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Chinese Music Online Lesson


 

Chinese Bowed String Instruments

The Erhu

The Erhu has a history of 500 years.   It is a string instrument played with a bow.  The sound box is covered with a snake skin which helps to produce its distinctive tone color which is mellow and bright.  The Erhu is one of the most widely used bowed instruments in China. Played with a variety of techniques, it is now extremely popular for both solo and orchestral performances.

The Erhu has a small body and a long neck. There are two strings, with the bow inserted between them. With a range of around three octaves, it's sound is rather like the violin, but with a thinner tone due to the smaller resonating chamber. In the orchestra they are usually divided into 1st and 2nd parts.

 

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Plucked Strings

Woodwind Percussion
 

Last Updated 27 January 2002

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