The 4 Points Technique is a widely used plucking pattern played on the Guzheng. It consists of playing 4 notes with a combination of 3 fingers – middle finger, thumb, index finger, thumb.
If you are new to the Guzheng be sure to check out our previous blog post on Basic Guzheng Plucking Technique.
We Will Start With Our Right Hand
The 4 Points Technique can be played on any string combination, but let’s choose to start on ‘Sol’. Your middle finger would play ‘Sol’, then your thumb would play a “Sol’ one octave up. Your index finger is next and it plays a note that is in-between the 2 Sols we have already played, so it can play ‘Re’ , then the thumb plays the higher ‘Sol’ again.
The pattern of the notes is ‘Sol’ , higher octave ‘Sol’ , ‘Re’ , higher octave ‘Sol’, as shown on this picture. The fingering is middle finger, thumb, index finger, thumb.
You can move this pattern to ‘La’ by shifting the first note and being mindful of the rest of the pattern going up one string.
Once you are familiar with the pattern move it to different registers and be mindful of your plucking technique. Be sure to keep your wrist stable, move only your finger knuckles when playing, and keep your palm open.
Lets Move To The Left Hand
Mastering the fingering on the left hand is very important. The left hand typically plays the lower registers for harmonic and rhythmic support for the right hand higher melody. Take special care to make this technique effortless to provide the best foundation for your playing.
The 4 points technique is a very useful technique as you can use the same fingering to play different combinations of notes
Here we are playing ‘La’ in octaves and ‘Do’
Here we have ‘La’ in octaves and ‘Re’
Experiment and come up with your own variations of notes. Be sure to practice proper plucking technique from the beginning to establish proper habits.
This blog was based on an excerpt from Bei Bei’s Guzheng Tutorial, video is below