Butterfly Lovers played on Guzheng

Guzheng is a traditional Chinese string instrument played by plucking with both hands.

Other than the plucking of individual strings , 2 techniques used are what can be roughly compared to glissendo and vibrato.

In the gliss, one hand will glide over strings in succession and so produce a smooth flow of changing notes.

The vibrato is where one hand is alternately striking 2 strings repeatedly.

This 2 techniques are sometimes employed simultaneously. One when doing the gliss while the other hand is doing the vibrato. The effect is what I call (I am not musically trained and so the terms I used may not be correct) a captivating harmony of the  two techniques.

My visual identity in BBS is 🦋, so I have chosen the song "Butterfly Lovers" to introduce Guzheng music to this community.

Butterfly Lovers is a classical song that is a tragic love story like Romeo and Juliet. The spirit of the lovers turned into butterflies 🦋🦋

Have you heard Guzheng music before?

Do you like the music it produces?

There is a belief that there is a spiritual element in Guzheng music.

It can be calming and produce a sense of peace. It can also rouse up emotions.

An example of calming Guzheng music is in the song "Autumn Moon Over Calm Lake"

There are stories of battles between two persons playing Guzhengs. The music can physically harm the players or even kill one of them. I do not know if such folklore is true. Perhaps those who are knowledgeable can comment and enlighten us. 🦋