大指thumb (left hand)
Pinyin: dà zhǐ
Left hand, pressingAlso written: 大, 拇指
The left thumb stops the string. The most used stopping finger, usually pressing where nail meets flesh.
How it is played
The thumb lies on its side beneath the index finger with the web of the hand half open. There are two usual contact points: bend the middle and end joints and press with the outer side of the tip where nail and flesh meet; or straighten them and press with the pure flesh over the knuckle of the end joint. When stopping two or three strings at once, both are often used. Either way, press the string firmly down to the soundboard, never with the nail alone. For slides and vibrato the middle and end joints flex and the wrist follows; do not let the web of the hand collapse.
How it sounds
Pressed firmly, the note is solid and bright. The nail-and-flesh point gives a clear, focused tone; the pure flesh is slightly rounder and softer.
In the classical handbooks
大指也。孟子所謂巨擘，即手中之第一指也。Gist: The thumb. What Mencius called the “great finger” is the first finger of the hand.
大指側伏於食指下，虎口半開。按絃有甲肉相半及純肉兩用。用甲肉相半者，大指則曲中末二節，於甲之右側半肉半甲處按之，不可純用甲也。Gist: The thumb lies on its side beneath the index finger, the web of the hand half open. It stops the string either half nail, half flesh, or with pure flesh. For half nail, half flesh, bend the middle and end joints of the thumb and press with the right side of the nail where flesh and nail meet; never with nail alone.
Easily confused with
- 中指zhōng zhǐ· middle finger (left hand)The two often stop an octave together at the same hui: the thumb takes the string nearer string seven, the middle finger the string nearer string one.
References
- 《琴学入门》国家图书馆藏刻本第 2 册（Wikimedia Commons 扫描）(opens in a new window)Primary source
- 颐和琴社《减字谱·指法符号简释》(opens in a new window)Qin community