同声two strings sounded as one
Pinyin: tóng shēng
Left hand, slidingTwo strings are sounded by different means at the same instant so that the two notes emerge together as one.
How it is played
Typically the left hand sounds an open note on one string by zhua qi or dai qi while the right hand plucks another open string at the same moment; it can also be one stopped and one open. Everything depends on simultaneity: the two attacks must coincide exactly, never one after the other.
How it sounds
Two notes merging into a single whole, heard as one.
In the classical handbooks
兩絃用各不同，而使其聲齊出並響如一也。Gist: The two strings are used differently, yet made to sound together and ring as one.
Where sources disagree
How tong sheng is played, and how it differs from tong qi
- The two strings are used differently, yet made to sound together and ring as one. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1, left-hand pressing symbols(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- For example, the thumb at the ninth hui on string seven plays zhua qi while gou sounds open string four. When a stopped note is joined with a pluck it is zhua he; when an open note is joined, it is tong sheng. Source: Chengjiantang Qinpu（据Guoqinwang, Guqin Da Cidian (Great Dictionary of the Guqin)所录原文）(opens in a new window)
- Tong sheng is like tong qi. Source: 《诚一堂琴谱》（据Guoqinwang, Guqin Da Cidian (Great Dictionary of the Guqin)所录原文）(opens in a new window)
- The left hand first stops and plucks a note, then sounds the string by thumb zhua qi or ring-finger dai qi while the right hand plucks an open string at the same instant; the two notes are the same. Source: Yihe Qin Society, “Jianzipu: a short guide to technique symbols” (the common modern reading)(opens in a new window)
Easily confused with
- 同起tóng qǐ· lift-off with a pluckTong qi stresses the left finger lifting (usually without clawing) in answer to the right hand's open pluck; tong sheng stresses two strings sounded together by different means.
- 放合fàng hé· release and matchFang he releases an open note first, then stops the next string for the right hand to pluck a matching note.
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
- 国琴网《古琴大辞典·指法》「同声」条(opens in a new window)Qin community