入拍entering the beat
Pinyin: rù pāi
Terms and marksFrom here on, the music enters a regular pulse and is no longer played freely.
How it is played
Qin pieces often open in free, unmetered style and only enter the beat when the theme unfolds, proceeding in a more regular pulse; at the ru man near the end they often return to an unmetered state. Ru pai was originally a term of the Tang and Song suites: Shen Kuo says the first six sections of Nishang had no beat and only the seventh “had the beat” and began the dance, which is what Bai Juyi's line about the middle sequence “first entering the beat” refers to. Qin players have always been relaxed about meter; the preface to Qinxue Rumen says qin pieces have a natural rhythm and need not cling to fixed beats like popular tunes, and that with practice light and heavy, fast and slow fall into step by themselves.
In the classical handbooks
蓋琴曲有天然節奏，非如時曲必拘拘板拍，惟在心領神會，操之極熟，則輕重疾徐自能合拍。Gist: Qin pieces have a natural rhythm and need not cling to fixed beats like the tunes of the day; it lies in understanding with the heart. Play them until utterly fluent, and light and heavy, fast and slow will fall into step by themselves.
Easily confused with
- 入慢rù màn· entering the slow sectionRu man shifts into slow playing, usually unmetered; ru pai enters a regular pulse.