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Post by davidmdahl on Nov 23, 2006 21:51:46 GMT
<snip> but tests using bows haired with fishing line (which is smooth) have disproven this, since the majority of players could not tell the difference between fishing line and horsehair. The bows for my Vietnamese two-string fiddles came with synthetic hair, but I found them unsatisfactory. The rosin does not stick very well to the "hair" compared to good quality white horse-hair. Based on my experience, it is easy to tell the difference between fishing line and horsehair. I find it interesting that the quote from the website is not supported with any details. It would be useful to know about the erhu players that participated in the tests, their experience on the erhu, and the methodology of the tests. I don't think it is possible to come to any conclusions regarding synthetic and horsehair bows based on the information on the website. Best wishes, David
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Post by maaltan on Nov 23, 2006 23:31:05 GMT
from that site:
hmm. My erhu does not do this... anymore at least. Once i got the bowing motions down my tone is nearly identical no matter which way i play. Now if im playing tuned to G with standard strings, they are so loose any abberation of bowing makes a dramatic change in pitch.
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Post by davidmdahl on Nov 24, 2006 0:03:12 GMT
That the note changed so much depending on the direction of the bow is an indication that the qianjin was not adjusted properly. From all appearances, the author of the website does not know much about the erhu. I do not have very much confidence in her methods or conclusions.
Best wishes,
David
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Post by YouLanFengChune on Nov 24, 2006 2:09:46 GMT
hmm... i agree with david. Many things she said, the makers here do not agree....
pitch changing when playing is DUE to bad skin, and bad qiuanjin
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Post by dsouthwood on Nov 24, 2006 2:44:20 GMT
"The Physics Behind the Erhu" was identified as a college research paper, and there is no indication that the author had any experience with the instrument. I'm delighted to see all of your comments--the paper is now getting the "peer review" that college research papers seldom see.
I love this forum.
Dennis
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Post by YouLanFengChune on Nov 24, 2006 3:18:46 GMT
Here's the verdict from my group here! 1. Please get some CREDIBLE INFO, scientific reviews. Even the harmonic chart below is..... 2. We should publish a paper on behalf on the forum on this. I'll help with technical parts, Carlos and Kong Yan Yan (from my side www.youtube.com/watch?v=67b9ReuKDEc) on performance, CCC on the writing nand formulation. David will do counter checking, and EVERONE else on indivdual parts 3.
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Post by notmadeinzhongguo on Feb 16, 2007 21:38:44 GMT
Hey guys! Long time no see!
Does anyone happen to have the sheet music to River Waters (]‰Í…)?
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Post by angel on Dec 13, 2008 3:14:11 GMT
When I bowed...the strings will sound like scratchy sound. I thought it was my bowing....so I played another erhu and it doesnt have the same prob. Maybe it was the bow?
I put in a new bow with rosin applied and tried on the 1st erhu...again...same scratchy sound. Maybe its the strings? So I changed the strings...again same prob!
With nothing to lose....I took out the Qianjing and put a new one...and voila!....beautifu and no more scratchy tone!! I never knew a Qainjing can create so much difference. HOpe you guys will learn something from my experience.
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Post by davidmdahl on Dec 15, 2008 18:27:22 GMT
Good work, Angel. Yes, the qianjing is one of the more important parts of the erhu that needs to be right. Maybe the qianjing stretches over time, and a new tighter one is necessary.
If you change strings and don't get the windings at the end of the peg, you may find that the existing qianjing is no longer tight enough. Make sure that the strings are wrapped as close to the end of the the pegs as possible.
Best wishes,
David
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Post by nathana7 on Jun 3, 2009 2:06:00 GMT
Hi everyone!
So today I noticed something odd: Today was a very hot day, and when I played my erhu, it sounded way better. The tone was full and smooth instead of nasaly or scratchy. The high notes registered well [which they never usually do] But as it cooled down later on in the day, the sound returned to its usual scratchy nasaly timbre and the high notes didnt register like before.
Now I'm wondering why this happened. From what I've read, I think it has something to do with the heat affecting the snakeskin, although its still cool and the snakeskin doesnt seem any different....
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Post by calden on Jun 3, 2009 13:06:21 GMT
nathana7:
A quick guess would be that as the air cools down it gets dryer, and the snakeskin gets tighter and more brittle sounding. I have a banjo with a calfskin head and it's extremely responsive to changes in temperature and humidity. I was at an outdoor performance with it when a warm front brought sudden rain. It went out of tune in the middle of a song.
Where do you live? What kind of humidity do you have?
Carlos
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Post by nathana7 on Jun 3, 2009 15:36:04 GMT
I live in Kentucky, so the heat here is pretty humid and the temperature changes more or less constantly.
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Post by calden on Jun 3, 2009 20:08:44 GMT
Try keeping a little violin humidifier in the case. If my guess is right, this will help to buffer the changes in temp and humidity.
Carlos
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Post by tansco on Aug 19, 2009 18:54:21 GMT
I'm attempting to teach myself the Erhu, but at my age with arthritic hands, tremors, and lack of musical background, I have no delusion of becoming proficient or even passable on the instrument. I fell in love with the Erhu the first time I heard it and always promised myself that someday I would get my own... which I have recently done. I have studied everything I could find online and purchased a beginner's Erhu lesson VCD. I finally got the instrument to the point were running the scales is passable (most of the time) and would now like to try some very basic songs and exercises. Is there a website where I can get simple scores in Jianpu? I saw the link to the cadenzaa website, but have no idea which, if any, are basic enough for the true beginner. If you know of such scores, please post the link to the simplest to play.
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Post by dawei on Jun 2, 2017 14:08:40 GMT
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Post by eugene on Jun 14, 2017 12:00:44 GMT
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Post by onegod on Oct 20, 2017 16:25:03 GMT
Normally how long can an erhu snake skin last? Does an erhu same like a violin, the longer it is the better it is?
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Post by davidmdahl on Oct 20, 2017 19:20:34 GMT
Normally how long can an erhu snake skin last? Does an erhu same like a violin, the longer it is the better it is? This is not really true of any instrument. All instruments degrade in some respect over time, except for certain special instruments that were made of rare materials and with master-level craftsmanship. A snake skin in particular will degrade a little or a lot over a few decades. A snake skin will lose tightness and become loose. You can really go by age, although a 50 year old erhu is not likely to play very well. An experienced player and tell by sight and sound if a skin is shot. Best wishes, David
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Post by onegod on Oct 26, 2017 23:01:36 GMT
Normally how long can an erhu snake skin last? Does an erhu same like a violin, the longer it is the better it is? This is not really true of any instrument. All instruments degrade in some respect over time, except for certain special instruments that were made of rare materials and with master-level craftsmanship. A snake skin in particular will degrade a little or a lot over a few decades. A snake skin will lose tightness and become loose. You can really go by age, although a 50 year old erhu is not likely to play very well. An experienced player and tell by sight and sound if a skin is shot. Best wishes, David Thanks David
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Post by carl on Feb 27, 2018 23:24:09 GMT
Hello everyone, just joined the forum as I bought a cheap beginner's erhu two days ago as I felt I needed a new hobby (and obsession).
I've watched a few YouTube videos and also read a lot from the Eason Music School site (which is very helpful) and, after breaking a string (the A string) trying to tune it I have it tuned and set up and ready to go. Initially I didn't even know I had to rosin the bow! Also, I found out I had the bow too taught.
So, I can make noises with it (not musical sounds, just noise ) but not much else.
I'll look at getting some classes from the School of Chinese Music here in Adelaide, South Australia, however, what should my next step be? That is, should I just concentrate on the 'long bow' technique (I think it's called) to make a consistent sound or should I actually try scales or something?
BTW, one thing I'm having some difficulty with (apart from pretty much everything) is keeping the instrument stable on my knee; it tends to twist as I 'play' it.
I'm looking forward to trying to learn this, at 56 years of age
Carl
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Post by davidmdahl on Feb 27, 2018 23:48:27 GMT
Welcome to the forum, Carl. Age does not matter too much if your goal is having fun. Just be patient with yourself, and try to enjoy the journey.
I highly recommend the lessons as your first and next steps. You are more likely to develop bad habits by doing much of anything on your own. The teacher can clarify many of your initial problems and questions very quickly. A good teacher will assign you exercises to focus on at each stage, so you don't need worry about things that can wait. Much of playing erhu is not intuitive and hard to describe in a post or book. A live teacher will make all the difference. You don't know how lucky you are to have the option of a teacher.
Best wishes,
David
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Post by carl on Feb 28, 2018 0:05:02 GMT
Thanks very much David :-)
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Post by ntp0210 on Mar 15, 2018 2:49:38 GMT
The instrument is supposed to rest on the hips, right at the fulcrum between your upper thigh and the waist. If it is "twisting", or moving out of place while you play, maybe it's due to your left arm being too stiff, or you have to apply a tiny bit of pressure with your left hand to keep it in place. Another problem I've found first time players doing is lifting the bow off the instrument. You want it to have it rest on the hexagonal barrel. When you doing up and down bows, you also want the bow hair close to the neck, but not touching it. That way, you will play each string clear, not playing both strings at the same time.
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