Sai Ma(Horse Racing) | Bamboo Flute Sheet Music

Static Sheet Music

Sai Ma(Horse Racing) was originally a solo erhu piece composed by Huang Haihuai, which made its debut in the erhu solo competition of the 4th "Shanghai Spring" in 1964. Later, it was adapted into versions played by various instruments, including the bamboo flute. Its creative inspiration comes from the music of the Mongolian ethnic group, a northern ethnic minority in China, depicting the grand occasion of Mongolian herdsmen celebrating horse-racing.
In this piece, a large number of tonguing techniques are used, including single-tonguing, double-tonguing, and triple-tonguing. These techniques make the performance of notes clear, lively, and full of a granular feel, well-imitating the sound of horses' hooves running. This piece can definitely be regarded as a tonguing etude.
The piece mainly features a fast rhythm, with frequent use of sixteenth-notes and eighth-notes, creating a tense and intense horse-racing atmosphere. Usually, the normal playing speed is between 140 - 160 BPM. However, in some special scenes, or for highly skilled musicians, the speed can reach 180 or even over 200 BPM.
Explanation of some key points in the above sheet music:
❄ represents the flutter-tongue technique. If you can't play it, you can substitute it with tonguing. The mordent can also be substituted with tonguing.
Pay attention to the breathing marks in the sheet music. When encountering a breathing mark, the tonguing should be short, and you need to quickly take a breath.
The 3 above tr represents a three-degree trill.
Although the appoggiatura, mordents, flutter-tongue parts, etc. are not marked with T, tonguing should still be added. The same applies to the beginning of slurred notes.
Although the BPM in the sheet music is marked as 160, beginners should start practicing phrase by phrase from 60 or 80. Don't rush to increase the speed. Wait until the pronunciation and rhythm are completely accurate, and then naturally speed up.
仿马叫 is played by ascending from the middle-pitched 5(all holes covered) to the high-pitched #4(all holes open), and then simultaneously and slightly trembling the fingers on 4, 5, and 6(when trembling, don't cover the holes tightly). During this process, the flutter-tongue technique can be added.

Sai Ma(Horse Racing) | Bamboo Flute Sheet Music

Static Sheet Music

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