Erhu, a two-stringed fiddle,
is one of the best-known traditional Chinese
musical instruments. Its music is usually very
expressive and touching, especially when you
feel down and blue.
Scroll down to enjoy some of the most famous
Erhu melodies, and we begin with: Teresa's Blues
Great collection and our personal favourite
which is very worth listening to. Classical playlist
We are not certain casual Westerners browsing
will understand most of these tunes. Erhu as an instrument
Finally we introduce the Erhu offering history
and general information.
Teresa's Blues - Modern Erhu tracks
by the world's leading performers
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忘记他
(3.17)
Forget him
胭脂泪
(2.58)
Yan Zhi Lei
漫步人生路
(3.45)
Walking Life
独上西楼
(2.13)
Independence on the West Wing
恰似你的温柔
(3.53)
Almost Just Like Your Tenderness
空港
(3.47)
Airport
何日君再来
(3.39)
Love You Forever
小村之恋
(3.47)
Love Little Village
爱人
(3.51)
Beloved
但愿人长久
(3.49)
Wish the People Forever
夜来香
(3.54)
Evening Primrose
我只在乎你
(4.03)
I Only Care About You
原乡人
(3.35)
The Native
Play
All Above
Classical
Chinese Erhu Melodies - These may not
suit Western ears?
Er
Quan Ying Yue (6.16)
Er Quan Ying Yue means "second
spring reflecting the moon."
It was wriitten by Hua Yanjun (also
known as A Bing), a blind artist
living between 1893 and 1950. It
is perhaps the most famous Erhu
tune of all time. That stated, we
do not recommend this piece for
first-timers to this most expressive
of instruments. It is better suited
to musicians gaining knowledge about
this most excellent musical instrument.
Bing
Zhong Yin (9.05)
Moaning during sickness.
Liang
Xiao (3.35)
Beautiful night
Han
Gong Qiu Yue (6.58)
Autumn moon in the palace during
the Han Dynasty
Also featured in Top 10 Classics
with Pipa and Guzheng alternatives
Zhong
Hua Liu Ban (4.03)
An ancient melody
Yu
Hu Mai Chun (8.56)
Buying spring a with jade teapot
Xing
Jie (5.31)
Walking the street
Liu
Bo Qu (6.53)
Melody of running waves
Jiang
He Shui (7.41)
Water in the rivers
Ting
Song (3.25)
Listening to the pine
Yi
Zhi Hua (7.44)
A flower
The flower referred to is probably
a term used to describe a beautiful
girl
Die
Lian Hua (5.20)
Butterfly flying in the flowers
Qinqiang
Opera theme song (6.59)
This the Erhu version of the tune.
Qinqiang Opera is an ancient local
opera in Northwest China's Shaanxi
Province.
Listen to the Erhu and Pipa working
completely in tandem, especially
at the midpoint of this track -
wonderful combination of instruments!
Recommended Erhu version: Quite
brilliant!
Here
is the Banhu version of the same
song (5.40).
Play
All Above
Erhu:
History and General Information
The erhu (Chinese:
二胡; pinyin: èrhú), also called nanhu (南胡, "southern
fiddle"), and sometimes known in the West
as the "Chinese violin" or "Chinese
two-string fiddle," is a two-stringed bowed
musical instrument, used as a solo instrument
as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras.
It is the most popular instrument in the huqin
(胡琴) family of Chinese bowed string instruments,
together with the zhonghu (中胡), gaohu (高胡), banhu
(板胡), jinghu (京胡), sihu (四胡), and numerous others.
Similarly, the bow passes between the two strings
as is common with all Chinese Bowed instruments.
The erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like
neck, at the top of which are two large tuning
pegs, and at the bottom is a small resonator body
(sound box) which is covered with python skin
on the front (playing) end. Two strings are attached
from the pegs to the base, and a small loop of
string (qian jin) placed around the neck and strings
acting as a nut pulls the strings towards the
skin, holding a small wooden bridge in place.
Various dense and heavy hardwoods
are used in making the erhu. According to Chinese
references the woods include zi tan (紫檀 red sandalwood
and other woods of the genus Pterocarpus such
as padauk), lao hong mu (老红木 aged red wood), wu
mu (乌木 black wood), and hong mu (红木 red wood).
Particularly fine erhus are often made from pieces
of old furniture.
A typical erhu measures
81cm from top to bottom, the length of the bow
also being 81cm.
Tuning
The erhu is almost always tuned to the interval
of a fifth. The inside string (nearest to player)
is generally tuned to D4 and the outside string
to A4. This is the same as the two middle strings
of the violin.
Position
The erhu is traditionally played sitting down
placed on the top of the left thigh. However,
many modern artists such as 12 Girls Band play
it standing up.
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Music
Highlights
Below: Reunion tribute 2006 Live - excellent music
Once Upon a Time
in China!
Written by: James Wang
Sung by: Lam Chi Zhiong
(Cantonese Version) Play
mp3 Now
Quintessential Modern Chinese
Music! Watch
the Movie Here
