chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument
Erhu heavy. The erhu ( chinese : 二胡 ; pinyin : èrhú ; [ aɻ˥˩xu˧˥ ] ), is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may besides be called a Southern Fiddle, and is sometimes known in the western worldly concern as the Chinese violin or a Chinese two-stringed fiddle.

It is used as a solo instrument a well as in small ensembles and big orchestras. It is the most popular of the huqin kin of traditional bowed string instruments used by versatile heathen groups of China. As a very versatile instrument, the erhu is used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as in pop, rock and jazz. [ 1 ]

history [edit ]

performer with erhu, photographed Singapore February 1969 × July 1971. The Erhu can be traced back to proto-Mongolic instruments which first appeared in China during the Tang Dynasty. It is believed to have evolved from the Xiqin ( 奚 琴 ). The xiqin is believed to have originated from the eleven people located in current northeast China. The first chinese quality of the name of the instrument ( 二, èr, two ) is believed to come from the fact that it has two strings. An interchange explanation states that it comes from the fact that it is the moment highest huqin in pitch to the gaohu in the modern Chinese orchestra. The second gear quality ( 胡, hú ) indicates that it is a member of the Huqin family, with Hu normally meaning barbarians. The name Huqin literally means “ instrument of the Hu peoples “, suggesting that the instrument may have originated from regions to the north or west of China generally inhabited by mobile people on the extremities of past chinese kingdoms. For most of history, the erhu was largely a folk musical instrument used in southerly China, whereas the sihu was preferred among northern musicians. however, in the 1920s, Liu Tianhua introduced the erhu to Beijing, and since, it has become the most popular of the huqin.

historical erhu and bowed bowed stringed instrument bows [edit ]

Historic bowed zithers of China, including the Xiqin, Yazheng, and Yaqin, and besides the Korean Ajaeng, were in the first place played by bowing with a rosin stick, which created friction against the strings. deoxyadenosine monophosphate soon as the horsehair crouch was invented, it spread very widely. [ citation needed ]

construction [edit ]

The erhu bow between the strings. The Erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like neck, at the top of which are two big tuning peg, and at the bottomland is a humble resonator body ( sound box ) which is covered with python clamber on the battlefront ( playing ) end. Two strings are attached from the peg to the base, and a small coil of string ( Qian Jin ) placed around the neck and strings acting as a en pulls the strings towards the bark, holding a moment wooden bridge in put. The Erhu has some unusual features : 1. Its characteristic sound is produced through the vibration of the python skin by bowing. 2. There is no fingerpost ; the musician stops the strings by pressing their fingertips onto the strings without the strings touching the neck. 3. The horse haircloth crouch is never separated from the strings ( which were once of twist silk but which today are normally made of metal ) ; it passes between them as opposed to over them ( the latter being the case with western bowed stringed instruments ). 4. Although there are two strings, they are very close to each early and the musician ‘s bequeath hand in impression plays as if on one drawstring. The inside string ( nearest to player ) is by and large tuned to D4 and the external bowed stringed instrument to A4, a one-fifth higher. The maximal range of the musical instrument is three and a half octaves, from D4 improving to A7, before a stop feel reaches the depart of the string in contact with the bow haircloth. The usual play compass is about two and a half octaves. diverse dense and heavy hardwoods are used in making the Erhu. According to chinese references the woods include zi tan ( 紫檀 red sandalwood and other woods of the genus Pterocarpus such as padauk ), Lao hong mu ( 老红木 aged red wood ), wu mu ( 乌木 black wood ), and hong mu ( 红木 red wood ). peculiarly fine Erhu mho are frequently made from pieces of honest-to-god furniture. A distinctive erhu measures 81 curium from exceed to bottom, the distance of the bow besides being 81 centimeter .
Erhu with ba jiao qin tong (eight-sided body). with ( eight-sided body ). The parts of the Erhu :

  • Qín tong (琴筒), sound box or resonator body; it is hexagonal (liu jiao, southern), octagonal (ba jiao, northern), or, less commonly, round.
  • Qín pí/She pí (琴皮/蛇皮), skin, made from python. The python skin gives the erhu its characteristic sound.
  • Qín gan (琴杆), neck.
  • Qín tou (琴頭), top or tip of neck, usually a simple curve with a piece of bone or plastic on top, but is sometimes elaborately carved with a dragon’s head.
  • Qín zhou (琴軸). tuning pegs, traditional wooden, or metal machine gear pegs
  • Qiān jin (千斤), nut, made from string, or, less commonly, a metal hook
  • Nèi xián (内弦), inside or inner string, usually tuned to D4, nearest to player
  • Wai xián (外弦), outside or outer string, usually tuned to A4
  • Qín ma (琴碼), bridge, made from wood
  • Gong (弓), bow, has screw device to vary bow hair tension
  • Gong gan (弓杆), bow stick, made from bamboo
  • Gong máo (弓毛), bow hair, usually white horsehair
  • Qín diàn (琴墊), pad, a piece of sponge, felt, or cloth placed between the strings and skin below the bridge to improve its sound
  • Qín tuō (琴托) – base, a piece of wood attached to the bottom of the qín tong to provide a smooth surface on which to rest on the leg

Most Erhu are mass-produced in factories. The three most think of centres of Erhu draw are Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou. In the collectivist period after the administration of the People ‘s Republic of China, these factories were formed by merging what had been previously private workshops. Although most Erhu were machine-made in production lines, the highest choice instruments were handmade by specialist craftsmen. [ 2 ] In the twentieth hundred, there have been attempts to standardize and improve the Erhu, with the calculate of producing a brassy and better sounding musical instrument. One major change was the use of steel strings alternatively of silk. The move to steel strings was made gradually. By 1950 the flimsy A-string had been replaced by a violin E-string with the thick D-string remaining silk. By 1958 professional players were using function made D and A steel Erhu strings as criterion. [ 3 ]

Use of python skin [edit ]

qianjin, a loop of string which acts as a picture screening, a loop of string which acts as a addict In 1988 China passed its law on the Protection of Endangered Species after ratifying the UN Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES ), making it illegal to use and trade unaccredited pythons. [ 4 ] To regulate the function of python skins, China ‘s State Forestry Administration introduced a certificate scheme between python skin sellers in Southeast Asia and musical instrument makers in China. From January 1, 2005, new regulations besides require Erhu sulfur to have a security from the State Forestry Administration, which certify that the Erhu python skin is not made with wilderness pythons, but from farm-raised pythons. Individuals are allowed to take up to two Erhu s out of China when traveling ; commercial buyers need extra export certificates. external China, manufacturers of Erhu can issue their own CITES licenses with approval by governments of their respective countries. such exports are legal as they have been made from legal skin sources. Some Erhu s are made of recycle products. The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra began their inquiry for an alternate to python skin in 2005 and has since designed the Eco- Huqin series, which substitutes python skin with PET Polyester Membrane. For this initiation the Hong Kong chinese Orchestra received the Ministry of Culture Innovation Award in 2012. [ 5 ]

Erhu music [edit ]

A blind street performer play in Jingzhou, Hubei, China, 2006 Blind chinese Street Musician, Beijing, 1930 A celebrated composer for the Erhu was Liu Tianhua ( 刘天华/劉天華 ; Liú Tiānhuá ; 1895–1932 ), a chinese musician who besides studied western music. He composed 47 exercises and 10 solo pieces ( 1918–32 ) which were central to the development of the Erhu as a alone instrument. His work for the instrument include Yue Ye ( 月夜 ; Yuè yè, Moon Night ) and Zhu ying Yao hong ( 烛影摇红 ; Zhú yǐng yáo hóng, Shadows of Candles Flickering Red ). early solo pieces include Er Quan Ying Yue ( 1950, Two Springs Reflecting the Moon ) by Abing, Sai Ma ” ( Horse Race ) by Huang Haihuai, Henan Xiaoqu ( Henan Folk Tune ) by Liu Mingyuan, and Sanmenxia Changxiangqu ( 1961, Sanmen Gorge Capriccio ) by Liu Wenjin. Most solo works are normally performed with yangqin accompaniment, although pieces such as the ten solo by Liu Tianhua and Er Quan Ying Yue ( Two Springs Reflecting the Moon ) primitively did not have complement. In accession to the alone repertory, the erhu is one of the main instruments in regional music ensembles such as Jiangnan sizhu, chinese opera ensembles, and the modern large chinese orchestra. The Erhu is used in the music of the Cirque du Soleil read O and in solo performances in blue-ribbon Shen Yun tour. evening coalition progressive rock groups like The Hsu-nami have incorporated the erhu into their music and it is their leave instrument. It is incorporated in the min black metallic element band ChthoniC and used in the song “ Field Below ” by Regina Spektor. An implemental album by Erhu artist Song Fei ( 宋飞 ; Song Fei ) expresses the paint Along the River During the Qingming Festival ( 清明上河图 ; Qīngmíng Shànghé Tú ) pull in the Song Dynasty by Zhang Zeduan ( 张择端 ; Zhang Zeduan ). It was performed with the Erhu, Jinghu, Banhu, Gaohu, and so forth, to show the Livelihood, Trade, Festival [ clarification needed ] of the Song Dynasty ; the album contains 18 parts. More recently, the Erhu has appeared in respective soundtracks, featuring prominently in the television receiver series Earth: Final Conflict ( played by George Gao ) and the massively multiplayer on-line role-playing game World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria ( played by Jiebing Chen ). An Erhu solo is featured in several cues related to Vulcans from 2009 ‘s Star Trek soundtrack by Michael Giacchino. musical groups for wedding celebrations in Cambodia frequently use the Tro, a like instrument to the Erhu. An Erhu is listed in the credits for the Doug Anthony All Stars album Icon as being played by Paul McDermott. The Erhu can be heard in the character songs of China, a character in Axis Powers Hetalia.

Comparisons to westerly instruments [edit ]

violin [edit ]

The erhu is frequently described as a taiwanese toy, in which when compared to a tamper, it has a relatively different style. While most of the legal document is built from woodwind, like the violin, the wood is not where the ‘bridge ‘ is put on. The bridge of an erhu has a flat base, and does not require ‘fitting ‘ onto an instrument. The reason is because the erhu uses python skin as its ‘top ‘, whereas a violin, the top is a wooden plate. The python skin is stretched out like a two-dimensional open, unlike the crook plate of a violin. besides, erhu have the hairs of the bow string between the two strings, in which both sides of bow haircloth is used. The violin has the bow hair played on peak of the strings. The erhu has only two strings while violin has four .

Playing technique [edit ]

The crouch is woven between the strings. Because the hairs are slackened, the bow pass is used to press the hairs away from the bow adhere to create enough tension to stroke the strings by rights. ( video ) A street busker playing the Erhu in Beijing, 2017

Tuning [edit ]

The Erhu is about always tuned to the interval of a fifth. The inside bowed stringed instrument ( nearest to actor ) is broadly tuned to D4 and the outside string to A4. This is the same as the two in-between strings of the violin .

position [edit ]

The Erhu is played sitting down, with the reasoned box placed on the circus tent of the impart thigh and the neck held vertically. however, performers of more recent years have played while standing up using a specially develop belt-clip .

correct hand [edit ]

The crouch is held with an sneaky fascinate. The bow hair is adjusted so it is slenderly loose. The fingers of the right hand are used to push the hairs away from the stick in order to create latent hostility in the hair’s-breadth. The bow hair is placed in between the two strings and both sides of the bow hair are used to produce sound, the player pushes the bow off from the body when bowing the A string ( the outside string ), and pulls it inwards when bowing the “ inside ” D string. aside from the bow proficiency used for most pieces, the Erhu can besides be plucked, normally using the second base finger of the right hand. This produces a dry, muted tone ( if either of the open strings is plucked, the sound is slightly more evocative ) which is sometimes used in contemporaneous pieces .

Left bridge player [edit ]

The left hand alters the pitch of the strings by pressing on the string at the desire point. As the instrument has no frets, the note is slenderly muddied, but evocative. Techniques include hua yin ( slides ), rou xian ( vibrato ), huan ba ( changing positions ), etc .

celebrated performers [edit ]

Erhu is fourth from left. Twelve-member concert group at the Hubei Provincial Museum. Theis fourth from left. prior to the twentieth century, most Huqin instruments were used chiefly to accompany versatile forms of taiwanese opera and narrative. The use of the Erhu as a solo instrument began in the early twentieth century along with the development of guoyue ( literally “ national music ” ), a modernized form of taiwanese traditional music written or adapted for the professional concert stage. Active in the early twentieth hundred were Zhou Shaomei ( 周少梅 ; 1885–1938 ) and Liu Tianhua ( 刘天华 ; 1895–1932 ). Liu laid the foundations of modern Erhu play with his ten unaccompanied solo and 47 studies composed in the 1920s and 1930s. Liu Beimao ( 刘北茂 ; 1903–1981 ) was born in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. His compositions include Xiao Hua Gu ( 1943 ) ( little Flower-drum ). Jiang Fengzhi ( 蔣风之 ; 1908–1986 ) and Chen Zhenduo ( 陈振铎 ) were students of Liu Tianhua, the slice Hangong Qiuyue ( Autumn Moon over the Han Palace ) was adapted and arranged by Jiang. Hua Yanjun ( A Bing ) ( 华彥君-阿炳, c. 1893–1950 ) was a subterfuge street musician. concisely before his death in 1950, two taiwanese musicologists recorded him playing a few Erhu and Pipa solo pieces, the best-known being Erquan Yingyue. With the initiation of the People ‘s Republic of China and the expansion of the conservatory system, the solo erhu tradition continued to develop. significant performers during this fourth dimension include Lu Xiutang ( 陆修堂 ; 1911–1966 ), Zhang Rui ( 张锐 ; behave 1920 ), Sun Wenming ( 孙文明 ; 1928–1962 ), Huang Haihuai ( 黄海怀 ), Liu Mingyuan ( 刘明源 ; 1931–1996 ), Tang Liangde ( 汤良德 ; 1938–2010 ), Zhang Shao ( 张韶 ) and Song Guosheng ( 宋国生 ). Liu Mingyuan ( 刘明源 ; 1931–1996 ) was born in Tianjin. He was known for his virtuosity on many instruments of the huqin family, in particular the banhu. His compositions and arrangements include Henan Xiaoqu ( Henan Folk Tune ) and Cao Yuan Shang ( On Grassland ) for Zhonghu. For many years, he taught at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Tang Liangde ( yue : Tong Leung Tak ; 汤良德 ; 1938–2010 ) was born in Shanghai into a celebrated Shanghainese musical kin. He won the “ Shanghai ‘s spring ” Erhu rival and continued to be the soloist for the chinese Film Orchestra in Beijing, his composition and solo can be heard throughout the Nixon to China objective movie. Tang was the soloist and performed at the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, then went on to music air and education for the Hong Kong Government ‘s Music Office making worldwide tours and was named Art Educator of the year in 1991 by the Hong Kong Artist Guild. Wang Guotong ( 王国潼 ; born 1939 ) was born in Dalian, Liaoning. He studied with Jiang Fengzhi, Lan Yusong and Chen Zhenduo and, in 1960, graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He performed the premiere of Sanmenxia Changxiangqu ( Sanmen Gorge Rhapsody ) composed by Liu Wenjin. In 1972, Wang became the Erhu soloist and later artwork director of the China Broadcasting Traditional Orchestra. He returned to the Central Conservatory of Music in 1983 as capitulum of the chinese music department. He has written many books and articles on Erhu play and has performed in many countries. Wang besides worked with the Beijing National Instruments Factory to further develop Erhu design. Min Huifen ( 閔惠芬 ; 1945–2014 ) was born in Yixing, Jiangsu. She first became known as the winner of the 1963 one-fourth Shanghai Spring Art Festival. She studied with Lu Xiutang and Wang Yi, and graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1968, and became the Erhu soloist with the Shanghai Minzu Yuetuan ( Shanghai Folk Orchestra ). She was the undisputed overcome of erhu for 50 years. [ 6 ] yang Ying ( 杨英 ; born 1959 ) was the have soloist for the chinese National Song and Dance Ensemble ( 中央歌舞团 ) of Beijing from 1978 to 1996. She was a national Erhu champion, frequently recorded for the chinese movie and record industry, and is listed in celebrated persons of China. Sun Huang 孙凰 has recently recorded a unmanageable authoritative violin piece, played by her on the Erhu [ 7 ]

presence in popular music [edit ]

The Erhu is featured along with early traditional chinese instruments such as the Pipa in the contemporary chinese implemental music group Twelve Girls Band. They perform traditional taiwanese music deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as westerly classical and popular music. A few groups have used the Erhu in a rock context. As of 2012, the taiwanese black alloy band Chthonic remain the entirely black metallic element ring to use the erhu. The New Jersey-based progressive rock band The Hsu-nami plays a variety of rock sub-styles including metal, psychedelic, prog rock, and funk. An overstate Erhu takes the identify of star vocals. Chie Mukai of the japanese improv unit Ché-SHIZU besides plays the Erhu. Another group which falls more under Electronica/Drum & Bass is a musical duet from Parkdale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The group, known as USS or Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, uses an Erhu in a different context. The USS sound is a concoction of drum and sea bass beats, grunge-like guitar riffs and two-step rhythm method of birth control. The Erhu is noteworthy in its appearances on their two released CDs, “ Wielding the C ” and “ Questamation ”. Toronto doctor and composer Dr. Ian Pun ( 潘彥衡 ; bear 1965 ) uses Erhu combined with a funk guitar musical flick in the 2011 sung “ 加油, 加油, 加油 ! ” performed by York University musicians Amely Zhou and Jaro Dabrowski. Nine Inch Nails bandmember Joshua Eustis has been seen playing an Erhu while on enlistment, during the song “ disappoint ”. Chihsuan Yang plays an Erhu as a solo instrument with Corky Siegel ‘s Chamber Blues on enlistment and on their new Different Voices compact disk. Composer Jeremy Zuckerman has used the Erhu in critically acclaimed shows ‘ music such as embodiment : The last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra. specifically, he has said in the podcast Song Exploder that along with the Zhonghu, he used the Erhu in The Legend of Korra ‘s series finale music. [ 8 ] The erhu did not become widely known to the general public outside of China, but recording artists like The Doors, The Beach Boys, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Rhythm Light Orchestra, The Rolling Stones, and John Prine have used it to create a singular voice, and it is even used by mod day musicians outside of China. In the Gorillaz album Demon Days an erhu can be heard towards the end of the birdcall Every Planet We Reach is Dead. Blue October Member Ryan Delahoussaye used an erhu in their 2006 single, Into the Ocean .

See besides [edit ]

bibliography [edit ]

  • Stephen Jones (1995). Folk Music of China. Oxford: Clarendon Press OUP.
  • Terence Michael Liu (1988). “Development of the Chinese Two-stringed Bowed Lute Erhu Following the New Culture Movement (c. 1915–1985)”. Ph.D. dissertation. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University.
  • Jonathan Stock. “A Historical Account of the Chinese Two-Stringed Fiddle Erhu”. Galpin Society Journal, v. 46 (March 1993), pp. 83–113.
  • Jonathan Stock (1996). Musical Creativity in Twentieth-Century China: Abing, His Music, and Its Changing Meanings. Eastman Studies in Music. Rochester, New York: Rochester University Press.
  • Yongde Wang (1995). Qing shao nian xue er hu (Young person’s erhu study). Shanghai Music Publishing House.

References [edit ]