The Introduction of Erhu(关于二胡的英文介绍)

The Introduction of Erhu

The erhu is a two-stringed Chinese instrument, like an upside down hammer. It can be traced back to proto-Mongolic instruments introduced to China more than a thousand years ago.

It consists of three parts. It has a long neck made of hardwood, at the top of which are two large turning pegs. And two large strings are attached from the pegs to the base. At the bottom, there is a small resonator body which is covered with snake skin on the front end. What’s more, there is a bow made of horse hair and tied to a bamboo stick.

When you want to play it, you should first sit on a chair and put the erhu’s body on your lap to keep it steady. Then, you should use your left hand holding the long thin neck with four fingers pressing on the strings to make various sounds by rubbing either one of them. And you also have to pass the bow between the two strings at the same time.

Erhu is mostly used in Chinese folk operas. As a very versatile instrument, the erhu is also widely used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as in pop, rock and jazz,now. And it makes a calm sound.