Silk strings and metal strings#
Guqin instruments are made from woods of varying hardness to withstand the tension of the strings. Traditionally, the strings have always been made of silk. But what happens if a string breaks?
In a series of YouTube videos, Master Sou Si-tai explains and demonstrates how to replace and maintain guqin strings. Although the audio is in Cantonese, you can activate translated subtitles in English to follow along.
Who is Sou Si-tai?#
Sou Si-tai is the Chairman of the Deyin Qin Society of Hong Kong. He studied xiao and dizi with Wong Kuen, and guqin with Tsar Teh-yun.
Among his recordings, one of the most notable is The Fisherman and the Woodcutter, in which he plays a guqin handcrafted by himself. He also recorded The Sound of Antiquity in Hong Kong (LPCD1630-7298), using a Song Dynasty guqin (960–1279).
Here is the first video of the series ─ at the end of the post, you’ll find a link to a playlist on our YouTube profile containing all three videos by Sou Si-tai.
Playlist with all three videos in the series by Sou Si-tai on guqin string replacement and maintenance.