Recently, some influencers have been propagating the idea that instruments capable of playing chords—like pianos and guitars—are superior because they can play multiple notes at once, while monophonic instruments are merely 'low-level toys.' This viewpoint reflects a brainwashing by the Western industrial musical system, which assumes that the core of music is simply stacking multiple notes. However, if I want polyphony, I can just assemble an ensemble. The true pinnacle of music lies in the subtle control and depth of each individual note. Ironically, the 'primitive' instruments they mock are powerful precisely because they allow for such granular control over the sound itself. While the piano is the 'king of instruments,' it suffers from a major flaw: once a key is pressed, the pitch, timbre, and overtones are fixed—it acts like a pre-fabricated module. In contrast, traditional Chinese instruments like the Guqin control the very process of sound generation. A note on a Guqin is not a static point; it is a living process shaped by the angle of the finger and nail. Furthermore, the Guqin is fretless, allowing for continuous pitch space and nuanced techniques like 'yin' and 'nao' that control the sound curve—something impossible on a piano. Similarly, the Erhu, often dismissed for playing only one note, contains more information within that single note than ten notes on a piano through slides, vibrato, and bowing dynamics, making it feel more like a singing voice than a 'typewriter.' Interestingly, avant-garde Western music is now moving away from the piano and guitar, returning to raw control—incorporating friction, breath, noise, and continuous variation. These modern artists realize that music shouldn't be industrialized; instead, like our ancestors, they seek to perfect the subtle dynamic changes within each note. Believing that chord-based instruments are superior is a shallow, industrial mindset. True musical sophistication recognizes that every single note contains its own universe.
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