半轮half roll
Pinyin: bàn lún
Right hand, compoundHalf of a lun: two fingers pluck the same string outward one after another, two notes in a row.
How it is played
Usually the ring finger's zhai followed by the middle finger's ti, released in turn. The hand posture is the same as lun, minus the final tiao.
How it sounds
The same note twice, shorter than lun.
In the classical handbooks
半輪也，同在一兩絃連得二聲也。用名中二指摘剔彈出，如鼓用指少異。Gist: Ban lun: two notes in a row on one or two strings. The ring and middle fingers pluck out with zhai and ti; it resembles gu but uses the fingers a little differently.
用名中二指次第發摘剔二聲。Gist: The ring and middle fingers release zhai and ti in turn for two notes.
Where sources disagree
Ring and middle fingers, or middle and index
- The ring finger's zhai and the middle finger's ti. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1; Chengjiantang Qinpu, “Qinpu Zhifa” section(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- The middle finger's ti and the index finger's tiao on one string, one after the other. Source: 《太音传习》 (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
- Both exist; the version with the middle and index fingers is easily confused with the reversed juan. Source: Jinyu Qinkan (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
Easily confused with
- 轮lún· three-finger roll on one stringLun is three fingers and three notes; ban lun is two fingers and two notes.
- 双弹shuāng tán· double snapShuang tan also releases two fingers in turn, but the old handbooks mostly mean two strings at the same pitch, one stopped and one open, whereas ban lun stays on one string.
References
- 国琴网指法库「半轮——今虞琴刊」(opens in a new window)Qin community
- 国琴网指法库「半轮——琴学入门」(opens in a new window)Qin community