The Legendary ErQuan Erhu

Erquan Yingyue - The piece of music by Hua Yan Jun (Blindman Ah-Bing) that has gotten Seiji Ozawa on his knees and in tears, has had such an impact on Chinese Music, that specialised Erhu was made to "recreate the sound" of Ah-Bing.

One must note that in his time, he was using a simple cheap erhu, probably not even suitable for playing any of the pieces today. Experts listening have judged the skin to be damaged, but the simplicity in his tone have left many listeners in awe.

The Erquan Erhu today is an attempt to recreate the sound. Sadly the mechanics are very flawed in the modern Erquan Erhu, making playing the piece with an Erquan erhu a very difficult task. There is a reason why this piece is still an entrance exam piece or graduation recital piece for many of the top conservatories in China. Amateur Graded Examinations place this piece at Grade 8 or 9, with reduced expectations for Amateurs. Reason? You need exceptional bow and string control to play the piece.

Firstly, usually tuned to AE (4th below) or GD(Fifth below) , the erhu in theory needs to be 25%-33% bigger in all dimensions. The Eruqan created today only increases dimensions by 10-18%. Else, this erhu will not be playable at all. Most luthiers prize themselves on that nasal tone, which unlike the modern erhu, requires either a horizontally lengthen resonator or a modified six-sided resonator. This makes the Erhu resonate very weakly, especially when played by amateurs and inexperienced performers.  The string tension, using increased thickness only make the erhu even more demanding on the bowing arm.

Many chinese music lovers still want to play erquan, but the tone they imagine would be very close to that of a sonorous zhonghu or viola. We usually recommend the small zhonghu for them. Sound wise, it is a lot more acceptable for the average listener, unless one really wants the Ah-Bing sound.

If one still insists on playing the Erquan Erhu, a few things need to be considered:
1. Tune to AE Instead. Good Erquan Erhus (or recent designs like a flattened 8 sided front erhu with round back) can be tuned to regular Erhu tunings. Tuning to GD will make any string too soft for the amateur players.
2. Raise the Qianjin. This will increase the tension required, and hence, a better sound. Regular QianJin heights are 38 -44 cm above the bridge. Erquan may need 48 - 56 cm or more at GD Tuning.
3. Use a bigger (zhonghu) bridge and zhonghu strings.
4. Instead of sponges supplied, use dense cloth materials for dampers.
5. Most importantly, practise the long bow techniques well. The Erquan Erhu today already has flaws in resonance. The player needs to over compensate by having good bowing techniques.