Erhu Making - How NOT to make an Erhu!

We came across a video recently. It actually states how to make an Erhu. Most parts were acceptable, except when it talks about the most important part of the making: The Affixing of the Membrane.

Proceeding to 22:50, there are so many flaws in which we see with this portion!

1. Whoever is sacriligeous enough to fix an entire piece of skin without even removing the flesh and fat layer from the top most layer, is asking for the erhu membrane to warp with changes to the weather. Flesh and skin are 2 distinct layers, which will will expand and contract at differing rates. When the weather gets moist, or air pressure drops, the flesh will sag first, causing the erhu's tight skin to have a stage of muffled sounds, till  it sags sufficiently to have a softer tun usual mellow tone. The interim stage is when we say "the erhu got a flu". Its not a bad way of foretelling the weather. When the air gets dry, the outer skin expands first, while the flesh behind stays intact. You get a muffled sound again, but this time, if the skin dries much faster than the flesh, guess what, the skin may tear.

2. No respectable maker will apply glue while the skin is still in a flimsy form. If you ask any respectable maker, Wang Geng Xin, Hu Han Rou, Wan Qi Xing, or even EcoErhu (yes, they make using traditional based methods as well) , the skin needs to be stretched and dried on a mold of the Erhu box or the box itself to give it the shape that is needed. At this stage, the maker can adjust the tension adjust the angles, tune all corners, making sure all sides are well stretched and dried at least 2 times. During this time, the maker must even out the skin. Think of it as TuiNa massage, when you release all knots of your muscles, its done on the skin as well, 2 times. It is only after the maker is happy that the skin is in its most balanced form when he will apply the glue.

3. Stretching. Using the screw down clamp, the hydraulic jack and such methods are akin to cooking everything together in a pressure cooker. You can't control any side or corner. Whatever comes out is based on luck. True makers use this method, or a slight variation:

Corners are controlled by the twisting ropes and wooden rods, while sides are controlled using jammed in wedges. This is ancient wisdom of levers and wedges at work, and boy this is hard work. The glue holds 2000lbs/square inch, and you can easily guess how much stretching this is. This stretching is done and released and done 3 times. 

Every maker has their own concept of how to tune the "drum skin" on the erhu. No matter what, a method without tuning the 6 sides of the erhu will never be the right one. 

I hope this helps everybody to be a bit more discerning about what they watch, read or hear about.  

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.

Musician Accessories in the USA - How to use Everyday items

Oriental musicians in the USA do have a hard time getting cases, accessories and stuff for their instruments. A simple trip to Walmart or Best buy does solve a lot of issues... really!

1. Erhu, Dizi and other instrument cases: shipping from Asia is often too expensive to justify the cost of the case, but we found a few alternatives: Gun cases, those with Pick-and-Pluck Foam works well. Found one in Walmart for $59.90 for dizi or erhu. Crush proof case, customisable foam(1.5 inches). A thicker one for Pipa and Guqin can be found on Amazon for under about $100. Higher quality than those cases made in China too! This may be one thing we should all think about.

2. Felt tabs for strings: Get those adhesive seal for keep drafts out (the type you stick on doors) - $5 gives you a 12 ft roll. dark colours and yet, cheap and very very sturdy.

3. Qian-Jin Nut Strings; truth being said, get the waxed-unscented dental floss. Its in fact sturdier and cleaner sounding than conventional erhu qianjin strings.

4. Emergency strings for Pipa and Ruan - Believe it! Guitar strings work! Have tried it. In fact, They work for Guzheng too! You may have to try out the lengths and check thickness. May not be the best tone, but for performances other than your solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall, they may save your day.

5.  Lost your erhu bridge? The Birch rolling pins sold in Walmart (the type without a roller) makes a great material for it. In fact, you can use many woods, like Maple, Walnut and these may even be a start to your customised bridge collection. You can play around and look for the sound you like.

The list goes on and on... We can all contribute to this list for rescue our fellow musicians from a hefty buy of an empty box, or worse, having a lost instrument part, 1 day before the show!

Library ,Scores and Thanksgiving

It has been a few busy days for us at TBG. Shanghai office has so far prepped tones of sheet music, MP3s, Videos and instructional materials and uploading is done in USA. So there is a lot of sorting through, a lot of uploading and soon, plenty of translation work to be done.

Building this library is no easy task, and all we ask for is that the users of the library have an opportunity to access the materials that we have uploaded online. Once again, we take this opportunity as well, to thank all the those who have come before us who had given us literature, technology and the sense of aesthetic to appreciate our music today.