are open to all who are interested would like to know more about the guqin and Chinese culture. Classes will be interactive, consisting of lectures, audio-visual sessions, demonstrations and discussions.

Registration

Fill out the registration form below, print it and send it with your payment to:

North American Guqin Association

PO BOX 7113

Fremont, CA 94537-7113

Please click here for registration form:
http://www.chineseculture.net/guqin/newsletters/08nagaevents/workshop/nagaclassregisterform.doc

For details of any of these classes and to enroll, please email info@guqin.org or call 1-866-841-9139 ext.1555.

 

North American Guqin Association

http://www.guqin.org