走吟walking vibrato
Pinyin: zǒu yín
Vibrato and glidesVibrato while moving; the old texts give two accounts, “vibrate while drawing up” and “ceaseless to-and-fro”.
How it is played
In one account, after the note the finger vibrates while drawing upward toward the bridge, stopping when the sound dies. In the other, after the note the finger trembles finely and without pause within half an inch, using the half-nail, half-flesh point, vibrating until the sound is nearly gone. Both require the vibrato to last as long as the ring.
How it sounds
The ring trembles continuously; in the “vibrate while drawing” version the pitch also rises as it trembles.
In the classical handbooks
且吟且引，聲盡則止，曰走吟。Gist: Vibrating while drawing, stopping when the sound ends: this is zou yin.
候彈見聲後，以肉甲相半，徃來不住半寸，上下細細戰動吟作，聲音不絶，謂之走吟也。Gist: After the pluck, when the note is heard, use half flesh and half nail, moving to and fro without pause within half an inch, trembling finely up and down in vibration so the sound never breaks: this is called zou yin.
Where sources disagree
Whether zou yin changes position
- After the note, draw upward, vibrating as you draw, until the sound ends: trembling while rising. Source: Qinshu Daquan (Great Compendium of Qin Writings)卷九, hand-posture illustrations（与Taiyin Daquanji, hand-posture illustrations同源）(opens in a new window)
- After the note, tremble finely and ceaselessly within half an inch so the sound does not break: no shift of position is stressed. Source: Cheng Yujian’s fingering (Song dynasty; in Qinshu Daquan (Great Compendium of Qin Writings), vol. 8）(opens in a new window)
Easily confused with
- 淌吟tǎng yín· vibrato drifting downTang yin vibrates while drifting down; zou yin (in the “vibrate while drawing” account) draws upward.
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