08/11/2026
🎶 Teaching my student to tune her Guzheng in D.
I say: "Turn AWAY from you to make it HIGHER. Turn TOWARD you to make it LOWER."
She nods. Confident.
She turns away. Pitch stays the same.
She turns toward. Pitch stays the same.
She groans. "Why isn't it changing?!"
I walk over. I look at her hands.
She's been tuning the WRONG string for five minutes.
I point. "That's not the string."
She stares at it. Then at me. Then at the tuning bar in her hand.
"Teacher... I've been holding the tuning bar this whole time. Why didn't it tell me?"
I blink. "The tuning bar doesn't talk."
She looks at the bar. Disappointed.
"It should. It saw me tuning the wrong string and said nothing."
I laugh. "It's not a witness. It's a tool."
She sighs. "So I did everything right... just on the wrong string?"
"Exactly. Your technique was perfect. Your target was wrong."
Takeaway:
Sometimes we do everything right – but we're working on the wrong thing.
Before you try harder, make sure you're on the right string.
Even the best tool can't help if you're using it on the wrong problem.
I'm Chih-Lin Chou – certified music therapist, guzheng instructor. 30 years of helping students find the right string.
🎓 Learn to find the right string – my Udemy course 👇
👉 https://www.udemy.com/course/becoming-a-guzheng-performer-foundation-first-contact/
🛒 Guzheng: http://www.bppmusic.ca
🎵 1‑on‑1 coaching – DM 'READY'
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