Fingering for pentatonic scale

[ed]

Fingering for the pentatonic scale - a conundrum

We are always being told that Chinese music is traditionally pentatonic - the scale being 1 2 3 5 6, missing out 4 and 7. However the usual fingering for the ErHu seems rather dependent on scale note 4. Every left-hand position (apart from the first) starts with the first finger on either 1 or 4.

How can this be? If note 4 is so rare in Chinese music then surely this fingering is rather strange.


Ed H

[paulv]

Hi Ed,

I haven't played erhu music for several years now as my concentration is on the jinghu and Beijing Opera. In the opera, 4 is actually played a quarter tone above where 4 usually is (between 4 and 4#). Hope this helps.

Regards,

paul...

[ed]

Thanks, Paulv. Thats very interesting. I was aware that a lot of music used microtones (is that the right word?) but hadn't actually come across it before and didn't know about it in China. It would be really interesting to hear a bit more about it. Is this a standard thing in Beijing Opera, used often, or just occasionally? Is it only note 4, or other notes too? How is it notated?

Ed H

[paulv]

Hi Ed,
I don't know about "microtones" but the quarter-tone above 4 and is used often in Beijing Opera (both styles: Xi Pi; Er Huang). For notation, you would put a symbol similar to the math symbol of "not equal to" with a vertical line (not the slanted vertical line) in front of the 4: ‡4

So for 4, you can have 3 possibilities, 4 ‡4 or #4

I haven't seen any other quarter tone notes in Beijing Opera, but they may be in folk music (like erhu stuff).

Regards,

paul