ebay gaohu

[maaltan]

this looks funny. Is the gaohu setup properly on this picture?

cgi.ebay.com/Awesome-Beijing-Ebony-Gaohu-Chinese-Violin_W0QQitemZ7417456821QQihZ016QQcategoryZ308QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

if so what is that large black thing at the bottoms purpose and why would the bridge be so far up?

[jetz320]

The black thing on the bottom, I've never seen before. But that goahu looks very elegant compared to others I have seen. The bridge placement, I don't know.

[davidmdahl]

The traditional method of playing the gaohu is between the knees, with half of the snake skin covered by the right knee.
The cover over the bottom half of the snake skin in the Beijing gaohu is meant to substitute for the knee so the gaohu can be played in erhu position. I don't know about the bridge position, but I am sure Sung Wah could explain.

There is another photo of this type of gaohu at www.baymusic.net/ . Navigate to the erhu page and click on "Bei Gaohu" next to "Erhu Bows".

Best wishes,

David

[song]

You're right, the bridge's suppose to be in the centre. My photographer didn't position it properly before taking the shots. Here's the Zitan version, which the bridge positioned correctly. www.eason.com.sg/images/Ebay/String/500/HGH1-3.jpg

And yes the cover is a substitute for the knees for a traditional gaohu tone.

Thanks,
Sung Wah