Sounds Of an erhu

[Lisa]

I was wondering what makes certain erhus have a mellow or a light sweet sound. Some I see listed for sale state ... light and sweet or mellow and warm. Just curious.

Lisa

[jetz320]

Well, all instruments have either a pro sound or a cheap tourist kind of sound. For erhu, mellow sounds and light sweet sounds are the intermediate to concert grade sounds. Its sound is done by the quality of the snakeskin, wood, and craftsmanship.

Heres a pro souning erhu: youtube.com/watch?v=ejnrt0s5ZTY

There are other sounds not as good: youtube.com/watch?v=IqMdO-HgtdM&mode=related&search=

[Lisa]

What a major difference! How relaxing and sweet to mellow. The other, so tinny but homey in a way. From all the erhu music I've listened to it seems that each one has it's own breath. Doesn't seem to matter if cheaply made or expensive. Each one seems to be imbued with it's own style.

Lisa

[davidmdahl]

You are so right, Lisa! The most important part of any instrument is always the player. I have heard wonderful musicians make terrific music with junky instruments, and poor musicians make terrible music with anything they can get their hands on. Of course, it is a lot more fun for the musician to play a wonderful instrument.

For an erhu, the quality comes from everything. The snake skin, bridge, strings, the wood, the way the erhu is set up, and even the quality of the bow. You can dramatically change the sound and "feel" of an erhu by changing bridge or strings.

Best wishes,

David