剔middle finger outward
Pinyin: tī
Right hand, single fingerThe middle finger plucks one string outward, the opposite of gou.
How it is played
Curl the middle finger, let it drop from above, and flick outward with the nail tip square on the string. Do not dig in too deep; after the stroke the finger comes to rest on the outer side without brushing the neighboring string. Hold the force back: too stiff and the note turns violent.
How it sounds
A little fuller than tiao, clear and vigorous. Too much force makes it harsh; digging too deep makes it sluggish.
In the classical handbooks
中指向徽彈出曰剔。用剔不可太剛，太剛則暴；下指不可太深，太深則礙。Gist: The middle finger plucking out toward the hui markers is called ti. Ti must not be too stiff, or the tone turns violent; the finger must not go too deep, or it is obstructed.
剔也，中指出曰剔。Gist: Ti: the middle finger plucks outward.
剔也，中指向外。Gist: Ti: the middle finger moves outward.
Easily confused with
- 勾gōu· middle finger inwardBoth use the middle finger: ti outward, gou inward.
- 挑tiǎo· index finger outwardBoth are outward strokes: ti uses the middle finger, tiao the index finger.
References
- 管平湖《古指法考》（北京古琴文化研究会 编，中国书店出版社 2019；据 1963 年中国音乐研究所油印本整理，依《琴用指法》《乌丝栏》《太音大全》《琴书大全》考订古指法）Scholarship