Chinese fiddle

The great majority of instruments are played not solo but as part of ensembles, chinese fiddle, not on the concert platform but as part of social life. Bowed strings mainly accompany vocal music—the ritual genres that I study in north China are dominated by wind and percussion ensembles the playlist in the chinese fiddle, with commentary heremaking a useful introduction. One guide, mainly useful for historical sources on early fiddles huqinxiqinand so onis the book. For illustrated introductions, chinese fiddle, see e.

Return to Homepage. One of the most beautiful and haunting sounds in Chinese music comes from a type of fiddle called the erhu pronounced are-who. The ancient ancestor of both violin and erhu is thought to have appeared in Persia some 3. A slow migration west lead to the first violins in Europe; the route east along the Silk Road gave rise to a family of instruments collectively called the Hu-Qin. It is a two-stringed instrument, played sitting down and held vertically, with the body resting on the knee. The strings were originally of silk but are now usually steel.

Chinese fiddle

It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It is the most popular of the huqin family of traditional bowed string instruments used by various ethnic groups of China. As a very versatile instrument, the erhu is used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as pop, rock and jazz. The erhu can be traced back to proto-Mongolic instruments which first appeared in China during the Tang dynasty. An alternate explanation states that it comes from the fact that it is the second-highest huqin in pitch to the gaohu in the modern Chinese orchestra. 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 nomadic people on the extremities of past Chinese kingdoms. For most of history, the erhu was mostly a folk instrument used in southern China, whereas the sihu was preferred among northern musicians. However, in the s, Liu Tianhua introduced the erhu to Beijing , and since, it has become the most popular of the huqin. Historic bowed zithers of China, including the xiqin , yazheng , and wenzhenqin , and also the Korean ajaeng , were originally played by bowing with a rosined stick, which created friction against the strings. As soon as the horsehair bow was invented, it spread very widely. The erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like neck , at the top of which are two big tuning pegs , and at the bottom is a small resonator body sound box which is covered with python skin on the front playing end. The erhu has some unusual features:. Various dense and heavy hardwoods are used in making the erhu. Particularly fine erhu are often made from pieces of old furniture.

The bow is held with an underhand grip.

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Erhu is a medium-high ranged Chinese two-stringed fiddle. The structure of the modern erhu was regularized in the s by Liu Tianhua , the pioneering musician and composer in modern Chinese erhu and pipa music. Erhu consists of a body qin tong , a shaft qin gan , two tuning pegs xuan zhou , a tight loop of string qian jin , and a tiny bridge xuan ma. Its shape is usually hexagonal, with round or octagonal regional variations. Its front 8. The shaft 78 cm long is made of the same wood as the body. Two tuning pegs are set in the upper section of the shaft, while the lower end of the shaft is fixed onto the body.

Chinese fiddle

It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It is the most popular of the huqin family of traditional bowed string instruments used by various ethnic groups of China. As a very versatile instrument, the erhu is used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as pop, rock and jazz.

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Particularly fine erhu are often made from pieces of old furniture. More recently, the erhu has appeared in several soundtracks, featuring prominently in the TV series Earth: Final Conflict played by George Gao and the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria played by Jiebing Chen. Comment Reblog Subscribe Subscribed. The erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like neck , at the top of which are two big tuning pegs , and at the bottom is a small resonator body sound box which is covered with python skin on the front playing end. He has written many books and articles on erhu playing and has performed in many countries. All other fingers are technically unnecessary and are only used to support and stabilize the bow. Look out for his tune Little Cabbage! Shortly before his death in , two Chinese musicologists recorded him playing a few erhu and pipa solo pieces, the best-known being Erquan Yingyue. Guban Muyu Paiban Yu Zhu. He came back with a Chinese wife! However, in the s, Liu Tianhua introduced the erhu to Beijing , and since, it has become the most popular of the huqin. For folk practice in modern times one should look to field reports on local traditions, setting forth from the Anthology of folk music of the Chinese peoples for leads, see my book Folk music of China. Pingback: Musicking at the Qing court 1: suite plucking Stephen Jones: a blog. Erhu beginner chinese fiddle musical instrument model no. Contents move to sidebar hide.

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It is only in recent years that the erhu itself has become prominent in Chinese music and has been accepted both as an orchestral section instrument including bass, tenor and alto versions and as a featured solo instrument. The erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like neck , at the top of which are two big tuning pegs , and at the bottom is a small resonator body sound box which is covered with python skin on the front playing end. The erhu is used in the music of the Cirque du Soleil show O and in solo performances in select Shen Yun tours. Categories : Erhu players Chinese musical instruments Continuous pitch instruments Drumhead lutes Huqin family instruments Necked bowl lutes. There are around a dozen close relatives of the erhu within China and in other parts of the Far East. Aside from the bowing technique used for most pieces, the erhu can be plucked, usually using the second finger of the right hand. Bawu Mangtong. In , the release of Genshin Impact, Players around the globe were treated to a mixture of traditional Chinese music and fusion with Western orchestra, including pieces that featured the Erhu heavily. Pingback: Musicking at the Qing court 1: suite plucking Stephen Jones: a blog. He returned to the Central Conservatory of Music in as head of the Chinese music department. For introductions to expressive cultures around Fujian, click here and here. Pingback: Archive Chinese recordings Stephen Jones: a blog. Toggle limited content width. The erhu is often described as a Chinese fiddle.