Erhu

The Erhu, which is mainly constructed of various hard woods, has two string with a bow playing between them. The 2 strings are tumed to D and A, a perfect fifth apart. The sound box is covered with snake skin, which helps produce its distictive tone colour. The Erhu is one of the most widely used bowed strings instruments in China. Throughout its 500 years of history, the construcetion of the instrument has been constantly upgraded so that its tone is now mellow and bright. Played with a variety of techniques, it is now extremely popular, for both solo and orchestral performances.

In the past, Erhu was used by priest and street artist, who had low social status. To increase its status, the famous Musician Liu Tian Hua (1895-1932) put in a lot of effort to learn the art of Erhu. He raised the standard of Erhu playing to an unprecedented height with his ten compositons for the Erhu and 47 exercises (something like Czerny's School of Velocity) for the instrument.

Another famous Erhu Soloist Hua Yan Jun (1893-1950), nickname Ah Bing, made Erhu, which was previously used to accompany Chinese Opera, a solo instrument. He learned from his father, a priest, the Erhu and Pipa. In his mid-life, he became blind, and was well know as "The Blind Man Ah Bing". He led a pathetic life and earned his livings through playing solos on the streets. His talent was later discovered in his late years when he was invited to perform on stage but before he was able to enjoy his new found status, he died in 1950.

Popular solos for this instrument includes Moon Reflects in the Er Quan and the Erhu Concerto The Great Wall Capriccio.

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