3 month class series starting  in August 2021

4 classes per month, Saturday evenings 7PM to 8PM (CST)

Live-stream Classes
Classes Recorded and Handouts provided
Small Class size
Group and one on one instruction

Hello, my name is Zhang Wuji (张无忌). I’ve loved Daoist culture and Taiji since I was young, and five years ago when I had an opportunity to hear guqin at Wudang Mountain, I was at once attracted to its deep and melodious sound. Even more, I made up my mind to study guqin here in the mountains.

Daoism pursues naturalness, being carefree, and escaping from the entanglements of the mundane world. Therefore Daoist music aspires to “the great sound that rarely resounds” (Dà yīn xī shēng 大音希聲, a line from Daoist scripture) ; one does not just listen with the ears, but feels the music with the heart. Of the many different kinds of instruments in 

the world, it’s the guqin that comes closest to “the great sound that rarely resounds”. When we listen to guqin, we don’t just listen outwardly to the music itself, we listen to the inner heart of the person playing the guqin.

With a history of more than three thousand years, guqin is one of the oldest string instruments that is still studied and played, and is lauded as the foremost of the “four arts” (四藝, Sì yì) (guqin (琴,Qín), go (棋, Qí), calligraphy (書, Shū), and painting (畫, Huà)). The sound from the guqin is at times lonely, or elegant, or tense, or sad.

Guqin music is refined and noble, its distant and profound sounds can spirit the guqin player away from the superficiality and noise of the world, and bring them back to nature and calm the mind. Playing a piece of guqin music in one’s leisure can dispel mental disturbances and anxiety in one’s mind.

In this three month course, we will first learn the basic finger methods for the right and left hands, then we will learn the beginning-level Daoist music “The Immortal” (仙翁操, Xiānwéng Cāo). After that we will study Crouching Dragon (臥龍吟 Wòlóng Yín ), a piece of guqin music rich with emotion, and we will appreciate the enchanting power of the guqin together. class will taught in Chinese and in English.

大家好，我是张无忌，从小就很喜爱道家文化和太极，五年前一次偶然的机会在武当山接触到古琴，就被它浑厚、悠扬的声音所吸引。便下定决心上山学琴. 道家讲求自然、逍遥和超脱世俗的羁绊，追求的音乐“大音希声”，不能用耳朵去听，而是用心去感悟，世上乐器如此多样，最接近“大音希声”境界的就是古琴。听古琴除了听外在的音乐，还要感知抚琴者的内心。
古琴是世界上现存最古老的弹拨乐器之一，距今已有3000多年的历史，被誉为“琴棋书画”四艺之首。从古琴中流出的音乐，或孤独，或清雅，或紧张，或悲凉。
古琴的音色和雅高贵、悠远沉静，可以使弹琴者远离浮躁和喧嚣，回归自然，更会使人心境平和，闲时抚琴一曲，可以排解郁结于心的烦闷与忧愁。
这三个月的课程先学习右手和左手的基本指法，之后学习入门的道家琴曲《仙翁操》，在学习一首情感丰富的琴曲《卧龙吟》，一起感受古琴的魅力。课程将用中文普通话，加英语翻译。

Buying a Gu Qin, Some resources,(because of Covid-19, we can’t mail anything to outside of China right now):

1. Wudang hand crafted Guqins
   These GuQins are handmade (not manufactured with machines) here in Wudang. They are checked for sound quality before shipping.
   Shipping costs greatly reduced when two or more are shipped to the same address. Shipping time 2- 4 weeks.
   
   Aged Fir Wood Guqin ($500)
   This guqin is for practicing, It feels comfortable and the tone is average, It is made from fir wood. 
   
   Lacquered Fir Wood Guqin ($750) 
   This guqin is a lacquered fir wood practice guqin that is comfortable to play and with an even and clear tone.  
   
   Lacquered Old Cedar Wood Guqin ($3000)
   This guqin is made from old cedar, finished with pure raw lacquer antler cream  with old catalpa xylophone. The sound is mellow and clear, and the lines are calm and atmospheric, suitable for playing!
   
   Lacquered Old (>200 yr old) Cedar Wood Guqin ($5250)
   This guqin is made from more than two hundred year old cedar and  old catalpa wood pure 
   lacquer antler cream. This guqin is suitable for playing, recording, and collecting! This gujin is 
   beautiful, made with hight quality craftsmanship. 

2. Online stores

If you want to buy a cheap Gu Qin, then you can buy one online, You can buy this if you want to experience what guqin is like  first, before buying a more expensive one. 

Here are a couple of online stores with varied price points and excellent reviews from its buyers.

https://www.soundofmountain.com/