New erhu buyer.

[hakjai]

Hi all. Came across this forum while researching on the erhu. I read the long beginner sticky and am ready to begin. Many of the posts however were hard to understand without having an erhu handy so I think i'm just going to "dive" into it. Is this a good erhu for a beginner?

www.eason.com.sg/products/erhu/heh7.jsp

[song]

of course it is a good erhu!

Unless you prefer a see through Erhu, which we don't carry at the moment.

tansungwah.blogspot.com


Sung Wah

[hakjai]

lol, you werent kidding about the see through erhu.

[calden]

hakjai:

Welcome to the forum. You'll love playing erhu. There is a steep learning curve, but with some practice it becomes a great deal of fun. With some searching on this forum alone, you can find a ton of helpful instructional material and advice. The most important thing you'll hear is "find a teacher, if only for an introductory lesson."

There are a lot of erhus sold on ebay, and most of them are junk. However, the eason store is very reliable. I can vouch for Song's honesty and professionalism. I've bought items from him before and have no problem recommending him.

There are a few stores in the States that I could recommend, too, if you like trying things out (don't know where you are.)

Carlos

[hakjai]

Hi Carlos,

Thanks for the welcome and words of encouragement. I am in NJ not far from NYC, you seem very involved in the traditional chinese music scene, could you recommend a teacher for me?

Thank you,
Jonathan

[davidmdahl]

When looking for teachers of Chinese music, one of my resources is the following resource:

www.melodyofchina.org/01artists/mian_01.html

For the NYC area, one erhu master should be at the top of the list, Wang Guowei. www.musicfromchina.org/

Regarding an erhu for a beginner, my general recommendation is to get the best one you can afford. The cost of a really good one is not that much more than a beginner's model. I have purchased from Eason lately, and am very pleased. I suggest though that you find a teacher first. It may be that you can borrow a beginner's instrument for a few lessons to see if this is for you. If you have confidence that you will stick with the erhu, then decide on your budget and ask Song's recommendation on what is best in your price range.

Best wishes,

David

[calden]

Jonathan:

David's advice is excellent. You are in an ideal location for finding a teacher and then securing an erhu. A teacher might even be able to provide you with a good student model at cost.

Man, I wish I lived near NY! I went to art school in the mid-1970's there, and was only vaguely interested in Chinese culture at that time. Then I moved to NJ and STILL wasn't interested in the music, although I did study the language (Princeton extension student.) Then I moved to Berkeley to further study Chinese and STILL wasn't interested in the music. Then I attended graduate school at San Francisco State to study psychology. I had so many great chances to plug into Chinese music but didn't (I was playing bluegrass, swing, and Irish music all along) until I taught English in China in 1986. THEN I studied pipa for about 6 months. Upon returning stateside I lived a mere two hours away from Berkeley but didn't pursue any lessons.

It was only upon a return trip to China with family in 2001 that I bought an erhu and the light bulb went on for me. Now I live 4.5 hours away from Seattle and getting lessons is much more arduous. So I put together my own ensemble where I live:

eaglelake1.org/dragonwind.html

Athough I play and teach, I really ought to be taking weekly lessons with someone who will whip me into shape.

Carlos