Summoning the Wind and Thunder

Like my most recent pieces, this composition, Summoning the Wind and Thunder 風雷引, is from the collection of the Mei’an guqin handbook 梅庵琴譜 and uses the lowered third string tuning. As with most pieces of the Mei’an tradition of briskly paced rhythm, this song employs unison and octave chords to reinforce fundamental frequencies.

In the Mei’an handbook, the preface describes this piece as depicting a summer thunderstorm.

As a literary reference, the 42nd Hexagram 第四十二卦 of the Book of Changes 易經 is named Increase 益, which has components of wind and thunder (䷩).

象曰:風雷,益﹔君子以見善則遷,有過則改。
The shape refers to Wind and Thunder, meaning to Increase; the superior man follows goodness when he sees it and corrects when he finds fault.

By seeing how wind and thunder strengthen each other, one can find ways for self-improvement. Imitate goodness and correct fault. In this way, increase one’s integrity.

2 Comments:

  1. Your guqin skills are awesome! How long did it take you to learn and how long have you been playing? I am also interested in starting.

    Best Regards

  2. Thanks, Frank. I started taking lessons several months ago–April 22. So, it was 4 1/2 months when I recorded this piece. Basically, I’m still a beginner.

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