虚罨hammer-on from silence
Pinyin: xū yǎn
Left hand, pressingThe string has not been plucked beforehand; the left finger strikes it at the position and sounds it directly.
How it is played
The motion is the same as yan: the left finger strikes down at the given position and presses firmly, the impact producing the note. The only difference is context: this string has not been played by the right hand, so the hammer-on is its first sound. Yan by the middle or ring finger is mostly of this kind.
How it sounds
A stopped note struck out of silence, with a light, reserved attack and none of the pluck of the right hand.
In the classical handbooks
凡絃曾經按彈過後，隨用罨曰罨；此絃未經按彈而單用罨曰虛罨，名雖有別，罨法一也。Gist: When a string has been stopped and plucked and yan follows, it is yan; when the string has not been stopped and plucked and yan is used alone, it is xu yan. The names differ, the method is one.
Easily confused with
- 罨yǎn· hammer-onYan follows a pluck on the same string; xu yan has no pluck before it.
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