A reference table for players: in standard zhengdiao tuning, the seven strings carry 105 stopped-note positions and 49 harmonics. Each row gives the hui position, jianpu, pitch name, frequency number, in one place — recorded position by position by guqin artist Youdi Wang.
Stopping string 2 at the twelfth hui gives F2, 87.31 Hz — the same pitch as open string 3.
Where are the thirteen hui?
The hui are not evenly spaced; each marks a simple string-length ratio. Hui 7 is the midpoint (1/2), hui 5 and 9 fall at 1/3 and 2/3, hui 4 and 10 at 1/4 and 3/4, hui 3 and 11 at 1/5 and 4/5, and so on. See the thirteen-hui table.
What does "hui 7.9" mean?
The decimal (fen) divides the gap between two adjacent hui into ten parts. Hui 7.9 is nine tenths of the way from hui 7 toward hui 8 — audibly different from halfway between them.
What is the difference between open, stopped and harmonic notes?
An open note is plucked without stopping the string. A stopped note is pressed at a hui position, so the pitch follows the shortened string. A harmonic is produced by touching the string lightly directly above a hui, and only sounds there.
What is zhengdiao tuning?
From string 1 to string 7: C2, D2, F2, G2, A2, C3, D3 — a pentatonic scale spanning two octaves.
The positions and tuning in this table were checked note by note by guqin artist Youdi Wang. To actually hear and play them, open the virtual guqin — nothing to install.