Information on Individual Academic Papers
(on the qin and other Chinese music topics)
謝俊仁〈明朝琴譜商調與徵調的調意與音階特色〉 [Characteristics of diaoyi and musical scales used in the shang and zhi modes in Ming Dynasty qin handbooks] 《中國音樂學》2023年，第4期：33-39。(This paper was first presented in a conference on diaoyi (short modal introduction) in Shanghai in early 2023, and was invited afterwards for publication in this journal. This paper helps to sum up my earlier publications on the topic.)
Abstract:
Shang mode qin pieces in early Ming Dynasty belong to the gong (do) mode with the first-string C as gong (do). Among pentatonic phrases, there are phrases with non-pentatonic notes, in particular the qingshang note bE. This bE note can be an accidental, or can form a special “hemitonic pentatonic scale” C, D, bE, G, A. Qin pieces in zhi mode have variable and ambiguous modalities. In some musical phrases in zhi mode pieces with G as gong (do), the qingshang note bB replaces the B note and forms a “hemitonic pentatonic scale” G, A, bB, D, E. Some pieces using G as yu (la) were transformed into kuyin (melancholic mode) with G,↓B, C, D,↑F in the late Ming and Qing period. The label “shang (re)” in shang mode pieces could have arisen from the perspective of having bB as gong (do). The label “zhi (sol)” in zhi mode pieces could have arisen from the perspective of having the 4th string as zhi (sol). On the other hand, the labels of gong and yu modes follow the conventional concept of the modes. As a result, the labels for the five modes belong to different systems. The analysis of diaoyi (short modal introduction) helps to improve the understanding of this apparently confusing situation.
謝俊仁〈王粵生的乙反味士工線小曲：中西音樂交匯中的流變〉，載陳家愉、陳禧瑜、何晉熙編《1930-1970年代香港粵劇唱腔流派革新與傳承研究》115-130，香港：匯智出版社，2023。
TSE Chun-Yan, and WONG Chun-Fung. "Timbral Characteristics of a Seventh-Century Qin Piece of the Chinese Literati." Acta Musicologica 95, No. 1 (2023): 21-40.
Abstract：
The music of the qin, the seven-string zither of the Chinese literati, is characterized by its timbral variety produced by different playing techniques. This paper analyses the timbral characteristics of the earliest extant qin piece, Jieshi diao youlan, dating from the seventh century. Spectrograms help readers to visualize the timbral characteristics of individual tones as well as the intermixture of different tone colors within a single musical phrase. This study demonstrates that the interplay between timbre and other musical elements can be of structural significance. At a large-scale level, timbral distinctions help to map out an overall four-part structure. At a small-scale level, timbre is used as a defining feature of a musical phrase. At particular points, relationships can be identified among fingering, timbre, and transposition, as well as among fingering, timbre, and melody in two layers. Such focus on timbre is related to the structure of the instrument, its fingering techniques, its notations which prescribe the timbral changes, and the rich cultural background and distinctive aesthetic tastes of the literati. This study illustrates a timbre-centric methodological approach for research on the qin repertoire and potentially on other musics which have traditionally been analyzed from pitch-centric perspectives.
謝俊仁〈粵樂的悲涼調式〉 [The melancholic mode in Cantonese music] 《粵樂通訊》第8期（2023年春季號）：3-12。
謝俊仁〈從相連同度或八度泛音看古代琴曲的純律調弦〉[Assessing the use of just tuning in past qin pieces by examining consecutive harmonic notes of the same pitch or an octave apart]《黃鐘—武漢音樂學院學報》2022年，第2期：83-89。
Abstract：
Because qin tablature scores before the early Qing Dynasty used a non-exact system for positions of stopped notes, the most reliable way to study past tuning methods is to examine consecutive harmonic notes of the same pitch or an octave apart. Results show that pieces clearly tuned in “just intonation” in Shenqi mipu of the Ming Dynasty are not common, and appear only in the shang, jue, and shangjue modes in standard tuning, and in some non-standard tuning modes. Such standard tuning pieces mostly utilize the 1st string as do. Besides a slightly flattened D and A, there are also other combinations. Non-consecutive harmonic notes in circle-of-fifths intonation are also flexibly used. Intonation choices in Ming Dynasty qin pieces probably were not guided by theories, but followed different lines of heritage, and were modified with musical experience, resulting in pluralistic tuning characteristics.
謝俊仁〈從明末清初古琴曲探索苦音的特性與形成〉[Exploring the characteristics and formation of kuyin by studying guqin pieces of the late Mong and early Qing Dynasties]《天津音樂學院學報》2021年，第3期：46-57，68。
Abstract：
There are a number of kuyin pieces in qin handbooks of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, providing insight into the characteristics of the kuyin mode. Firstly, the slightly flattened si and slightly sharpened fa can be deviated to si and #fa，Theories on the kuyin mode need to be able explain this phenomenon. Secondly, not all kuyin pieces are suitable to use solmization as sol、(la)、bsi/↑bsi/si、do、re、fa/↑fa/#fa. In some situations, depending on historical factors, the ending note, or the melodic line, it may be more suitable to use la、(si)、do/↑do/#do、re、mi、sol/↑sol/#sol. Thirdly, kuyin qin pieces were often transformed from standard modes by sharpening the do and sol notes. This transformation might have been influenced by concepts in vernacular music, as an extension of the modulation process "replacing a semitone", and not bound by theories. In the past, transformation between kuyin and standard modes have been back and forth, and could have affected the development of the Ryukyu scale. Contemporary scholars researching on traditional music can jump out of the box created by traditional theories, and make reference to concepts and transmission processes among vernacular musicians.
謝俊仁、黃海茵〈以現代科技追尋卞趙如蘭教授藏伏羲式古琴的歷史〉[Investigating the history of the Fuxi style guqin of Professor Rulan Chao Pian with contemporary technology]《樂器》2021年，第7期：26-29。
Abstract：
The Fuxi style guqin donated by Professor Rulan Chao Pian to the Chinese University of Hong Kong does not have a name nor inscriptions on its surface. Because of "large snake belly" cracks at the top board and its mellow sound, its age is estimated to be over a few hundred years. Endoscopy shows that there are words written inside the guqin belly. CT scanning with coronal section reconstruction finds out that there were originally three holes at the top board, two of which are covered by coins and lacquer. There were originally two overlapping names as well as inscriptions engraved at the bottom board, but these are covered up by lacquer. These findings show that the story of the instrument has been affected by commercial and political factors.
TSE Chun-Yan, and WONG Chun-Fung. “Metrical Structure and Freedom in Qin Music of the Chinese Literati.” Analytical Approaches to World Music, Vol. 8, No. 2 (2020): 164-194.
Abstract:
A general lack of higher-order regularity in temporal organization is one important feature that differentiates qin music of the Chinese literati from most other genres of traditional Chinese music, but this has seldom been discussed in scholarly circles. To fill this gap, the present paper provides a systematic discussion of the freedom in metrical structure characteristic of qin music.
Because rhythmic elements in qin music are not notated in the tablature score, and fine nuances arising from a variety of fingering techniques can affect the perception of phrasing and hierarchies of pulsation, studying the metrical structure of qin pieces is an act of interpretation and depends on a thorough grasp of traditional performance conventions and common melodic patterns in the music. Both authors being experienced qin players, this study is based on our interpretation of music of important qin players of the present and previous generations. Categories of temporal organization without higher-order regularity identified by the authors include "changing meter", "metrically ambiguous" and "free rhythm", as well as the particular category of "pulsation with interpolated half-beats", forming a continuum where each category merges into the next. Our case study of a representative example of the last category demonstrated an accelerating basic pulsation interrupted irregularly by interpolated half-beats. Such a feature has not been well described in traditional non-Western music, and defies the usual binary division of musical time organization in world music studies into categories with or without a basic regular pulse. This interpretation is confirmed by measurement of inter-onset-intervals and linear regression analysis. With the irregular interruption, the listener is sometimes not sure whether certain notes are “on a beat” or are syncopated. Together with irregular interruptions to periodicity at higher levels, the metrical structure can be very ambiguous. The performer might have wanted to create an effect of syncopation or hemiola, but was not concerned with maintaining an overall regular pulsation or any higher-order regularity. The freedom in metrical structure in qin music demonstrates the importance of contextual factors in shaping musical characteristics. The distinctive aesthetic and philosophical perspectives of qin players are particularly important in developing this freedom, which we regard as a Daoist conception. The temporal organization in qin music, in particular, the category "pulsation with interpolated half-beats", should provide useful insights into future work on temporal organization in world music, and indeed towards future work on the typology of temporal organization in music in general.
TSE Chun-Yan. “Erroneous Discourses on Tuning Theories between China and the West: The Kangxi 14-tone System.” Theoria – Historical Aspects of Music Theory, Vol. 26 (2020): 5-24.
Abstract:
In Nouvelles Réflexions sur le Principe Sonore (1760), Jean-Philippe Rameau reported the use of the whole-tone scale as one of two Chinese scales. According to Jim Levy's paper in Theoria (1989), Rameau's misinterpretation arose from a now non-extant inadequate translation of Chinese music theory by Joseph Amiot in 1754. However, instead of just attributing this to Amiot, one should look at what happened to Chinese music theory around that period. In 1714, contrary to traditional approaches, Emperor Kangxi with his team of scholars completed his Lulu zhengyi [Proper theory of the pitches], calculating the length of pitch pipes of equal diameter by circle of fifths, without consideration of end-correction. The higher octave was reached only at around the 14th pitch above the fundamental. The Emperor concluded that there should be 14 tones within an octave, with two "semitones" between all adjacent pitches of a heptatonic scale, resulting in a "7-tone equal temperament" scale. Kangxi even fabricated a pseudo-scientific explanation to support his theory by modeling after a diagram of sound waves by his music teacher Thomas Pereira. Chinese scholars in the 20th century have concluded that Kangxi's 14-tone system was erroneous. Kangxi's scholars were probably aware of the error but dared not speak up because of the intimidating political environment. Instead, there is evidence that they covertly defied the system by compressing the intervals between some adjacent tones to make the scale more conventional. However, this covert defiance was not understood by the uninformed. Western scholars even misinterpreted the "7-tone equal temperament" scale as a whole-tone scale. After Rameau, van Aalst also reported the use of whole-tone scale in his Chinese Music (1884). Interestingly, Amiot, who probably understood the error, chose not to discuss the system at all in his later work Mémoire sur la musique des Chinois (1779).
TSE Chun Yan. “Qin (Guqin).” In Music Around the World: A Global Encyclopedia, edited by Andrew R. Martin, and Matthew Mihalka, 702-705. ABC-CLIO, 2020.
謝俊仁〈粵樂的音律：從工尺譜説起〉 [Intonations in Cantonese music: A gongche notation perspective] 《粵樂通訊》第6期（2020年秋季號）：4-10。
謝俊仁〈現代古琴創作的何去何從〉[Contemporary compositions for the qin: The ways ahead]，載陳雯編《遺落的天音：古琴論述文集》 49-63，台北：蘭陵琴會，2020。
謝俊仁〈明朝琴曲的清商音與含半音五聲音階〉[Flattened mi note and hemitonic pentatonic scale in Ming Dynasty qin pieces]《天津音樂學院學報》2019年，第4期：39-45。
Abstract：
A number of Ming Dynasty qin pieces utlize a flattened mi note, especially shang mode pieces in Shenqi mipu and zhi mode pieces in Wugang qinpu. This could be an accidental. But, it can also replace the mi note in a pentatonic scale, resulting in a special hemitonic pentatonic scale "1, 2, b3, 5, 6". I postulate that past musicians swapped the musical notes for musical effect without bothering about theories, creating this scale with ambiguous tonality. This scale has also been used in court music of the Ming Dynasty, and has historical significance. This scale emphasizing a flattened mi note might possibly be related to the "three qingshang (flattened mi) scales" of the past. This is a speculation worth exploring.
謝俊仁、黃振豐〈粵派揚琴的調音對七平均律的啟示〉[Tuning of the Cantonese yangqin providing insight into seven-tone equal temperament]《星海音樂學院學報》2018年，第4期：128-136。
Abstract：
Computer-aided pitch analysis demonstrates that the tuning of low register notes of the "seven-tone" Cantonese yangqin is close to the traditional twelve-tone system. Tuning of the middle and high register notes is close to the seven-tone equal temperament, but the intervals are not exactly equal, retaining some features of the traditional twelve-tone system. According to 丘鶴儔《琴學新編》，the "seven-tone" yangqin can modulate among four scales/modes, and the kuhou mode is the same as the shigong mode. This paper analyses the relationship between the two modes, and postulates that non-fixed-pitch instruments playing together with the yangqin can slightly deviate the tones to suit the mode of the piece. If the player wants the shigong melody to sound more like the traditional yu mode, the ti note can be played slightly flatter. If the player wants the melody to sound more like kuhou, the ti note can be played slightly sharper. There are no theories behind this flexible intonation practice. It is not appropriate to label this as seven-tone equal temperament. It might be more suitable to simply call it as "seven-tone system of Cantonese music". Using an intonation practice without a theoretical framework does not debase the artistic value of Cantonese music, but can add more local flavor to it.
謝俊仁〈邱之稑《律音彙考》與《丁祭禮樂備考》樂譜對康熙十四律的啟示〉[Insights towards Kangxi's 14-tone system from musical scores in Qiu Zhilu's studies on music theory and ceremonial music]《天津音樂學院學報》2018年，第2期：89-100。
Abstract：
Emperor Kangxi's Lulu zhengyi [Proper theory of the pitches] divides an octave into 14 tones, resulting in a 7-tone equal temperament, without differentiation into major and minor 2nds and 3rds. This should sound quite different from traditional Chinese music. Qiu Zhilu's studies on music theory and ceremonial music apparently follows the 14-tone system. However, detailed analysis of the guqin scores in his books demonstrates that he compresses selected adjacent pitches to come close to each other, resulting in a scale with major and minor thirds. Thus, although there are 14 tones, the actual effect of the music simulates the 12-tone system. This should be a deliberate attempt of court musicians not to follow strictly the 14-tone system, so that traditional melodies can be played without open defiance to the 14-tone system. This speculation is compatible with the measured pitches of surviving pitch-pipes from the Qing court. Modern-day scholars researching on the Kangxi 14-tone system should not limit their studies at the theory level, but should investigate at the practice level. Because the positions of stopped notes are recorded in detail in guqin scores, these scores can be illuminating sources for the study of the practice of the 14-tone system, helping to solve puzzles encountered at the theory level.
謝俊仁〈《琴苑要錄》提要〉、〈《琴統》提要〉、〈《和文注琴譜》提要〉、〈《紀昀鈔并跋乾隆帝御製詩二首》提要〉、〈《琴律細草》提要〉、〈《碣石調幽蘭譯譜》提要〉、〈《幽蘭卷子指法析解》提要〉，載周德明、嚴曉星主編《上海圖書館藏古琴文獻珍萃．稿鈔校本》第一冊，北京：中華書局，2017。
謝俊仁〈明朝宮廷"含變音"五聲音階的結構分析與傳播變化〉[Hemitonic pentatonic scales in court music of the Ming Dynasty: Its structure and transmission]《音樂傳播》2017年，第4期：32-38。
Abstract：
Zhu Zaiyu in his Yuelu quanshu [Complete writings on music and tuning] created a musical scale "do, mi, #fa, la, ti", possibly by omitting the re note (shang note) from the "ceshang" scale. Upon re-ordering the sequence of the notes, the intervallic structure of this scale is similar to that of another scale "do, re, flattened mi, sol, la" used in court music of early Ming Dynasty recorded in Ming jili. These hemitonic pentatonic scales have an ambiguous tonality and might be related to the controversial "three qingshang scales" of the distant past. This special scale was transmitted to the Qing Dynasty, until Emperor Qianlong discredited the work of Zhu Zaiyu. Zhu Zaiyu omitted the shang note because of historical imagination regarding the music of the Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong used the anhemitonic pentatonic scale in order to demonstrate a proper Chinese identity. These indicate the importance of ideology in the transmission of court music in China in the past.
謝俊仁〈從琵琶曲《思春》到粵樂《悲秋》的樂調考證與傳播變化〉[From the pipa piece Sichun to the Cantonese piece Beiqiu: Investigating the scale used and its transmission]《音樂傳播》2016年，第2期：11-15。
Abstract：
The Cantonese piece Beiqiu of the early 20th century, which uses the kuyin mode, was rearranged from the pipa piece Sichun in the Collection of pipa pieces (1818) of Hua Qiuping. Through investigation of pipa scores of the 19th and 20th centuries, and referring to my studies on intonation of past guqin pieces, I postulate that Sichun also utilizes the kuyin mode. However, faced with the impact from Western music, when Sichun was transmitted among different pipa schools in Eastern China, and evolved into the contemporary version of Saishang qu, it lost its kuyin characteristics and became a yu mode piece. On the other hand, when the piece was transmitted to the Guangdong region (where kuyin is frequently used) and became Beiqiu, its kuyin characteristics were retained, demonstrating the important influence of local music on the result of transregional transmission of musical pieces.
謝俊仁〈《梧岡琴譜》〈關雎〉的調性特色和意義〉，載中國崑劇古琴研究會編《中國崑劇古琴研究會2015年刊》80-84，中國崑劇古琴研究會，2016。
謝俊仁〈古代琴曲打譜析微〉，載龔敏、耿慧玲、王衛東、劉振維編《琴學論衡：2015古琴國際學術研討會論文集》358-372，重慶：重慶出版社，2016。
謝俊仁〈解讀十三徽按音〉，載耿慧玲、鄭煒明、段炳昌、王衛東、劉振維、龔敏編《琴學薈萃：第五屆古琴國際學術研討會論文集》25-30，濟南：齊魯書社，2015。
TSE Chun Yan, and LAM Shui Fong, trans. "The Xishan Treatise on the Aesthetics of Qin Music by Xu Shangying." Renditions, no. 83 (2015): 89-111.
謝俊仁〈香江容氏家族彈琴之音律特色〉，載黃樹志編《香江容氏琴譜》159-165，香港：恕之齋文化有限公司，2015。
謝俊仁〈從《律呂正義》的古琴律制看康熙十四律的實際運用〉[A study of the actual practice of Kangxi's 14-tone system from the tuning of guqin in Lulu zhengyi]《中國音樂》，2014年，第3期：49-53。
Abstract：
Kangxi's Lulu zhengyi [Proper theory of the pitches] divides the octave of pitch pipes into 14 tones, resulting in a non-conventional 7-tone equal temperament. However, the tuning system of guqin in Lulu zhengyi follows conventional calculation. The chart showing the relationship of the two systems appear confusing. I find out that, if three selected pairs of adjacent pitches are adjusted to come close to each other, all scales in the chart become traditional heptatonic scales. As a result, though the system contains 14 tones, the resulting scale is traditional. This is possibly a strategy undertaken by court musicians so that music played with the 14-tone system would sound traditional. This speculation is compatible with the measured pitches of surviving pitch pipes from the Qing court.
TSE Chun-Yan, and WONG Chun-Fung. "Sound Analysis of Longitudinal Vibrations of Qin Strings." In The Legend of Silk and Wood: A Hong Kong Qin Story, 96-105. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Heritage Museum, 2014.
謝俊仁〈靚次伯與《西樓錯夢》的八句箴言〉，載余少華編《中國戲曲節2012研討會論文集》69-74，香港：康樂及文化事務署，2013。
謝俊仁〈《大還閣琴譜》與古琴律制的轉變〉[Dahuange qinpu and changes in intonation practice in guqin music]《中國音樂學》2013年，第2期：34-39。
Abstract：
The decimal system was used comprehensively in guqin notation in handbooks since Dahuange qinpu (1673). Professor Chen Yingshi considers that this "represents the historical landmark of the comprehensive use of circle-of-fifths intonation in guqin music". However, there are many stopped notes positions in Dahuange qinpu not belonging to circle-of-fifths positions. One cannot attribute all of these to scribal or calculation errors. According to analysis of this paper, there are mixed use of different intonations within a single piece, including just intonation and vernacular intonation, indicating that the editor of the handbook was not bound by official theories, nor restricted by the dichotomy between the elegant and the vernacular. This pluralistic approach was already used in handbooks before Dahuange qinpu and was adopted in later handbooks. Dahuange qinpu marks the comprehensive use of the decimal system in guqin notation, but does not mark a major change in intonation practice. It is only in the 20th century that the circle-of-fifths intonation became the predominant intonation practice.
謝俊仁〈古琴教學輔以現代樂譜的利弊〉《樂友》第94期 (2012)：13-16。
摘要：
二十世紀中之後出版的古琴譜和教學書籍，大部份使用五線譜或簡譜加上減字譜的雙行譜。有學者認為，現代樂譜把節拍記死了，會破壞琴曲蛻變的傳統。也有擔心使用現代樂譜後，學生不再跟隨減字譜本來的指法，以至音色變化脫離本意。本文提出，這些擔憂是基於對傳統教學要求和琴曲蛻變方式的誤解。傳統減字譜詳盡記錄指法和徽位，素來無礙琴曲的蛻變，現代樂譜規定節奏亦不代表節拍不可改變；反過來看，傳統減字譜無規定節拍無礙老師對節拍的要求。另一方面，使用雙行譜亦無礙老師提點學生跟隨減字譜指法的重要性。使用現代樂譜，倒要注意如何記錄微分音、不明確音高的裝飾音、和不規則節拍的問題，以免歪曲琴曲的本意。本文建議，參考民族音樂學的記譜法，有助解決問題。
謝俊仁〈明清琴曲與日本琉球音階和都節音階：實證與猜想〉，載鄭煒明、耿慧玲、劉振維、龔敏編《琴學薈萃：第二屆古琴國際學術研討會論文集》74-80，濟南：齊魯書社，2011。
摘要：
日本傳統音樂用的琉球音階和都節音階，均屬“含半音的五聲音階”。有關這兩種音階的來源眾說紛紜，有學者認為是中日音樂文化交流所產生的異化體，源於日本樂人對中國樂譜的錯誤理解。筆者認為，琉球音階類似中國民間音樂類別中，學者總稱為 “苦音” 的音階。筆者從古琴譜找到證據，顯示明清時代，甚至更久遠的年代，苦音已在中國使用。在明朝古琴譜《神奇秘譜》內，以及明朝宮廷音樂，則有運用類似都節音階的旋律。筆者猜想，日本的 “含半音的五聲音階”，可能是在中日交流中，受到中國古代“含半音的五聲音階”的影響而發展出來的。
謝俊仁〈從松絃館琴譜之漢宮秋看"苦音"在中國古代音樂的運用〉《南風琴刊》第六期 (2011)：67-69。
謝俊仁〈楊宗稷與近代琴律特色的轉變〉，載《2010中國古琴國際學術研討會論文集》135-139，杭州：西泠印社出版社，2011。
謝俊仁〈《孔夫子》電影音樂的「洋為中用」〉，載黃愛玲編《費穆電影孔夫子》52-55，香港：香港電影資料館，2010。
謝俊仁〈由洞庭秋思看民間樂制在琴曲的運用〉，載耿慧玲、鄭煒明編《琴學薈萃：第一屆古琴國際學術研討會論文集》194-204，濟南：齊魯書社，2010。
摘要：
按傳統理論，古琴是用五度律(三分損益律)，這也是現代琴人慣用的律制，純律則是部份學者認為明清琴譜曾使用的律制。但在清朝琴譜內，不少用徽分記錄的按音位置並不符合五度律或純律。一部份琴曲的骨幹音 (設一絃為C) 是C, D, F↑, G, Bb↑，以G為主音。以〈洞庭秋思〉為例，該曲第二段便有類似的骨幹音，其第四級音F↑和第七級音Bb↑並且在不同譜本內稍有不同。《澄鑒堂琴譜》(1718) 是F, F↑, Bb↑, B↓和B，《大還閣琴譜》(1673) 是F↑, F#, B↓和B，《徽言祕旨》(1647) 雖沒有使用徽分，但可以推斷是F↑, F#, Bb, Bb↑ 和B。強調遊離的第四級音和第七級音的徵調音階，是民間音樂苦音的樂制。這顯示琴曲使用類似苦音的樂制由來已久。從傳統觀念來看，古琴屬高雅，民間音樂屬低俗。琴曲運用民間樂制，令學者要重新檢討這雅俗分野的概念，和琴樂民樂之間的互相影響。
謝俊仁〈清朝琴曲的律制：五度律、純律、還是民間音律？〉，載劉楚華編《琴學論集：古琴傳承與人文生態》91-105，香港：天地圖書，2010。
摘要：
清朝以來琴譜，徽位間的左手按音位置用“徽分”記錄，除了更準確顯示音高，也讓學者可以從中計算到音與音之間的相對音高，從而推論該樂曲所用的律制。按傳統理論，古琴使用五度律(即三分損益律)，這也是現代琴譜和現代琴人所用的按音習慣。問題在清朝琴譜，不少徽分紀錄並不符合五度律。本研究指出，清朝琴譜大量利用非五度律按音位置，一部份由於紀錄不精確，但更有可能顯示當時琴人不拘泥於五度律正統，亦接受非一致的音高。非五度律的使用有多種情況，或者是跟隨其主觀效果而改變音高，或者有意運用含某種樂律理論的複合律制，更有可能是吸納民間音樂元素。清朝琴人音律的運用，比現代琴人更多姿采。
TSE Chun-Yan. "From Chromaticism to Pentatonism: A Convergence of Ideology and Practice in Qin Music of the Ming and Qing Dynasties." PhD diss., The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009.
Abstract:
Qin music in the living tradition passed down from the late Qing Dynasty uses mostly an anhemitonic pentatonic scale, in line with the Confucian ideology favoring the use of pentatonic notes. The intonation used is typically based on the circle of fifths, in line with traditional Chinese music theory.
In this study, I demonstrate that the practice in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was far from the Confucian ideology and traditional theory. Through a vigorous methodology, representative pieces from past scores are reconstructed, and the use of tonal materials in past scores is studied. The results show that notes outside the pentatonic scale were often used in the early Ming Dynasty qin pieces. Non-circle-of-fifths intonation elements, including vernacular intonation elements, were used frequently in the Qing Dynasty, and possibly the Ming Dynasty.
Changes in the tonal materials during the transmission process are then traced. The use of non-pentatonic notes was gradually reduced, and the pieces became mostly pentatonic in the mid-Qing Dynasty. Efforts to eliminate the non-circle-of-fifths intonation elements began to appear in the mid-Qing Dynasty, and the elimination was successful in the late Qing Dynasty.
There were multiple contextual factors related to the changes. The loss of repertoire during the wartime periods before the Ming Dynasty led to the exoticness of the chromatic qin pieces among the less chromatic majority. Pursuit of simplicity and subtlety in qin music probably contributed to the further reduction of chromatic notes in the late Ming Dynasty. The elimination of the 4th and 7th degrees in the Qing Dynasty could be related to the preference for the "southern style" among the literati, but ideological factors probably were operative as well. These included the quest for antiquity and identity issues. Both were intimately related to social and political factors, associated with frustrations of the Han Chinese under the rule of Manchus. On the other hand, the effort to eliminate the non-circle-of-fifths intonation elements was prompted mainly by the increasing emphasis among scholars to put theory into practice near the end of the Qing Dynasty. Finally, ideology and practice converged, and pentatonism and "proper" intonation prevailed.
TSE Chun-Yan. "The Inconspicuous Acceleration in Qin Music: An Insider's View with Validation by a Perceptive Study." Asian Musicology 11 (2007): 29-41.
Abstract:
Qin, the musical instrument of the Chinese literati, is characterized by its subtle expressiveness. There is often a gradual acceleration of the tempo which is considered inconspicuous by insiders. To validate this inconspicuousness, a comparative perceptive study was done in an undergraduate music class. The students' impression on acceleration and their ability to identify correctly the tempo change of a section of a traditional qin piece and a traditional zheng piece (as control) were compared. Both pieces nearly doubled the tempo in the one minute section. Out of 16 students, 5 and 14 noted some acceleration, and 1 and 7 students measured the tempo change correctly, for the qin and zheng piece respectively (p value 0.004 and 0.07 respectively). The relative inconspicuousness of the acceleration in the qin piece is thus demonstrated. The psychoacoustic features of the inconspicuousness, the generalizability of the finding, and the aesthetic implications are analyzed.
謝俊仁〈略談二十一世紀的古琴發展〉《德愔琴訊》第三期 (2005)。
謝俊仁 "Was the Notation of Stopped Notes in the Ming Dynasty Guqin Tablature a Non-Exact System?" [in Chinese with English abstract] 《中國音樂學》Musicology in China, 2002, no. 3: 56-59.
Abstract:
The notation of the guqin tablature before Dahuange Qinpu (1673) has not started to use the proportional decimal system yet. The stopped notes between two hui(s) were notated by a non-exact system. For example, "eight-nine" represented the note between the eighth hui and the ninth hui. For stopped notes notated by single hui(s), if one follows the exact position of the hui, no matter whether one uses the cycle of fifths tuning or just tuning for the open strings, according to the analysis in this paper, an undesirable mixed tuning would result. Therefore, notation of stopped notes by single hui(s) could also be non-exact. One may adjust the stopped position slightly higher or lower depending on the tuning. Then, the Ming Dynasty tuning methodology using single hui stopped notes should not be used as an evidence for or against the use of just tuning system in guqin music. Also, when one plays the Ming Dynasty scores, the pitch of the stopped notes outside the pentatonic scale may be treated more flexibly to suit the expression of the music.
謝俊仁〈古琴絲絃張力的比例〉《七絃琴音樂藝術》第八輯 (2001)。
謝俊仁〈古琴創作初探〉《北市國樂》157期 (2000) 及《七絃琴音樂藝術》第七輯 (2000)。
謝俊仁〈古琴音色與琴絃之縱向震動〉《七絃琴音樂藝術》第五輯 (1999)。
謝俊仁 "The Beauty of Qin Music: Timbre and Rhythm." [in Chinese with English abstract] In Gems of Ancient Chinese Zithers, 48-52. Hong Kong: University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong, 1998.