 The er-hu
has only 2 strings but these are tunable. Its range is 3 octaves. In the Chinese
orchestra, erhus are divided into first and second erhus, in the same way that violins in
the western orchestra are divided into first and second violins. A "piccolo"
version of the erhu is called the pan-hu, sounding one octave higher then the erhu.
Only one is used in the Chinese orchestra, played by the erhu principal player when
required. The gao-hu sounds a fourth higher than the erhu, while the zhong-hu,
available in 3 sizes, plays the role of the viola. The original instruments, the ge-hu
and the bei-da-ge-hu are also sometimes used. The yang-qin is a dulcimer, played using a pair of bamboo mallets.
Each note consists of 2, 3 or 4 metal strings.
 The yue-qin is a full-moon shaped short-necked lute. It has
4 metal strings, tuned in pairs to A and D, and 9 to 10 movable wooden frets. It is played
using a plectrum.
|
|
music is LIFE!
music makes the world go round
music soothes even the savage beast
|
