Guzheng range

The guzheng’s range in notes and hertz

That is the standard 21-string guzheng in D. Its strings are a pentatonic scale, so not every note in the range is an open string — the missing ones are reached by pressing behind the bridges.

Written and sounding pitch

Guzheng music is usually read from tab, letters or numbers rather than a staff, so there is no conventional written range to give. The notes above are the pitches you hear.

Instruments with a similar range

The instruments whose normal range shares the most notes with the guzheng’s:

• Cello · C2–A6 49 notes shared
• Harp · C2–A6 49 notes shared
• Marimba · C2–C7 49 notes shared
• Piano · A0–C8 49 notes shared
• 7-string guitar · B1–C♯6 48 notes shared
• 8-string guitar · F♯1–C♯6 48 notes shared

Tune it, play it

• Guzheng tuner — tune by microphone, with the guzheng’s own target notes.
• Play a guzheng online — the same range, playable in your browser.

Songs that fit the guzheng

7 songs from our public-domain library fit inside the guzheng’s range, each written out in the notation guzheng players read:

• Hot Cross Buns
• Going Home (New World Largo)
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Old MacDonald
• Amazing Grace
• Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower)
• Auld Lang Syne

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The chart behind our playable guzheng, itself checked note by note against published charts.