Guqin
The beauty of qin melodies comes not only from the melodies themselves, but from the variation a player can apply to the individual tones and their combinations. The rich tones of the qin can be categorised as three distinctively different "sounds." The first is san yin 〔散音〕, which means "scattered sounds." This meant simply pluck the required string to sound an open note. The second is fan yin 〔泛音〕, or "floating sounds." These are harmonics, and the player simply lightly touches the string with one or more fingers of the left hand at a position indicated by the white hui dots, pluck and then lift, creating a crisp and clear sound ringing sound. The third is an yin 〔按音 / 案音 / 實音 / 走音〕, or "stopped sounds." This forms the majority of most qin pieces and requires the player to press on a string with a finger or thumb of the left hand until it touches with the surface board, then pluck. Afterwards, the hand can slide up and down, thereby changing the pitch.