泼剌three fingers in and out
Pinyin: pō là
Right hand, compoundAlso written: 拨剌, 潑刺, 撥剌
Bo and la in succession: three fingers plucking in and then out, like a fish flicking its tail, two sounds.
How it is played
The three fingers, in their slanted row, first pluck inward, then reverse the slant and sweep outward, the hand moving back and forth over the strings in a small, nimble arc. All three fingers stay close to the strings going in and out; lifting too far gives a coarse, violent sound.
How it sounds
Two sounds, in and out, clear and strong, like wind through a pine forest with every voice sounding at once.
In the classical handbooks
潑剌也，兩法同在一兩絃，各得一聲也。Gist: Po-la: two strokes on one or two strings, each yielding a sound.
其手往來之勢名曰遊魚擺尾，其式儁雅可觀，其聲清健可聽。Gist: The hand's back-and-forth motion is called “a swimming fish flicking its tail”; the gesture is elegant to watch and the sound clear and vigorous.
凡安絃操縵者欲其聲之髙下疾徐，則有輪鎖潑刺叠捐滚拂之類以出之Gist: Those who set the strings and play, wishing the sound to rise and fall, hurry and slow, have lun, suo, po-la, die-juan, gun and fu and the like to bring it out.
Where sources disagree
How the name is written
- Qing printed editions write 潑刺. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1; Wang Tan, Qin Zhi (The Purport of the Qin), vol. 2(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- Today it is mostly written 拨剌. Source: Chinese Wikipedia, “Jianzipu”(opens in a new window)
- Already in the early Qing some wrote 撥剌, calling the sound heroic, with the air of wind, rain and battle. Source: 《诚一堂琴谱》 (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
Which fingers, how many sounds
- Index, middle and ring fingers in and then out, two sounds. Source: Chengjiantang Qinpu, “Qinpu Zhifa” section(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- The index and middle fingers go in and out together, or the index, middle and ring fingers go in and out on one string for two sounds. Source: 《永乐琴书集成》 (via the Guoqinwang technique database)(opens in a new window)
- The Song account: gou, mo, da and ti played in a row, merging into one sound. Source: Shilin Guangji (Comprehensive Record of Affairs), sequel vol. 4(opens in a new window)
Easily confused with
- 剌伏là fú· la with dampingLa-fu damps the strings immediately after the outward la; po-la is two sounding strokes, in and out.
References
- 国琴网指法库「拨剌——澄鉴堂琴谱」(opens in a new window)Qin community
- 国琴网指法库「拨剌——诚一堂琴谱」(opens in a new window)Qin community