长猱long wide vibrato
Pinyin: cháng náo
Vibrato and glidesA lengthened nao with more swings, finished with a ding nao.
How it is played
The same as nao, doubled in length, and settled at the end with a ding nao. The old handbooks stress that both long yin and long nao must begin slow without slackness and quick without haste, letting the sound follow the mind.
How it sounds
The vigorous rise and fall continues longer, with deep and weighty momentum.
In the classical handbooks
猱之加倍，仍用定犭而止。然長吟長猱起手必用之法，務令緩而不弛，疾而不促。Gist: A doubled nao, still finished with a ding nao. In both long yin and long nao the opening must be slow without slackness and quick without haste.
Where sources disagree
Whether the doubling is of count or width
- Only that it is nao doubled, finished with a ding nao (written in the original with the abbreviation 犭). Source: Wuzhizhai Qinpu(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- Long yin and long nao double the vibrato: twice the swings and twice the width. Source: 《吟猱界说》一文的作者按语 (as collected by Jinxiang Academy)(opens in a new window)
- Doubling the width of long nao or great nao again would overrun the note and intrude on others, which is unacceptable. Source: 彭祉卿《桐心阁指法析微》 (as collected by Jinxiang Academy)(opens in a new window)
Easily confused with
- 长吟cháng yín· long vibratoChang yin is narrow and graceful; chang nao is wider and more vigorous.