Playing the Erhu: Bridging the Gap

   I recently bought this book online. This was recommended to me by an Erhu player, one of the members of a college Chinese orchestra here in the Philippines, and my future 老师. Not everyone in the Philippines is familiar with the Erhu, since this is a Chinese instrument.

This book is expensive. I did not hesitate in purchasing it because I know it is indispensable. There aren't a lot of books about Erhu that are written in English, so it's understandble that it's a bit pricey. This is a must for all non-Chinese erhu enthusiast.

The price of this book is around four thousand pesos. It is priced over $40. All you need to know about the erhu is inside this book. The author clearly explains everything, and there are photos included, from the parts of an erhu, how to assemble or set-up an erhu, how to rosin a bow, how to hold the bow, and so on. There's also a brief instruction on how to read the numerical scores or the jianpu. There are additonal classic Chinese scores also. Over all this is a concise book about erhu. If you want to order this book I suggest you buy in ebay, and order from the seller, musicofmay. This book was delivered on my doorstep, hassle free, no need to pick it up from the post-office. It was delivered to me by UPS.

Movie Review: Our Shining Days

  I am wondering why I have not written any review of this movie. I even checked my personal blog, and I have not posted it there. Anyway, this post is long overdue. I just remembered this movie after digging up my erhu again. What's an erhu? It is a Chinese musical instrument, they also call it in English, two stringed fiddle, or Chinese violin. I studied the basics before on how to play the erhu. Now, I'm planning to do a self-study/practice. I am encouraged to pick-up and play the erhu by a young member of the Chinese orchestra in my country. I was able to borrow an erhu practice book from his which is very rare to find here in the Philippines. I was also told to order an erhu instructional book, which I did. It is a bit expensive, but its worth it. All for the love of Chinese culture.

This movie is about high-school music students, one group is the Chinese music students, and the other group were music students who were into Europeran/Western musical instruments (violin, harp, guitar etc.). I recall a short clip of one of the famous scene in the movie where both groups battled by playing their own musical instruments. For example the Guzheng vs. Harp, and so on. I agree with one of the comments in YouTube, that this movie is not about proving or showing which musical instrument is superior. What the movie is trying to say is never forget the past, it is about treasuring, and never forgetting Chinese classical music instruments. I am not Chinese but I appreciate these things. The Chinese youth especially should not forget this. If you are a music lover, more so a Chinese music lover like me then I suggest you see this movie.

二胡 First Lesson in Erhu (Chinese 2 stringed-fiddle)

Today I had my first lesson in erhu. To play the erhu and own one is one of my Chinese dream. I bought my erhu for around P7000 (seven-thousand) Philippine Pesos. It is a bit expensive. But my teacher says that the price is alright. I bought my erhu from a local online seller whose husband is Filipino-Chinese. My plan originally was to enroll again at Confucius Institute, but this time in Makati because they don't offer the Chinese music course in Katipunan. So I tried looking for an erhu teacher online. I contacted a former student from U.P. Diliman who plays the violin, and is now based in Singapore. She suggested that I try contacting the Music department in U.P. Diliman, and look for Prof. Ongsiako. I searched for this person online, and I found out that they have a music group or ensemble. They perform usually in Chinese events and by request. (You can contact them in Facebook, just search for Kim Hwa Music Ensemble). I contacted them, and they arranged a lesson for me. My erhu teacher is the daughter of Prof. Ongsiako. Ms. Tanya is her name. According to her she has been playing the erhu, since she was 7 years old. She was a guest before in GNN tv show hosted by Mr. Herman Tiu Laurel, wherein she showed her musical prowess.

On to today's happening. My erhu was not yet playable, so the first thing that she did was that she assembled my erhu. She skillfully re-attached the strings to the pegs, and carefully wiped my bow with rosin. While doing that we chatted about my interest in Chinese culture, and I asked her a few questions with regards to the erhu (the price, and the quality of my erhu). She asked me if I have Chinese ancestry, I told her I don't know. I further added, I'm Chinese by heart (because I love the Chinese culture, no pun intended. I am serious about this). This blog proves how much I adore the Chinese culture.

Our first lesson is how to hold the erhu, and the bow properly. She said its similar to holding a chopsticks. I told her I'm not that very good in holding the chopsticks so I was having difficulty holding the bow. I did bow exercises, playing the inner and outer string. The erhu, although it sounds similar with the violin, they differ in many ways. The erhu is a 2 stringed instrument, and it has no visible frets. The bow is secured in place in the middle of the strings. I hope I can play even a simple piece someday.

Parts of the erhu (source: Wikipedia)

Qín tong (琴筒), sound box or resonator body; it is hexagonal (liu jiao, southern), octagonal (ba jiao, northern), or, less commonly, round.
Qín pí/She pí (琴皮/蛇皮), skin, made from python. The python skin gives the erhu its characteristic sound.
Qín gan (琴杆), neck.
Qín tou (琴頭), top or tip of neck, usually a simple curve with a piece of bone or plastic on top, but is sometimes elaborately carved with a dragon's head.
Qín zhou (琴軸). tuning pegs, traditional wooden, or metal machine gear pegs
Qiān jin (千斤), nut, made from string, or, less commonly, a metal hook
Nèi xián (内弦), inside or inner string, usually tuned to D4, nearest to player
Wai xián (外弦), outside or outer string, usually tuned to A4
Qín ma (琴碼), bridge, made from wood
Gong (弓), bow, has screw device to vary bow hair tension
Gong gan (弓杆), bow stick, made from bamboo
Gong máo (弓毛), bow hair, usually white horsehair
Qín diàn (琴墊), pad, a piece of sponge, felt, or cloth placed between the strings and skin below the bridge to improve its sound
Qín tuō (琴托) – base, a piece of wood attached to the bottom of the qín tong to provide a smooth surface on which to rest on the leg

History of Chinese Musical Instruments (excerpts from CCTV9 documentary) Pt.II

This is the continuation of my blog post. History of the Chinese Musical Instruments. Please do check out my previous post.

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Between the years 115-138 B.C  Zhang Qian an explorer of the Western Han dynasties. Visited various countries in the Westerns region. These visits resulted in an increase in cultural exchange in various ethnic groups, a number of foreign instruments were introduced to China. The greatest changes, occurred in the China’s flutes and Xiao. It was not until in the Han dynasty that Chinese flutes were played vertically.

Accordng to Mr. Qia Jianzhong, “In the past the Xiao was also called the flute. Before, the  flute in China was played vertically.”

In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian introduced the flutes in the Western regions to China and they were played horizontally. Flutes that were played vertical were renamed Xiao. The sounds produced by the flutes are clear and is pleasant to the ear as the chirping of birds. Both the Xiao and flute are favorite musical instruments of Chinese people and both are equally important.

After the downfall of Han dynasty, China entered a period of incessant wars among various dynasties. These wars became a catalyst for increased cultural exchange as a result foreign cultures found their way to China. Gradually, Instruments that are introduced to the people of China through the silk road become important to the musical life of the country.  

Ruanxian is an improved version of Pipa from the Western regions as used in the Han dynasty, it was called the Qing pipa, but later renamed Ruanxian, named after a scholar who was skilled in playing it. It is a plucked stringed-instrument. A Ruanxian has a round soundbox it also has a straight handle, string bridges, and strings. The crank-handled Pipa is quite different from the round Chinese Pipa, and it is so named because part of its handle is a crank . The Pipa has a pear-shaped soundbox.. The name Pipa suggests how the instruments is played. Pi indicates the strings are plucked inwardly and Pa indicates the strings are plucked outwardly. Renowned Tang Poet Bai Juyi (wrote an essay telling how a Pipa is played). 

“The large string hum like rain, the small strings whisper like a secret. The string hummed whispered and then were intermingled like the pouring of large and small pearls into a plate of jade.”

At first the Pipa was played played horizontally as Bai Juyi wrote she held the Pipa horizontally to hide half of her face. It took more than a thousand years before it was played vertically as it is in the stage today. That period lasted from the 7^th century in the Tang Dynasty up to the 17 th century in the Ming dynasty. Today the Pipa has a box and is played with the hand.

The Pipa was introduced to Japan from China in the Tang dynasty, and even today the Japanese used a bug spectrum to play the Pipa. Today, the Pipa was among the well-known Chinese musical instruments.The Konghou originated in West asia and was introduced to China’ through China’s Western regions.The Paiban was introduced to the Tang dynasty from today’s Northwest China and all of these is evident from the openness of Tang culture towards other culture.Dizi Pa is a kind of vertical flute and is named as 1.8 Zi. Although the instrument disappeared in China long ago it became a traditional instrument in Japan, as with all the case of musical instruments in the Tang dynasty.

It is said that over a thousand years ago a musician of the town imperial palace fled the capital and made his way to this town in South western in Xian due to war. It is here that he established a musical ensemble to teach local people imperial music. Incredibly the group is still active today. Most of them are simple farmers, and after doing their family work they meet together for practice for performances. Most of the musical instruments were handed down to them by their forefathers, and their skills in the instruments were passed on in the same way. It is believed that the musical score in silk that they keep was produced several hundred years ago during the Ming dynasty. 

Li Mingzhong, research fellow Shaanxi Art Institute says, “Xi’an musicians use up to seven types of drums.  The score of their ensembles depends on drum beats. So Xian musicians don’t use drums to command music ensembles as they do in operas Drum beats are use to unite every part of the ensemble. So drums are very important. Although these types of ancient musical instruments were once reserved for Imperial use only overtime they gradually extended to ordinary people.“

Today musician can’t be seen while accompanying performers in the Peking Opera. However the music of the opera reveals to the audience how able the accompanist are as they give expressions equally well as  to tragic feelings or a more gentle sentiments required for the story. Peking Opera doesn’t require a large number of accompanist. Usually just 7 or 8 musicians playing strings or percussions and wind instruments are all that was required and this is the result of many years of experimentation.

This popular band integrating modern and traditional styles caused a sensation in China, the members of the band were all women using traditional Chinese instruments to play contemporary music. (12 Girls Band). Interestingly the musical instruments in their hands actually didn’t actually originate in China but over a long period of time became a representative of Chinese musical instruments.

Older Chinese people will find playing the erhu in the way that they played is unacceptable. The erhu is usually played in a certain manner and context. The erhu is as important to the Chinese as violin is to the Europeans. However many Chinese people don’t know that the erhu is not an original Chinese musical instrument.

 The erhu used to be called the xiqin and is invented by the Xi tribe, during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The Xi was a northern ethnic minority tribe. They invented the two stringed instrument played vertically. 

Qian Jianzhong says, “We didn’t have this kind of instrument in China. Furthermore, until the xiqin appeared during the Tang Dynasty. There were no records about the xiqin until the Song dynasty at which time it was renamed the erhu fiddle. So the erhu fiddle is a product o fthe integration of Chinese and foreign cultures. “

The erhu mainly consists of a bow and  a two strings. But it went through a number of transformations before maturing in the Yuan dynasty to come to the instruments we know today. The result was a bowed string instrument. This kind of instrument was kinda new to China. This instrument was used to accompany the opera, song and dance performances and is an ensemble instrument used in various traditional music groups. According to Qian Jianzhong the erhu’s tension is in its middle. The pitch isn’t very high so the erhu fiddle is sounds quite mellow. Eventually the erhu ousted the pipa as the leading instrument in the Tang dynasty.  

Qian  also mentioned, “The pipa has nodes. When the strings are plucked at, these nodes are produced. It also has strings and other things but it produces its sound mainly  through the points. When it is played the erhu fiddle makes a fine sound. When it is played slowly it makes a long continuous sound. In addition the erhu can mimic the sound of the human voice. When it Is played the erhu most often sounds like singing. This is also true of performances given by Liu Tianhua whose erhu fiddle was  a good singer. The pipa cant do that as it makes sounds through its frets not lines. Which makes it different from the erhu fiddle.”

After the Ming and Qing dynasties variations on the erhu have emerged in China including the gaohu,banhu and jinghu and in this way the erhu came to dominate Chinese folk musical instruments.

Thanks to the effort of Chinese musicians by the period of 1000 years.  4 types of instruments have come to dominate Chinese music.

String instruments were represented by the erhu, jinhu and gaohu.

Plucked instruments were represented by qin and pipa.

Wind instruments were represented by the flute, xiao, sheng, and suona.

And percussions instruments were represented by tanggu, tonggu and bo.

However in Europe in the middle ages things were quite different, by that time larger ensembles were beginning to take shape and larger number of musical instruments were being used producing increasingly complicated music. Modern symphonic music originated to devoted to the glory of God and as such was often more passionate and dramatic.

Traditional Chinese music continues to progress along a Chinese style path.  Ancient Xun makes music that takes you back to the remote past. The Pipa is used produce music that can give expression to a beautiful scenery of a moonlit river on a beautiful spring. The Erhu excels when it comes to portraying people’s sadness and worries.

These musical instruments made of different materials producing different  timbres worked together to give expressions to the unique traditional Chinese culture.Ancient Chinese scholars officials have their own aesthetic taste. The Qin which has a history of a thousand years was a symbol of life for the high people of society. All emperor’s high ranking officials and scholars of the Song and Yuan dynasty right up to the Ming and Qing dynasties took delight in music produce on the Qin.Different kinds of ancient Qin have survived to the present day some of them were handed down from generation after generation within a single family while others,  once assets of the Imperial palace. Yet o are no longer regarded as ordinary musical instruments having become precious art objects in their own rights.

Even today the ancient Qin is still used to produce music that gives expression to ancient Chinese culture and traditions. And it has that unique character that enables it both to express melancholy and nobility.

Today many modern Chinese find in a world full of frantic activity, the sound of Qin can bring peace and tranquillity.

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Source: New Frontiers International documentary CCTV 9.

History of Chinese Musical Instruments (excerpts from CCTV9 documentary) Part I

As a Chinese studies enthusiast, I also do appreciate Chinese music whether it be classical or contemporary. I also wish that someday I’ll be able to learn how to play a Chinese musical instrument. With regards to Chinese contemporary music I like the music of Wang Lee Hom, and Jay Chou (Zhou Jie Lun). I also know the 12 girls band, who plays the Chinese classical instruments and integrates them to modern music. I also recommend the movie, Love in Disguise starring Wang Lee Hom and Liu Yi Fei, while it is mainly a love story, it also shows the importance of the Chinese classical music.

This blog post of mine is about the history of Chinese musical instruments, and their importance to the Chinese people, and their integral part in the culture of the Chinese. Furthermore, I hope that you will also be able to appreciate the beauty of the Chinese musical instruments. Below is my transcription (I edited some parts but they still convey the same thoughts from the narrator or speaker) taken from the documentary presented by the CCTV 9, shown in YouTube channel. I did this mainly for educational purposes, and I do not intend to abuse the copyright, or plagiarized someone’s work. The host of the New Frontiers International is Mr. Ji Xiaojun and is narrated by Su Yang.

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History of Chinese Musical Instruments

Ancient Chinese regarded music as holy and pure and believes that it purifies one’s thinking.

The harmonious combination of musical sounds was made by instruments that fell into 8 categories

 Namely metal, stone, clay, wood, bamboo, string, gourd, and leather. The sounds that the instruments produce gave expressions to the soul of Chinese people.

There is a traditional music revival in China. Maybe one reason is that the old Chinese instruments look quaint to foreigners. Musicians in ancient China use musical instruments that were quite different from now.Many musical instruments are excavated as far  dates back as the Neolithic age.

One instrument is called Xun. You make it by shaping the clay and you baking it. A Xun has at most six holes on it. That was the best Xun the ancient Chinese had. They have 10 holes now, Xun.The sound is melancholy sad, still a Xun creates a unique artistic feeling.They produce sounds of clay. They produce inspiring sounds that no instruments can produce.

Liu Kuanren, President China Xun Culture Society says that, “Tough conditions in primitive society people have to compete for survival. They express emotions in many variety of ways. First form was singing. Then they use clay, vines, bamboo and stones. These gave rise to musical instruments. People who are still living in a tribal society uses musical instruments that are ancient and stretches back to the Neolithic age (primitive).”

Another instrument is the whistle,  this bone whistle is regarded as a musical instrument but in ancient time must be used as a  communication between hunters. Next is, Pottery bell, when they sway bells produce a sound that is clear and pleasant to the ear. While, Drums have bodies made of pottery covered with animal skin. All of these are ancient musical instruments of China. Another is chime stones,  it is also a Chinese musical instruments but  originated from a simple farm tool. The chimes resembles ancient stone plough and hoes, was actually designed for a stick. The round whole by which a chime stone is hung 

According to Ying Youqin, President of China’s Museum of Oriental Musical Instruments, “When chime stones were fiund to be able to produce pleasant sound they gradually became musical instruments. The ancient musical instruments has five notes are Gong, Shang, Jue , Zhi, and Yu.”

They are the equivalent of the do, re, mi, in Western music.

According to Qian Jianzhong, former director of the music institute of China Art Academy. “The Chinese mainly use five of the notes partly because they used five elements to explain the origin of the world. Metal, wood, water, fire and earth or east west north south and middle.  So the Chinese have five notes. Generally speaking we mainly use five of the seven notes. That’s a rule. Two of the notes are secondary and the other five are primary.”

This rule is in line with the traditional, intellectual and cultural aspirations of Chinese people with gentleness and tranquillity. Because of the use of these five notes the Chinese traditional musical instruments were able to produce elegant music without drastic rises of falls and pitch.

The earliest musical instruments were quite rudimentary. By the time of Zhou dynasty as many as 70 different instruments were commonly played. 8^th century bc, the golden age. Confucius himself would later say that playing an instrument was an important indicator of once moral standard. Many did not know that Confucius was a musician.

Overtime the number of musical instruments increased and they produce more objective sounds.

In the 8^th Century, Spring, and Autumn, and the Warring state war period. Musical instruments developed rapidly in this period. According to Wang Peng, Qin Manufacturer. “At first the Qin had five strings. Shun a legendary sage monarch enjoyed making five-stringed plucked instruments based on the notion of the 5 elements, metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Later when King Wu of Zhou attacked King Zhou of Shang he added the E string to the instrument to boost the morale of his troops. When King Wen of Zhou added a string in commemoration of his son, the Qin gained its seventh string.”

As time passed the shape of the Qin instrument becomes more complex. The Qin can take many shapes to accommodate its sound and rationality. For example there are Qins shaped like a banana leaf. Sunset cloud-shaped Qins were produced on the basis of imagined clouds. 

The Qin is one of China’s most important instruments. One of the requirements in playing the Qin was to have good manners. In ancient China, Qin’s were reserved for scholars before playing the Qin the musician was required to take a bow,  and in playing the instrument the player was to remain solemn and quiet. The Qin is meant to rid those who play it of evil thoughts and help them cultivate the mind and develop character.

The ancient city of Wuhan. Has a story about Yu Buoya he was an official who lived in the State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period. He was superb at playing the Qin. Music brought him and a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi together. The two are very best friends.When Yu’s friend died it was told that he broke his Qin and never played again.

In May 1978 excavation in Hubei province was undertaken. The tomb’s occupant was a 5^th century king,Zeng Hou Yi. A set of chime bells was discovered. The 65 chime bells weigh 5 tons. The sounds of the chime bells allow us to appreciate the sound of the ancient past. 

According to Feng Guangsheng, VP Hubei Art Vocational Institute.” The bells unearther in Zeng Hou Yi’s tomb produced transparent sounds like drops of water, and the sounds lingered, amazing all of us present. It was wonderful. Theoretically, the bells can produce monophonic or polyphonic sounds (simple or several sounds).”

The chime bells were designed to demonstrate the grandeur of the palace. The bells produce a very wide range of sound. They cover five octaves. The bass bells produced a soul-stirring sound.  This chime bells also proved that the ancient Chinese can produce high quality bronze. They were manufactured by 3 metals, bronze, tin and lead. Mixed in a proper ration. According to Chen Zhongxing, a research fellow, the proportion of tin, lead and bronze in the composition of bells was strictly calculated. So the bells have the best possible pitch tone and color.

Chime bells were not the only instruments found in Zeng’s tomb. There were also chimes made of stones, a giant drum, and more musical instruments, pan pipes as well as bamboo flutes. The chamber also contains sacrificial vessels, and an array of table ware. Laid on, as if a banquet was about to take place. This was in fact the king’s music center. We gain an idea of how ancient Chinese music was performed. There were also lighter instruments found. There are over 128 musical instruments in Zeng Ho Yi’s tomb. It is believed there are at least 41 musicians needed to play all these instruments. It is apparent that Zeng Ho Yi was also a skilled musician himself.

The finest are the chime bells among all the musical instruments in Zeng Ho Yi’s tomb. They were predominant in the music of China.

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Source: New Frontiers International documentary CCTV 9.