Silk strings

[jetz320]

Hey, do people still make and use silk strings? I know that they are hard to make, and break easily and also very expensive. But do they still make them? I'd like to hear music of an erhu with silk strings, and compare them with the modern strings.

[maaltan]

I used unwaxed dental floss at one time (6 strands D and 3 strands for A twisted and stretched).. I would surmise thats similar to silk strings.

They were VERY sensitive. The amount of bow pressure required to play is about 10x less than metal. The volume is also much less than metal.

Then again, im crazy and will try anything at least 2 or 3 times.

[dsouthwood]

I have read that silk strings were used on instruments such as guzheng and guqin, and I have tried to imagine how soft the sound would be. I'm pretty sure that early violins used gut strings, just as guitars did before nylon was invented. Could that also be true of the erhu? Does anyone know how recently metal strings were first used on instruments? I have seen mentions in stories of harps with silver strings, and I would imagine that silver was one of the first of the ductile metals to be drawn into a wire, but I have my doubts about its ability to produce a musical tone. I think the stories might be exaggerating somewhat. Does anyone have a source for details on the construction of ancient instruments? I would love to learn more.

[simon18i]

Silk strings may sound soft, but actually is not that soft. korea imported chinese music and instrument in the Tang dynasties, and they still keep the silk strings till now. i think the only chinese instrument that still part of them still use silk strings is guqin. you can still hear the korean version of silk string guzheng and erxuan/erhu? guzheng is called gayageum in korean and erhu is haegeum. can look for it in wikipedia or youtube. ^^

[Charlie Huang]

I heard that you can't tune silk on a erhu too high or it will break. And you can't finger high notes on silk erhu.

Actually, has anyone tried gut on erhu? Since gut was used for early Western *bowed* instruments, I would assume it will translate well on an erhu and can be tuned to standard.

I know that gut doesn't sound good on a guqin (one colleague tried and said it sounded hollow).

[dsouthwood]

I attended a guqin concert in San Diego some time ago, and one of the performers played a silk-string guqin--until one of the strings broke and he had to switch to a guqin with metal strings. After the concert I asked if guzhengs in the past had used silk strings, and he replied that they would have used gut strings because silk won't stretch and would break when the string is pressed to bend a note. I didn't ask about erhu because I wasn't playing one yet. I had wondered if the bowing would fray the strings too much, but according to John Thompson on his silkqin web site, "For at least 2,000 years, until the Cultural Revolution, the strings were always made of twisted silk which had been boiled in a kind of glue." (http://www.silkqin.com/03qobj/silk.htm). Boiling in glue would certainly affect the longevity of the strings, and would likely make a difference in the sound also.

Here's an article on making your own silk strings:

www.globalissuesgroup.com/silkStrings/howsilk.html

Dennis

[Charlie Huang]

I have never heard that guzheng used gut! I think that is false. Gayageum uses silk and they don't break when you bend the notes (their bridges are higher than guzhengs).

Silk strings can stretch more than you know (I think you can extend up to an inch). Also, qin strings should not break if you play gently. A lot of modern performance is too forceful, thus strings break.

I wonder why they didn't re-string. It only takes a couple of seconds if it is one of the outer strings of the goosefeet; plus a nice focal point for the audience to see how the instrument is strung.

[dsouthwood]

The concert I attended (May 24, 2007) was by Wang Peng, who had made the instruments used in the concert, and Ka woo hyun, in their first-ever performance in the U.S. I am merely reporting the answer Mr. Wang gave to my question.

[carol]

The Korean Erhu, Haegum, is still using silk strings. Check it out on youtube. That's how silk string erhu would sound.

[dsouthwood]

Thanks for that info, Carol. Check out this haegum pic: music.cein.or.kr/j4.htm. It looks like the tuning pegs are actually large spools of silk string in reserve. Those strings must break frequently as the bow frays them. I want one, regardless.

Dennis

[carol]

I'm not sure about haegum strings. But I think Korean silk strings are really strong. My kayagum strings don't break. Well, it broke 3-4 times total over the 5 years period I own it. All the strings come in large spool which my kayagum teacher said is enough for lifetime usage.

[dsouthwood]

Carol,

Do you use picks, fingernails, or bare fingers to play the kayagum?

Dennis

[carol]

I use bare fingers with lots of bendings on the left side.

[Charlie Huang]

I think much of Korean musical instruments are the same as a couple of hundred years ago. That's wht they sound very ancient to my ears.

[simon18i]

Yup, I agree. Their latest effort to modernize their instrument is the creation of the 20+ string gayageum in the model of the guzheng and the last musical advancement is the sanjo music where music is expressed in term of art than ritualistic or entertainment.

[Charlie Huang]

They've lost the charm of the original IMO through modernisation. Check out the koto. The only thing they did was change the strings (into teflon rather than metal-nylon which preserves the acoustic sound).