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Post by kittyglitter on May 12, 2006 20:47:41 GMT
Hi Everyone!
You know, I hunted for months looking for an erhu forum. I even started my own in Livejournal in hopes of finding other erhu players. Turns out, you were all over here!!!
I've been playing for about 2 months, and according to my teacher I'm "very very smart". I don't really have any basis for comparison so I think I'm doing ok. It doesn't sound like an animal being tortured anymore when I practice. :-)
I love my erhu tho. I named her Bai Ling in hopes she would make clear sounds and help my fingers be nimble.
I'm 30, live in Atlanta, and study at the Chinese Cultural Center.
Just thought I'd say hi!
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Post by davidbadagnani on May 12, 2006 21:58:31 GMT
Well, welcome, and glad you found us! (Come to think of it, it took me over a year to find this board too.) Atlanta is a good Chinese music city. How did you get interested in learning the erhu?
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Post by jdclay on May 12, 2006 22:20:59 GMT
Cool, nice to have another member from the Atlanta area playing the Erhu!!
Do you live downtown, or in the suburbs? I live in Woodstock, northwest of town. You?
Maybe we can meet sometime (after I get my erhu of course and try playing it a little) and you can teach me a little?
--Justin
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Post by calden on May 12, 2006 22:31:12 GMT
Welcome. I am predicting that within a few years we'll see a flood of non-Chinese taking up the erhu seriously. Looks like we're well on our way. Ask lots of questions - we are all learning from each other. There is a tremendous wealth of information here, from technique to books to CDs to other instructional materials.
Carlos
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Post by davidbadagnani on May 12, 2006 23:27:04 GMT
How long have you been playing the erhu, Carlos? I get the sense you've been at it longer than some of us other laowai here. ;-)
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Post by davidbadagnani on May 12, 2006 23:28:59 GMT
I understand what you're saying; esp. in comparison to the growing percentage of symphony orchestras with East Asian string players. This guy seems to be one of the better non-Chinese huqin players I've heard - he should join our board! cdbaby.com/cd/jeremymoyer
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Post by calden on May 12, 2006 23:41:08 GMT
I've been corresponding with Jeremy for a few years now - I got interested in his Taiwanese folk music, and how some of it sounded like trad French-Canadian music. Odd, because he's from Montreal, eh?
He's in Shanghai now studying pretty seriously. I envy and admire him for pursuing this music.
I've been playing about three and a half years, two seriously, and even then I don't practice as i should. I'd have a roomful of jealous instruments - guitar, cittern, mandolin, openback banjo, fretless banjo - as well as a family and band rising up in rebellion if I should pursue erhu the way I'd like. I dont' know - maybe it's time to sell some things off and really just do it three hours a day and see what I can get up to in a few years.
Carlos
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Post by davidbadagnani on May 12, 2006 23:57:53 GMT
Ha ha! Wu Man, as stated in the recent New York Times article, apparently practices 4 hours a day. I wouldn't have the patience as I like to play a lot of other instruments as well. Here's one band I'm in where I play some of those (no Chinese insts. to be found therein, though): www.riverbottombushwhackers.com/
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Post by calden on May 13, 2006 0:33:55 GMT
Nice music, David! Reminds me of string bands from the mid-70's. I can see why Chinese music has an appeal for you.
Carlos Bound For South Au Zhou
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Post by song on May 13, 2006 1:41:33 GMT
Welcome Kitty!
Please feel free to ask if you need anything.
Sung Wah
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Post by kittyglitter on May 15, 2006 11:57:18 GMT
Well, welcome, and glad you found us! (Come to think of it, it took me over a year to find this board too.) Atlanta is a good Chinese music city. How did you get interested in learning the erhu? My father and his side of the family are doctors and many of them had been stationed in China and Japan during various wars, etc...so I grew up in a house with lots of asian decor. I'm naturally drawn to many of those aspects of beauty: balance, harmony, simplicity. We're also a very musical family. My mother, sister, and I sing, my sister and I both play piano etc...so I've had the benefit of a really multi-cultural upbringing. i started to learn Chinese in high school which I soon dropped for Japanese (for some reason it's easier), although I plan to pick it back up so I can get more out of the erhu sites. I can't remember the first time I heard an erhu, but the sound was always very special to me. Last year I went through a divorce and decided I wanted to do something that was just for me and would keep my mind occupied. Erhu!
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Post by kittyglitter on May 15, 2006 12:00:43 GMT
Cool, nice to have another member from the Atlanta area playing the Erhu!! Do you live downtown, or in the suburbs? I live in Woodstock, northwest of town. You? Maybe we can meet sometime (after I get my erhu of course and try playing it a little) and you can teach me a little? --Justin Hi Justin, I live Downtown so you're quite a distance from me! Granted, I'm a true urbanite so anything more then a 5-10 minute commute seems 'crazy'! I don't think I'd be a very good teacher; I still have a lot to learn. I'm sure my erhu teacher would be happy to take another student. She's very supportive and fun. Let me know when you get your erhu and I'll pass her info on to you. :-)
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Post by kittyglitter on May 15, 2006 12:05:18 GMT
Welcome. I am predicting that within a few years we'll see a flood of non-Chinese taking up the erhu seriously. Looks like we're well on our way. Ask lots of questions - we are all learning from each other. There is a tremendous wealth of information here, from technique to books to CDs to other instructional materials. Carlos Thanks Carlos. When I first contacted my teacher she was very curious as to why I wanted to learn. I'm really glad she doesn't see a cultural barrier there but respects a person's love of music and willingness to learn. You seem to be one of the resident experts. How did you get started? Or is that part of a FAQ somewhere?
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Post by kittyglitter on May 15, 2006 12:06:25 GMT
Welcome Kitty! Please feel free to ask if you need anything. Sung Wah Thank you, Sung!
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Post by paulv on May 15, 2006 12:36:59 GMT
Hi Kitty, And welcome to the forum. You'll find a wealth of info and friendliness here. We are all at different stages of learning the erhu and love every minute of it.
Regards, Paul..... (2.5 yr erhu student)
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Post by calden on May 15, 2006 12:42:32 GMT
I sure wouldn't call myself an expert! Let's say a somewhat accomplished dilletante.
I played rock and roll like every other American kid did in 1968, then got interested in bluegrass in college. From there it was a short hop to swing and jazz, then on to Irish music. I took my banjo to China when I lived there in 1986 (teaching ESL) and studied pipa at that time.
4.5 years ago I visited China again (http://eaglelake1.org/trip/index.htm)- this time we took our pre-teen kids with us to show them Asia and our many friends we made while there, and for fun I picked up an erhu. Wow - little did I know that I'd fall in love with it. Since then I've incorporated it into my neotraditional Celtic band, The Celtic Nots (www.celticnots.com) recording and performing with it. It sounds absolutely killer with trad Irish and American music, much of which is in the keys of D, G, A, Em, Am, all of which fall easily on erhu.
I've been blessed to have discovered erhu. When my kids are out of school (youngest is HS freshman) I reallly hope that my wife and I can return and I can study this damn thing seriously. I look so foreign with an erhu - huge American guy with white hair and big nose - I can't wait to sit in the park with the other older guys and honk along. Just like an Irish jam session at a pub.
To that end I've been re-applying myself to the language. I was so-so back in 1986 after two years of college Chinese, and basicallly let it drop upon returning. I prepared some for our return trip, but really got back into it a few years ago when I started playing erhu with my CHinese friends here in our city for events and parties.
Despite my name I have no connection with or interest in Hispanic culture. Life is strange.
Carlos
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Post by paulv on May 15, 2006 15:15:41 GMT
I sure wouldn't call myself an expert! Let's say a somewhat accomplished dilletante. ............. Carlos, You're more of an expert erhu player than most of us here! Regards, paul...
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Post by davidbadagnani on May 16, 2006 1:33:16 GMT
Interesting! If you're interested in Japanese music, you might want to check out the instrument called kokyu. It looks like a little bowed shamisen, with three strings. It used to be really popular in Japan for sankyoku (trio music along with shamisen and koto) but today it's not that popular. Actually, many Japanese people prefer the erhu to the kokyu! So you'd be one of the only Americans to play it. ;-) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokyu
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Post by kittyglitter on May 16, 2006 13:31:30 GMT
Interesting! If you're interested in Japanese music, you might want to check out the instrument called kokyu. It looks like a little bowed shamisen, with three strings. It used to be really popular in Japan for sankyoku (trio music along with shamisen and koto) but today it's not that popular. Actually, many Japanese people prefer the erhu to the kokyu! So you'd be one of the only Americans to play it. ;-) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KokyuI love the sound of the kokyu. I think the erhu has it beaten for style though. Perhaps that will be the next one to learn! :-D
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Post by maaltan on May 17, 2006 0:19:33 GMT
hmm interesting. Kokyu is japanese but it shares chinese characters with the erhu. kokyu 胡弓 first is hu in chinese which is the name of the barbarian tribe (literal translation: moon tribe?) second is bow(can't remember the chinese but probably rhymes with kyu) . Usually meaning the "weapon bow" but for the huqin it means the bow that the instrument is played with. erhu 二胡 er of course is 2 and hu is the before mentioned tribe. that is about all the chinese i know I am slowly learning it through the terms surrounding the Erhu.
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Post by notmadeinzhongguo on May 17, 2006 2:07:15 GMT
Interesting! If you're interested in Japanese music, you might want to check out the instrument called kokyu. It looks like a little bowed shamisen, with three strings. It used to be really popular in Japan for sankyoku (trio music along with shamisen and koto) but today it's not that popular. Actually, many Japanese people prefer the erhu to the kokyu! So you'd be one of the only Americans to play it. ;-) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KokyuI love the sound of the kokyu. I think the erhu has it beaten for style though. You got that right! The erhu looks way cooler then the kokuy.
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Post by davidbadagnani on May 17, 2006 8:31:43 GMT
I love a good discussion of East Asian etymology! ¹ shows up as "gong1." Those of you who don't know it, this website is the most useful one I know for CJK characters; bookmark it if you don't know it already: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BC%93
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Post by Charlie Huang on May 17, 2006 8:40:43 GMT
first is hu in chinese which is the name of the barbarian tribe (literal translation: moon tribe?) Where did you get that from? For me, 胡 has the radical for 'meat' and the 'gu' is the phonetic, so nothing to do with moon (common mistake for those who are not familiar with Kangxi classification). 'Hu' means 'wild'.
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Post by davidbadagnani on May 17, 2006 11:19:05 GMT
When you say meat, do you mean "rou"? I thought that has two inverted "V" shapes but I don't see that in this character.
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Post by Charlie Huang on May 17, 2006 12:58:57 GMT
Yes, I mean rou 「肉」. It confuses the uninitiated. A bit like 快 is classified under 心. 胡, 背, 胸, 腳, etc are classified under 肉, but 朝, 朋, 服 are classified under 月. It is all to do with the simplification of the radical. You can know these by looking at dictionaries which are classified under the traditional Kangxu system (and the IME).
Copy and paste these into wiktionary and it tells you their radical.
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