Erhu notation

[karl]

I understand that "curve up/down arrow" before a note means slide from up/down into that note. How far away do you start sliding from? Is it from the previous note to the current note?

What about when the arrow appears after the note. Is this the same? How does it differ when it appears after a note rather than before the following note?

What about when the arrow appears on top of the note?
Is the the same as that sideways 'S' notation (I think it is called a turn/reverse turn)

And does these arrow notations have a counterpart in western music notation (ie how does it appear when it is translated to staff notation?)

Are there any other notations specific to erhu (other than fingering: 1-4 inside, outside)

[maaltan]

karl said:

I understand that "curve up/down arrow" before a note means slide from up/down into that note. How far away do you start sliding from? Is it from the previous note to the current note?

What about when the arrow appears after the note. Is this the same? How does it differ when it appears after a note rather than before the following note?

the way i understand it is its a quick short slide. In some songs its half step or less. some its adjacent note. I think its one of those things that can be improvised and basically boils down to whatever sounds good.

before the note you slide into the proper note. after the note you slide out of the note slightly before finishing the duration.

as for other questions im not sure. im still sort of new at this also. It seems like each new song has some sort of new symbol.

[song]

Well it depends on the situation actually. If its the starting of a phrase, its a quick short slide. if you are playing say a piece in G key and you are playing the notes 3 5, you can slide from 3 to 5 on your first finger. However you need to control your bow arm to play softer when sliding, so that it does not sound clumsy.

If its after the note, maaltan is right when he says 'after the note you slide out of the note slightly before finishing the duration'. But same theory applies when you are playing the notes 5 3 in key. You can slide from 5 to 3.

Wait till my handheld recorder arrives and I can record some examples.

Regards,
Sung Wah