退复down and back
Pinyin: tuì fù
Left hand, slidingAfter the stopped note sounds, the left finger moves down one position to sound it, then returns to the home position for a third note.
How it is played
The mirror of jin fu: after the pluck, the finger keeps pressing and moves down one position (toward the tail), then back to where it started, without plucking at either. Moving down tends to smear into a slide; land cleanly, then return.
How it sounds
After the main note comes the lower note and then the main note again, the last two lighter, carried by the string's ring.
In the classical handbooks
假如按彈九徽，下一位至十徽曰退，上一位仍至九徽曰復是也。Gist: For example, having stopped and plucked at the ninth hui, moving down one position to the tenth is tui, and moving back up one position to the ninth is fu.
Easily confused with
- 进复jìn fù· up and backJin fu goes up first and comes back; tui fu goes down first and comes back.
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