How to master the correct method for tuning the guzheng?
Tuning refers to setting the strings to specific pitches. Pitch standards may be referenced from fixed-pitch instruments such as the piano, accordion, harmonica, or tuning fork as a basis for tuning.
The guzheng employs China’s traditional pentatonic scale: gong, shang, jiao, zhi, yu (corresponding to 1, 2, 3, 5, 6). Its high register strings are positioned inward, the middle register centrally, and the low register outward. Counting from the first string in the high register, the string sequence is: one, two, three, four, five… twenty-one. See the string sequence chart below:
The range denotes the span from the lowest to the highest note producible by a voice or instrument. Taking the common twenty-one-string zither as an example, its range spans four octaves from lowest to highest note, termed four sets of notes. Each set is separated by coloured strings, facilitating recognition of note positions on the instrument.