撮two-string chord
Pinyin: cuō
Right hand, compoundAlso written: 小撮, 齐撮
Two fingers pluck two strings at once as a single sound; most often the index finger plucks out (tiao) while the middle finger plucks in (gou).
How it is played
The index and middle fingers fall on two strings together, one moving out and one in: the middle finger hooks inward on the farther, lower string, the index finger flicks outward on the nearer, higher string. The two strings must sound together, never one after the other. When the strings are farther apart, switch to the thumb and middle finger (da cuo).
How it sounds
The two notes fuse into one chord, usually a consonant octave or fifth. The old handbooks warn against playing it too loud: the two strings should blend quietly.
In the classical handbooks
撮也，兩絃同得一聲也。句挑竝下，兩絃齊響，或句托竝下，俱曰撮。或一按一散，或俱按俱散。撮貴兩絃同一聲，勿令參差，不可太響，太響則喧，但以兩絃隱隱相和為妙。Gist: Cuo: two strings yield a single sound. Gou and tiao fall together and the two strings sound at once; gou and tuo falling together is also cuo. Either one stopped and one open, or both stopped, or both open. Cuo prizes the two strings sounding as one, with no stagger; it must not be too loud, for loud is clamorous. Best is a faint blending of the two.
撮也，中指勾四弦，食指挑七弦，齊作一聲；或大指擘、食指抹，亦同。Gist: Cuo: the middle finger hooks string four and the index finger flicks string seven, sounding together as one; the thumb plucking bo and the index finger plucking mo together is the same.
右中指向内為勾，向外為剔；食指向内為抹，向外為挑；大指向内為托，向外為擘。勾挑同聲為撮，抹擘同聲亦為撮。Gist: The right middle finger inward is gou, outward is ti; the index finger inward is mo, outward is tiao; the thumb inward is tuo, outward is bo. Gou and tiao sounding together is cuo; mo and bo sounding together is also cuo.
Where sources disagree
Whether a chord using the thumb (tuo with gou) counts as cuo
- Both gou-tiao and gou-tuo falling together are called cuo; no separate name. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- Gou and tiao together is cuo; gou and tuo together is called da cuo (large cuo). Source: Qinxue Chujin (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
- Current usage: tiao with gou is the small cuo, tuo with gou is the large cuo. Source: Chinese Wikipedia, “Jianzipu”(opens in a new window)
What “qi cuo” (even cuo) means
- Qi cuo is simply today's cuo; before the Tang and Song it was always called qi cuo, and today the word “qi” is unnecessary. Source: Yang Zongji, 《琴学丛书》 (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
- Qi cuo is a cuo spanning four strings with the middle finger's gou and the thumb's tuo, that is, da cuo. Source: 《白菡萏香馆琴谱》 (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
- The Republican-era Jinyu Qinkan says the Tingyue Lou school called the cuo spanning two or three strings qi cuo, merely preserving an old name without much practical meaning. Source: Jinyu Qinkan (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
Easily confused with
- 大撮dà cuō· large chord (thumb and middle finger)Da cuo uses the thumb's tuo with the middle finger's gou and spans a wider gap (typically strings one and six, or two and seven); cuo uses the index finger's tiao with the middle finger's gou.
- 反撮fǎn cuō· reversed chordIn fan cuo the two fingers reverse direction: the middle finger flicks outward (ti) and the index finger plucks inward (mo).
References
- 国琴网指法库「撮——琴学入门」(opens in a new window)Qin community
- 国琴网指法库「撮——琴学初津」(opens in a new window)Qin community
- 国琴网指法库「齐撮——琴学丛书」(opens in a new window)Qin community