Brief introduction of Hu-Qin:

The Hu-Qin is a babarian instrument which was said to have been brought into China at the time of Han dynasty ( 140 B.C ). It is a two strings bowed instrument with a tone similar to western violin, yet more soulful and expressive. In classical Chinese music the Hu-Qin is melodic, haunting, beautiful, exquisite, ever changing and alive. The traditional style of playing is rich in ornamentation, giving the music a deep three-dimensional quality. There are five different kinds of Hu-Qin commonly used and they are briefly introduced as follows.

Er-Hu

Er-Hu is generally referred to as Hu-Qin. It's basically a mid-high toned instrument whose mid low tone sounds forceful and lavish. Mid tone goes gentle and touching, while high tone turns clear and bright. This changeful character makes it possible for Er-Hu to perform tunes of a variety of moods.

Zhong-Hu

Zhong-Hu, the abbreviated name for the mid-toned Er-Hu, was developed based on Er-Hu in the 1940s. Although both the structure and performing skill of these two kinds of Hu-Qin are quite the same, Zhong-Hu is of deeper-sounding timbre yet not as agile. Being more suitable for singable melody, Zhong-Hu is thus often used as tutti or accompanying instruments, sometimes foe solo too.

Jing-Hu

Jing-Hu the chief accompanying instrument for Chinese Opera and Han Opera, was developed in Qin dynasty ( around 1790 ) and also called the Hu-Qin sometimes. The Compass of Jing-Hu is the highest among all instruments of the Hu-Qin class. Due to its forceful and clarion timbre, Jing-Hu is suitable only for Chinese opera melodies.

Ban-Hu

Ban-Hu has many other names such as Pang-Hu, Qin-Hu, Hu-Hu and Da-Xian, etc. It is the leading accompanying instrument for Bang-Zi and other northern tunes or ballads. Similar to Jing-Hu, the timbre of Ban-Hu is clarion and bright, which makes it hard to join other instruments for tutti. Therefore it's usually for solo, especially for presenting joyful and passionate moods.

Gao-Hu

Gao-HU, also called High-Toned Erhu or Yue-Hu, is especially designed for playing Guang-Dong folk melodies. Gao-Hu is best for performing vivid and brisk rhythms, particularly used to cover the higher-toned compass that Er-Hu cannot play. In comparison with Er-Hu, Gao-Hu has louder volume yet brighter tones, and thus it servers both as solo and leading instrument in performing Guang-Dong folk melodies.

Erhu is a kind of violin (fiddle) with two strings which, together with zhonghu, gaohu, sihu, etc, belongs to the "huqin" family. It is said that its origin would be dated up to the Tang dynasty (618-907) and related to the instrument, called xiqin originated from a Mongolian tribe Xi. During Song dynasty (960-1279), the second generation of the huqin was among the instruments played at the imperial banquets. During the Dynasties of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911), the erhu underwent a great development at the time of the golden age of the local operas. The erhu then developed in a different "schools". Two famous artists Hua Yanjun (1893-1950) and Liu Tianhua (1895-1932) made an exceptional contribution to the improvement of the erhu, and it was indeed due to the latter that the erhu, an instrument mainly for accompaniment in an opera, becomes a solo instrument. After the foundation of People's Republic of China (1949), the manufacture of the erhu, the playing techniques, the repertoire as well as the musical education of this instrument have undergone a rapid development. The repertoire has grown rapidly in the genres of solo, with ensemble as well as concerti with symphony orchestra.

The sound body of the erhu is a drum-like little case usually made of ebony or sandalwood and snake skins. It usually has a hexagonal shape with the length of approximately 13 cm. The front opening is covered with skin of python (snake) and that of the back is left open. The functions of this case of resonance are to amplify the vibrations of the strings. The neck of the erhu is about 81 cm long and is manufactured with the same materials as the drum. The top of the stem is bent for decoration. The two tuning handles (pegs) are found close to the end of the stem. There is no frets (as contrast to the lute) or touching board (as contrast to violin). The player creates different pitches by touching the strings at various positions along the neck of the instrument. The strings are usually made of silk or nylon. Nowadays, metal strings are commonly used. The bow is 76 cm long and is manufactured of reed which one curves during cooking, and arched with horse hair in the same way as the bow of violin. However, in the case of erhu, the horse hair runs between the two strings. In another word, one cannot take off the bow from the instrument unless one of the two strings is taken off or broken.

The posture which the player must adopt to play the erhu is the same as that adopted for the other kinds of huqin: the left hand holding the fiddle and the right hand, the bow. The erhu is put on the lap vertically, the left hand moves vertically to touch the strings for the right pitch while the left hand (with the bow) move horizontally to make the sound. occasionally some musicians hold the instrument with the help of a rope, in the same way as for saxophone, in order to play standing or walking. However it is quite awkward to play and it doesn't look elegant with the sound body pressing against the belly and the stem of the instrument pointing outward. Therefore, the musicians normally play sitted unless it's absolutely necessary.

The erhu sounds similar to human voice, and can imitate many natural sounds such as birds and horse. It is a very expressive instrument, most well-known for playing melancholic tune, but also capable of play merry melody.

The erhu often plays an important role in the national orchestras. In the smaller orchestras, there are usually 2 to 6 erhu, in largest, l0 with 12. In fact, the erhu plays the same role as the violin in the Western orchestras.

Erhu, literally meaning "two stringed barbarian instrument" due to its importation from Central Asia, has about a 500 year history in China. Becoming popular during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD), later in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911) variant instruments developed. In the modern era it was really composer and musician Liu Tianhua (1895 -1932) and one might also mention his blind contemporary A Bing that made the erhu the popular instrument it is today. Although metal strings are more common now, traditionally the erhu had two silk strings, belonging to the "silk" category of instruments in the Chinese "eight sound" organographic scheme: Metal, Stone, Silk, Bamboo, Gourd, Earth/Clay, Leather/Hide, and Wood. In Korea, the erhu's sister instrument, the haegûm, still uses silk strings.

Anatomically, the erhu has a vertical post without a fingerboard which goes through the sides of the resonator at the base. This resonator, made or various woods, is covered with python-skin which gives this instrument its unique "whining" tone color. Said to be the closest instrument in sound to the human voice, its tone is mellow and expressive. The player usually sits, resting the erhu on one leg, pulling the horse hair bow horizontally between the two vertical strings. The bow is never played outside the strings.

The erhu's range is about three octaves. Its two strings are typically tuned a fifth apart to d and a, but can also be tuned much lower. In the Chinese orchestra, modeled loosely on the Western orchestra, erhu are divided into first and second erhu. A "piccolo" version of the erhu, traditionally used in opera from Guangzhou (Canton), is called the panhu or yuehu and is usually tuned about one octave higher than the erhu to g and d. Only one is used in the Chinese orchestra and it is played by the principal erhu player when required. The gaohu sounds a fourth higher than the erhu, while the zhonghu, available in three sizes, plays the role of the viola. In some Chinese orchestras, such as in Malaysia, the bass parts are often played by the western cello and double bass. The modern Chinese versions, the gehu and the beidagehu are used in others.

Another relation to the erhu is the jinghu, the main accompaniment to singing in Beijing opera. It is similar in structure to the erhu but has a quite different character due to its smaller size and the fact that it is made of bamboo (traditionally a variety found in Fujian province). Despite its small size and lightweight characteristics the sound is loud and piercing. There are almost an endless list of erhu relations not only in China such as the zhuiqin, datong, "horse bone" hu, but as mentioned in Korea, the hyegûm, in Japan, the kokyu, the Mongolian morin khuur, and in India and all over Central Asia and the Middle East, relations can be found.

How to choose the erhu

To begin with
Before getting into the details, I would like to clarify that these are merely standard checkpoints. Every accoustic instrument is different from all others, even when they are made by the same person from the same material with the same method. Besides, each person has different taste for sound. After all, which one is better that the other is your decision.

The Material
Erhu's material is snake skin, wood, bobbin, bow, strings etc. The most important of these is snake skin and wood. Pythons are used for the skin, and there are a lot of checkpoints, such as, the size of the python, its health and the season when it was killed, which part is used, etc. The points you should note are:

- the size of the scales is not to small and more or less equal;
- the scales are neither too thin nor too thick and have not come off;
- the colour is bright ochre and black and glossy.

For the wood, rosewood is said to be the best, but the production in China is little. More common but good material is ebony. It is said that a good one has jet-black colour, no knots, considerable weight and shines when polished. Mahogany is also often used, and likewise, you should look for the one with dark colour and no knots. Generally ebony is preferred to mahogany, but old mahogany is quite popular and it depends on the personal taste. You should be careful as there are many ebony or mahogany look-alike with paints or chemical effect, or new wood pretending to be older than its age. Real ebony's colour is natural black and weigh considerably more than other wood. It would be best if you could choose from various type (if possible after comparing ebony, mahogany and rosewood.)

The Shape of the Body
The shapes of the body are the one with hexagonal or octagonal front with circle back (these are the most popular) or circle, oblong octagon, oval etc. There are subtle difference in volume and sound depending on the shape, but it is really up to your taste. I would not recommend or object to any particular shape. However, if you are choosing one for your second one or more, then you will probably be better off with the shape you are used to already. You should choose the one which feels right when you try it.

Bow
It is said that the one with similar length to the instrument, about 82cm, and two knots at most is good. The one with equal thickness, flexibility, and made of white horses' tail is good. Black hair is too thick and rough, and sometimes made of nylon. You should avoid nylon as it does not absorb pine resin and is difficult to play.

Spool
There are mainly three types. The old type with simple wood mechanism is difficult to tune, therefore the one with metallic parts just like the guitar (there are two type of these) is normally used nowadays.

Qianjin
The old type is made of strings, which often changes the tuning when vibrated, and are now mostly replaced with metallic one. Also wooden (Qianjin) was invented a few years ago to improve the hardness of the sound with the metallic ones. Double Qianjin Erhu, which enables you to change the tuning instantly with the metallic part, just like the guitar's Kapo was invented about 20 years ago. It was once quite popular among a certain group of people, but is not seen much nowadays. Likewise, the Qianjin With subtle tuning capability (similar to violin's adjuster) is currently hardly used.

Decoration
There are instruments with dragon's head etc. on fingerboard, but this does not really affect the sound. The ones with decoration are hardly used in China, nevertheless, it does not really matter whether there is decoration or not as long as the sound is good. As for carving, some are artistic and valuable for its decorative sake, and some are made for souvenir and quite cheap.

The main area of erhu production
The famous area of erhu production is Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou And mainly produced in national factories. However, these are mass-produced and instruments with good quality are very rare. You can only expect good instruments from good experienced craftsmen with devotion in addition to good material. If you would like to get a good instrument, it would be best to order directly to good craftsmen. However, this would need considerable amount of time and effort to go to China and negotiate, and probably not realistic. Currently, due to the lack of good material, the increase of international requirements and the inflation of Chinese prices. The price of the instruments are considerably higher than before and it will be more in the future.

There are many stories about the difference in the sound depending on the area. Nevertheless, it often varies from one instrument to another and it is quite difficult to conclude. The instruments from Beijing are most popular both in China and abroad since craftsmanship are concentrated in the area.

To Conclude
New erhus have a hard sound and it takes many years of training to be able to make a soft sound. It will give you a good sound only after you have trained with effort in the correct method. Therefore, it is said that you can tell the owner's capacity if you try the instrument.

Erhu Basic Theory

Erhu, a Chinese violin, consists of a wooden block base and a stem. You play with the base resting on you left thigh next to your groin and with your left hand curved around the stem. It has two strings. The upper and thicker string is the inner string and the other is the outer string. You play the instrument by pulling or pushing the bow, like a violin. The bow is locked between the inner and outer strings.

The inner and outer strings are normally tuned to a perfect fifth; i.e. the inner string is tunned to D and the outer string is tunned to A. Once tunned, the instrument can be used to played in any keys without adjustment.

The first three keys are sufficient for beginners. These keys are: D Major (or Do - Soh), G Major (or Soh - Re) and F Major (or Lah - Me).
First Fingering Positions

For Do-Soh key, with open strings (i.e. not pressed) the inner string is Do and the outer string is Soh. Then use the first finger for Re; second for Me; third for Far. The first finger on the outer string is Lah; second is Te; third is Do (upper); and forth is Re (upper).

For Soh - Re key, the open strings are Soh (Lower) and Re. On the inner string, use the first finger for Lah (Lower), second for Te (Lower); third for Do and forth for Re. On the outer string, use the first finger for Me and second finger for Far; third finger for Soh and forth finger for Lah.

For Lah-Me key, the open strings are Lah (Lower)and Me. Use the first finger on the inner string for Te (Lower) and Do; second for Re; third for Me. Use the first finger on the outer string for Far and Soh, second for Lah; Third for Te; and forth for Do. The open outer string sounds better for Me, so use it where convenient.

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Second Fingering Positions

Erhu has five fingering positions. However, the first two positions are sufficient for beginners. Why we need other fingering positions ? There are three main reasons:
To satisfy high and low notes: The first position allows for 8 notes. When we come across music that requires outside these eight notes, we need to use the second and other positions.
To express the feelings: We can sometime provide more expression of feeling by changing positions.
To facilitate sliding: Erhu techniques include up slide and down slide. Sliding is an important technique in Erhu performance. We need to change the position to achieve sliding outcomes.

Erhu 2nd Fingering Tables