Hello -- questions/popping my head in

[kungfukitty]

Hello there,

I sing, play the clarinet and a little piano, and have been rather enjoying doing more music this year. I like fiddling around, and often hear different tunes come into my head and such, and would like to try writing more music.

Yesterday, i was surfing round the internet for different instruments and such with different sounds and one of them i cam across was the Erhu. I have always had a curiosity for anything 'oriental', as many people do, i gather, and have always fancied trying a stringed instrument. Its sound and build appealled to me more than the other instruments i saw, as well as its price tag. Realistically i shouldn't be paying that much out, however, i have come across an erhu online in a music shop for 60pds and then on ebay someone is selling bows for them for about 20pds with p&p, and as it comes below the hundred mark, it is extremely tempting.

I have glanced at a few posts on here, and it seems you get a lot of people coming on here crying for information and help with learning! lol. But i'm still a little concerned about going into a new stringed instrument without any experience with them. I'm sure you can work out posture and positions from watching the vids on utube of other people playing, but you never really know until some one comes and tells you, 'oy, that's wrong!' lol. I remember reading an example of someone on here yesterday evening that it turned out he was putting the incorrect about of pressure onto the strings, through the bow.

I also read that the music notation is different for chinese? I saw someone list the notes, but i shall have to look around at that.

I don't want to ask anything much until i've properly surveyed and reaad the forum, as it seems quite a fewpeople like me have found this and enquired already, the information is probably already there somewhere, i came across the link to the music, i also saw the thread with the hand positions, was rather sad to see the images had been deleted:(. But, i will look at that other link someone posted.

I guess this is more a general introduction! lol. I am from UK, by the way. Wil fingering charts and watching other people play be enough to get me started in the right positions? Or are there any books in english (i've found them in chinese, but i'm afraid i only speak and read english)? I'm guessing a book in chinese would be of little use to me, if i can't read it? (The question mark, because you never really know, it might be that the pictures and music in there are worth buying it, for all i know)

The bows are up for 24 days on ebay, so i won't go straight and buy it, i have art stuff to buy too:S, shall try to keep it to a minimum, but luckily my grandparents want me to do them something, so they said anything new i'd need to buy they would refund, which will be rather nice, giving me a litlte leeway. I think i will finish reading my theory books first and get my head round the chinese music notation and such, and if i manage that, then i really will consider buying one. I just don't want to get one, if in the end i won't be able to play it! Obviously it will take time anyway, but if its something that will take me eons to even get a half okish sound out of it, and play a few simple songs without a teacher, then i have to ask myself whether i am really willing to do that. I don't expect to get instant results, far from it, but it would be nice to know after a couple of monthes practice i won't be deafening everyone in the hosue quite so much! I have heard string instruments can be a bit like that when you are learning:S lol.

Anyway, written enough for now. Thank you for your time and reading this much! I better get reading!

Hope all who celebrated had a great holiday:)x

[kungfukitty]

What do you think to this?

cgi.ebay.co.uk/LEARN-CHINESE-MUSIC-INSTRUMENT---ERHU---2-VCD-DVD-%409_W0QQitemZ370302030444QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=b7082bdb1210a0e2033081a0fff53cc9

[davidmdahl]

Welcome to the forum KungfuKitty. I hope you find something useful here.

I find it difficult to answer questions such as yours. There is certainly nothing wrong with getting a new instrument of whatever quality and noodling around with it. With the erhu however, playing it properly is not intuitive for most people, and it is difficult to get what you need from photos and videos unless you are very observant. There are some good resources on the web, including good videos on the Eason Music site. Short of that, there is really nothing all that useful in English for the erhu.

Don't be intimidated by the notation. Jianpu is quite easy to learn, especially if you can read staff notation. There is a good tutorial on jianpu at www.wikipedia.org.

There are lots of marginal erhus available, that are difficult for anyone to make sound good. That does not mean that you necessarily have to spend a lot of money to get an adequate instrument, but a 60 pound erhu is pretty much the low end. I highly recommend getting an erhu from a reputable dealer who knows their business. Of course, you could get a cheap erhu to fool around with for a while. If you get serious, you could order a proper instrument later.

If at all possible, get some help from a teacher. A teacher can help you find an adequate instrument and get you started on the basics. Even a few lessons will save you a lot of time, trouble, and confusion. A teacher will know how to adjust your erhu so that it can play up to its potential. Even a good erhu that is not well set up or adjusted can be very frustrating to play. I don't know where you are in the U.K., but if you can find your way to a larger city, especially London, surely there will be someone who can help you.

Best wishes,

David

[kungfukitty]

I live close to Norwich, so i can have a check to see if there are any about there for a reasonable cost. I think it really would be worth getting a couple to start, if i did get one.

Oh, i'm not intimidated by learning a new notation, possibly more intrigued, if anything. Its interesting to see how different people/cultures do different things.

Well, the erhu i saw was on the hobgoblin site, which is a music shop chain around the UK. I don't expect it to be great quality of course:P. I'm not sure if there are any reputable dealers for erhu!! lol. If there is not much material for learning them, it seems unlikely, but i can have a look round at some other musical sites.

I was walking round the shop imagining myself playing it (oh, admitting that is making me cringe! lol), which is a good sign, i think:S, and no i didn't imagine myself being especially good or bad, just playing... Which i think is good, because it seems if anything is separate, whether music, a new kick or whatever else, if you can't feel comfortable or easy in feeling yourself picture through it, you won't be able to. So i guess it might mean it isn't impossible for me to learn it! My main concern is really buying one and then after so many hours looking for info on it or whatever, i can't find the bits i need on it/don't know exactly what to do with it, or my experiments just result in squeaky sound that grate at my eardrums, even after try after try, and then it just get set in the corner. It is true that i realy can't afford to spend a lot of money, because i am going back to uni next year, and i need at least a grand in there if i want to survive, i think, especially given housing deposits go out of it, but i do have money in my account which is more than enough to spend 150pds on getting myself started and isntrument, and i wouldn't mind paying up to around that, if i knew that i would be fine playing it.

I'm sure i'll find something useful, given all the posts on here. If i do end up learning to play (which i do hope to at some stage, whether sooner or later), then it is nice to have a place where other people play to have a chat every now and then, or to query too, and if not, then i would have at least learnt a lot! lol.

Thank you very much for replying, and the welcome:). Best wishes to you too:)x

[davidmdahl]

Regarding reputable dealers, I have confidence in Eason Music:

www.eason.com.sg

Hobgoblin has both good and really bad quality instruments. I remember some years ago when I was shopping for an Irish flute, they had Pakistani flutes that were more appropriately used for tent stakes. They will not likely know how to properly set up an erhu. If you know how to choose a good one and can try out a bunch, Hobgoblin might be worth a try. I would not order online from them for an instrument sight-unseen.

With Eason, they know their instruments and you will get your money's worth in the form of a playable erhu. My usual recommendation is to buy the best qualilty instrument you can afford. Sometimes it is better to save up for a while to get a better instrument than to get one now that will not satisfy.

Best wishes,

David

[kungfukitty]

Thank you, i will look at them. I might well wait a couple of months. I would very much like to learn. That site does look nice...Its good they have sound samples. I'll wait until i get started with my groom job and see how much cash i bring in with that, if all goes well, hopefully i can buy one from there relatively soon (shame the horse got laminitis otherwise i'd be earning some from it now, of course it is a shame the horse got laminitis even not considering that point too).

Thank you for the suggestion and your time. I'll try to read about a bit about it in the meantime. I was already watching loads of videos on utube yesterday:S.

Thank you again:)x

[kungfukitty]

Oh, just a quick question, how does the bronze attachment help with tuning?

[davidmdahl]

The bronze tuning mechanism tends to be on beginner/low cost erhus, although it is not necessarily so. The higher quality erhus usually have the traditional wooden pegs. The bronze mechanism can be helpful for a young student who has trouble moving the wooden pegs. Sometimes on even a good quality erhu, the pegs will not move smoothly and it can be a challenge to get a peg in just the right spot for the string to be in tune.

I have only ever used wooden pegs, and usually they work best for me. If I found a terrific erhu that played and sounded like the best, I would not care what kind of tuners it had.

Best wishes,

David

[kungfukitty]

I just felt like sharing. Last night i dreamt i was playing it!!! LOL I hadn't really had time to think about it that much, and yet, i managed to dream that i was playing one. And then this morning, i open my account and one of the couple of my favourite sellers selected on ebay, and an art seller at that, suddenly is selling erhu's!!

Do you think someone is trying to tell me something?? lol.