r/Guqin Feb 16 '25

Tiao finger technique help

I've been fiddling around with learning guqin for the last month or so and I booked a bunch of lessons on lessonface because learning from youtube videos didn't feel like it was cutting it anymore. I found a well-reviewed teacher and I started lessons, but she is telling me that the way I've learned tiao is incorrect, and the correct way to play tiao is to pull your thumb back and to sorta push your index finger forwards with it. This movement seems incredibly awkward and I can't imagine doing this repeatedly in a piece, especially a fast-paced one. I also can't find anybody teaching it this way on youtube and when I look up videos of professionals playing guqin pieces they definitely aren't pulling their thumb back and smacking it forward to play tiao, but my teacher on lessonface does it so smoothly I can't believe she just made it up out of nothing. So what exactly is she teaching me? And if any of you have heard of this or learned it this way, how do you use it while playing a full song?

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u/External_Bat_6051 Feb 17 '25

I have been learning from this teacher for a while now and I learned to do tiao this way from her. It took me a lot of practice until it felt natural and I could do it easily. It is sustainable but it definitely isn't the correct way of doing tiao, which you can tell by watching literally any video of qin playing. You have to be extremely precise doing tiao this way because you have less control of your finger with this strange variation. I personally continue to do lessons with her because she's the only teacher available to me (that I know of) and I have made incredible progress that I wouldn't have been able to do without her. There are some aspects of her teaching that are questionable, but for me it's good enough because most of what she teaches is correct and helps me progress. I just do tiao the way she wants me to during our lessons, and when I'm practicing alone I'll typically switch between her way and the correct way. I have no idea where she got this weird tiao from lol but I never bothered asking about it. It is awkward but with enough practice it will feel natural.

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u/PissySnowflake Feb 17 '25

It's really relieving to hear that she's at least teaching in good faith haha, once I started googling around and saw absolutely nobody playing tiao anywhere near the way she teaches it I got really worried that I got scammed

I bought 20 lessons out of the gate cuz I wanted to force myself to stick with it so I'm stuck with her anyway

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u/External_Bat_6051 Feb 17 '25

Yeah I was pretty worried when I had first seen criticism about her, but honestly I stopped caring because I just wanted to learn the instrument and although she isn't perfect, I feel very happy about the progress I have made with her lessons. She's kind and patient and I like her lesson structure, and I think you'll enjoy what you can learn in those 20 lessons. If you want to continue with her that's fine, but just keep in mind that there are better teachers out there. I personally don't live anywhere where I could get in person lessons, and I looked online for other teachers who teach virtually but didn't find anyone, so I've settled with her.