Archives July 30, 2010 Now that the instruments have been completed, I've started working on a different type of project. This time, it's making gravel and flagstone paths around the pond. Working on this is quite strenuous, especially when trying to wrestle boulders into place and making stair steps out of them. I set the flagstones in mortar, and then the spaces in between were filled with 3/8-inch gravel. I also made a gravel beach to serve as an area to feed koi. This south side took about a week to do, but it's also the most complicated because of the elevation changes. I sustained an injury to my left small finger while mixing mortar, hitting the shovel handle against the rim of the wheelbarrow with my finger smashed between. It now feels better after draining out the blood. Here are some pictures of the progress. July 7, 2010 All recordings were made on the jiaoye guqin using the pick-up that I embedded in the instrument while making it. This evening, I recorded another piece: 陽關三疊 (Farewell at Yang Pass). Since the Han dynasty, Yang Pass served as China's westernmost administrative center near the end of the Great Wall. The poet Wang Wei wrote of seeing his friend off to Anxi. Here, they part ways. His friend pauses here at Yang Pass before leaving civilization and entering "barbarian" lands. Wang Wei reminds his friend: "Out west from Yang Pass reside no old acquantances." The coda closes the song: "From today's parting....Listening for wild geese to come with news." While the earliest version dates to 1491, the rendition in this recording is from the 1864 transcription. The other pieces recorded yesterday are 梅花三弄 (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom) and 流水 (Flowing Water). Yesterday's blog in the Archives section gives more details about the music. July 6, 2010 After finishing the instruments, I got a cable and recorded some songs using my laptop. Links to the recordings are provided below. The first piece is 梅花三弄 (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom). Its earliest source is thought to be around the 4th century, but this rendition is based on motifs transcribed in 1425. Ten sections make up the piece. The first part begins with the evening moon over mountain streams, and subsequent sections portray clouds, cool breeze, flutes, and plum blossoms tossed in the wind. The music ends with a series of harmonics. The next recording is of 流水 (Flowing Water). The song alludes to the story of a guqin player Boya and his friend Ziqi, who was the only person to understand his music. When Boya played the piece depicting lofty mountains, Ziqi immediately recognized it as such. When Boya played music describing flowing water, Ziqi identified it. After Ziqi died, Boya cut the strings of his guqin and never returned to playing. Various transcriptions survive from the 1500s. July 5, 2010 I just got home from a trip to Northern California. The first day was spent driving to Angwin, arriving quite late at night. The next day, we went with Auntie Plerm and Uncle Michael on different tours—The Castle, Sepay olive oil company, Budweiser factory, and Jelly Belly. After some shopping and dinner, we went to the Chun's place. Bryce, Kara, Alice, and I headed into the backcountry at Point Reyes National Seashore. The first day, we hiked from Bear Valley Ranger Station to Sky Camp. The next day took us down to the beach, where we arrived at Coast Camp shortly after noon. We napped away most of the afternoon. Saturday's hike was along the bluffs above the coast. This was the longest day with about eight miles. Birds filled the meadow above Wildcat Camp. Being not so windy, this was the warmest of the nights. For the last day, we hiked out to our car back at the Bear Valley Ranger Station and drove back to Santa Rosa. We had a good stay with the Chuns in Santa Rosa, recovering, cleaning, organizing, eating, sharing stories. The drive home was smooth except for the portion between the Grapevine and the 210 Interchange, where I-5 became like a parking lot. Anyways, it's good to be home after an amazing week. June 27, 2010 Day 144, and I'm finally done with the guqin project. On one, I used modern steel/nylon strings, and on the other, I used silk strings. They sound very different, and I'm pleased with how both instruments turned out. Now, I have to try the pick-up system in the jiaoye guqin with the silk strings and hear how it sounds. June 26, 2010 On the luoxia guqin, I carved some off the nut and lowered it so that the strings would be closer to the surface. This proved to be a good adjustment. Playing the instrument has been absolutely delightful. I refreshed my memory on some of my old repertoire. The first piece I played on it was 流水 (Flowing Water), as that was my goal when I first learned the piece this year. Other pieces I tried included 陽關三疊 (Farewell at Yang Pass), 梅花三弄 (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom), 平沙落雁 (Wild Geese Landing on Calm Sands). In the meantime, I'm working on the jiaoye guqin. It's almost done. After finishing the other instrument, I wanted to quickly wrap up the entire project, now that I'm so close to the end. I thought of not carving the small inscriptions on the second guqin, but I decided to just go ahead and do it. Like the first time, it was painstaking. I finished that today, and I'm glad I persevered. The next steps in this guqin construction project is to complete the final sanding and polishing of the jiaoye guqin. Then, I need to make tuning cords for it and attach the strings. For the luoxia guqin, I ended up using nylon-wound metal strings. For this second guqin, I'm thinking of trying out silk. The sound will be more delicate, but this instrument has a pick-up system embedded within. June 19, 2010 I'm basically done!!!!! And the experiment with the compound radius worked out well. The main aim in making the new instruments was to try to eliminate string buzz, and indeed, it's gone. Making the tuning cords required some trial and error. I bought tread, and for this luoxia guqin, I mixed two colors—maroon and brown—to match the multi-toned color on the instrument itself. According to 與古齋琴譜 (Abiding with Antiquity Guqin Manual, 1855, tr. Binkley), red is vulgar. After trialing different combinations and twists, I settled making the first ply three feet long using 32 strands each of maroon and brown. Then, I put in 120 right-helical twists by attaching it to a drill and running it in reverse. Once it was doubled upon itself, the plies wound into a nice left-helical cord of 128 individual threads. I threaded these through the tuning pegs with the aid of some copper wire. Bringing the instrument up to correct pitch proved to be a challenge, because tension in the string has to be maintained while wrapping it around the feet. On Thursday, while trying to put on a string while keeping tension, everything slipped, and the tension hurled the guqin toward my forehead, making a deep gash right in the middle. After several attempts, I came up with a device to wrap the strings; this I made out of an old piece of cherry baluster. Playing on the new instrument was a delight. The nut ended up being a little high, so I took the strings off and carved away some of the jatoba wood. Once the finish dries, I'll replace the strings. June 14, 2010 When I started this guqin project in February, I had no idea it would have taken this long. If I did, I most likely would have not embarked on it. For much of last week, I took a break from working on the instruments, since I was in San Diego at the American Orthopaedic Association and the Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors. The meeting was at a nice location—Hotel del Coronado, and I enjoyed some of the discussion on interesting topics. Having had time to work on the luoxia guqin yesterday, I finished carving all the inscriptions on it and applied the final coat of finish. After some drying time, I will complete it by doing the final sanding. The pegs are done, and the only task left is to make tuning cords out of silk thread. Then, I can install strings and finally hear how it sounds. Once that's done, I still have to carve the jiaoye guqin inscriptions. June 7, 2010 Progress in the guqin building project has been steady but slow. I had made and set the pearl inlay, and they all ended up looking very nice. Then, I applied many clear coats of finish. Also, I drilled holes for the tuning cords. This all took place last week. I have been apprehensive about doing the final carving. First, I wanted to compose the best names for the instruments—appropriate for each instrument while matching the others. For the guqin with the shape known as 落霞 (luoxia, descending crimson clouds), I settled on 秋水長天 (Autumn Water with Broad Sky, which refers to the colorful horizon of sky and water). This alludes to the phrase 落霞與孤鶩齊飛，秋水共長天一色 by 王勃. For the guqin shaped as a banana leaf (蕉葉, jiaoye), I named it 夜雨芭山 (Evening Rain on Banana Mountain). This includes a play on words of the poem 夜雨寄北 by 李商隱: 君問歸期未有期，巴山夜雨漲秋池。何當共剪西窗燭，卻話巴山夜雨時。 The poet refers to 巴 (wish); this is a homophone to 芭 (banana). After obsessing about the wording and finally settling on something suitable, I started carving today. It's much more time consuming that I thought. So, progress is slow but steady. May 24, 2010 This past weekend, I worked on staining the second instrument. Because the shape of this second guqin is known as 落霞 (descending crimson clouds), I decided to color it brilliant red tossed in dark and stormy skies. Under the sunlight, some parts are like a rich burgundy. After getting the stain just right, I shaped and inset the pearl inlay with the help of small chisels and carving knives. Now, it's a matter of applying coat after coat, with sanding in between. The next step will involve drilling holes for the strings to pass through and making the tuning pegs. May 19, 2010 I reached another major step in the guqin construction project this past Sunday. While both of the instruments have been put together, I decided to sand and finish one of them first—partly to experiment and make sure it turns out well. Applying color was tricky, because it was easy to accidentally remove the color while sanding between coats. Also, making the pearl inlays for the harmonic nodes was harder than I expected. It took a lot of shaping to get them to be perfectly round. The final coating and sanding process was tedious. I lost count, but it must have been more than a dozen coats. Now, I have to let the finish cure for a few more days before final sanding up to 2000 grit. This week, my goal is to start staining and finishing the other instrument. Now that I have a little more experience, I think it will proceed more easily. I started on it yesterday. This evening, I carved out the phoenix's tongue at the head of the instrument. May 7, 2010 Both travel and work slowed down the guqin construction. Last week, I took Tuesday to join the California Medical Association's Legislative Leadership Conference in Sacramento. Then, the past weekend was spent kayaking the Black Canyon just below Hoover Dam—the first day upstream for almost twelve miles and about four miles back to camp, and the second day all downstream pushed by a nice current and a tailwind. I finally finished all the sawing, routing, planing, and chiseling for the guqin parts—except for the tuning pegs. It feels good to have reach this stage, as the next steps mainly involve assembling and finishing. Most luthiers adhere to the traditional technique of applying coats of lacquer from the varnish tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum). The toxic and caustic sap contains urushiol, which polymerizes to form a hard surface; some builders add deer horn powder to increase the hardness and abrasion-resistance of the playing surface. Normally, I like to be a purist, but in this instance, I chose to substitute using a modern polymer/additive with similar physical properties—fiberglass impregnated in epoxy. The materials are readily available, less caustic, and easier to work with. Plus, I can apply techniques from my previous boatbuilding experience. Hopefully, this experiment in modernizing the most ancient of Chinese instruments proves to be worthwhile. April 16, 2010 Today was a major milestone in the guqin construction project. Between work and being away to the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons in Washington, DC, I hadn't had much time to work on the pair of guqin. I spent much of this week catching up, and I got home earlier than expected this afternoon. After chiseling out the square holes for the feet, I made the sound posts, which are known as the posts of heaven and earth—round and square in cross-section, respectively. Then, on one of the instruments, I installed a pick-up system. Hopefully, this will work out nicely. If not, then there's a pick-up embedded inside for no good reason. Having tidied up both panels, I reached the milestone of gluing together the top and bottom pieces. April 2, 2010 Guqin construction has been extremely slow. I carved out the peg pool last week. I also started cutting the holes for the feet. First, I drilled pilot holes. Then, I have to convert the round holes into square ones, which is why it's taking so much longer. This afternoon, I started but didn't get very far. I have to find some chisels. After this and getting the sound posts fitted, I will be able to finally glue the top and bottom panels together. March 23, 2010 It's been quite some time since I've worked on the instrument. Between going to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons convention in New Orleans the previous week and becoming sick two days after getting back in town, and having been on call for the past week, I didn't get a chance. Resuming work on the guqin was a little awkward. This evening, I carved out the peg pool inlay slot. The next step is to cut the holes for the feet before the next big milestone of gluing the top and the bottom together on each instrument. The rough soundpost pieces were made last time. March 5, 2010 This evening, I reached another milestone in guqin-making. For the bottom panel, I had roughly cut out the outlines on a maple board with a jigsaw and finished the finer cuts with a router. Then, I finished carving out the inside. Now, the top and bottom pieces fit nicely together. Basically, the major shaping is done. Before gluing the top and bottom panels together, I'll need to work on some of the accessories, such as feet and soundposts. In terms of learning the new piece 流水 (Flowing Water), I finished the task and memorized the music. Now, it's a matter of getting it perfect to play on the new instruments if everything works out. February 19, 2010 Today was a milestone in the guqin-making endeavor. After preliminarily hollowing out the inside of the top, I sanded the concavity. Then, I cut around the entire outline of one of the guqin and freed it from the original board. The next step is to plane and sand the convex upper side of the top panel. February 15, 2010 Yesterday was Chinese New Year. Many of the plants in our yard are in bloom now, and all of it added to the atmosphere yesterday. We celebrated by having company over, and to finish off the evening, we had a dumpling-making party. I took a break from making the guqin and resumed this afternoon. Progress has been much slower than I had thought. This partly because I'm routing a lot more carefully than before (and at finer step intervals). I'm almost done hollowing out the top panel to match the convexity. February 9, 2010 For the last month, I've been practicing the guqin 古琴 a little more. In time for the Prunus mume that opened and faded, I finished learning 梅花三弄 (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom). Now, I'm working on 流水 (Flowing Water), which is significantly more difficult. Anyways, I got inspired to make another guqin. The one I'm playing on was made ten years ago based off of 與古齋琴譜 (Abiding with Antiquity Guqin Manual, 1855, tr. Binkley). The main problem with it is that there is string buzz when playing the lower notes at the end of the soundboard due to a progressively smaller string-soundboard angle. To deal with that problem, I mathematically modeled the descriptions from the Guqin Manual with modifications, interpolated surface curvature, extrapolated the dimensions of the bridge, figured equal string spacing along the bridge curvature function, and added a compound radius to the length of the instrument to keep the angle constant in the tail end. And instead of cutting out the pattern in 1/16-inch increments, I am using 1/32-, 1/64-, and 1/128-inch depth changes depending on the location. Hopefully, this works out better. Pictures of the progress are posted. January 4, 2010 So, it's the first Monday of the new year, and it will be nice to get back to a regular schedule. The last several weeks have been filled with a lot of activities. For one, my dad had a major birthday celebration. It started out on the Tuesday before Christmas, and we planned events that lasted until New Year's Eve. We went out the first night for dinner, and then on Christmas, we took a family road trip along the California coast, first stopping at Andersen's Pea Soup in Buellton. Then, we toured Solvang, walked along Montana de Oro beach, took pictures at the pier in Morro Bay, and ended the day in San Simeon. The next day, we had a private tour of Hearst Castle in the morning. It was nice not being part of the crowds in the other tours. We then took Tour 3 in the afternoon. That afternoon, we drove to Santa Barbara. On Sunday morning, we toured the old mission and the courthouse. Then, we went to the SB Orchid Estate before the highlight—the outlet stores at Camarillo. I got my exercise walking around the outside of the stores. On New Year's Eve, a lot of friends gathered at Uncle Bing and Auntie Irma's place. We planned to have another surprise for my dad. He was completely non-suspecting. It turned out well, and the 50 regular candles plus 10 trick candles were perfect. Yesterday, Ben Chen and his parents (Dr. & Mrs. Chen) and Dr. Zheng & Connie, and their son Boming came over for Sunday lunch. I was out in the yard cutting forsythia canes for the centerpiece when everyone arrived. We all had a good time getting acquainted and re-acquainted. Afterwards, we finished by walking through the grove of little citrus trees, eating kishu mandarins off the tree, and touring the pond and bridges.