Bowed-String

Bowed-String Instrument

 ¡]1¡^Gaohu
The gaohu, also known as yuehu, is developed from the erhu by the renowned Cantonese musician Lui Man-shing in the 1920s. The construction is similar to that of an erhu, but the register is a fourth or fifth higher. It has a sonorous and glamorous tone, hence a leading instrument in Cantonese ensemble and Cantonese opera. It is especially appropriate for playing lyrical or lively melodies.

¡]2¡^erhu

The erhu is evolved from the yazheng (bowed zither) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and the xiqin family found around the areas of Xilamulun River in northwest China. In the early period, it was played with a bamboo stick scraping the strings.

Later, the bamboo stick was replaced by a bow in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Between the 1910's and 1930's, a celebrated musician Liu Tianhua upgraded the instrument from being mainly an accompanying instrument to that of a solo instrument. In the past 80 years the erhu has been developed into an instrument with mellow tone quality and played with demanding finesse. The well-known erhu repertory includes the popular pieces Reflection of the Moon on the Water, Torrents of the River and the erhu concerto The Great Wall Capriccio.


¡]3¡^Zhonghu
The zhonghu (literally meaning "alto erhu") came into being as a result of reforms on the erhu during the 1950's. With larger size and longer strings than that of an erhu, the zhonghu belongs to the tenor string section of a Chinese orchestra. On the Grassland is a well-known zhonghu solo piece, and Suwu is a famous zhonghu concerto.


¡]4¡^Gehu

The gehu, a Chinese bass bowed-string instrument, belongs to the huqin family. It came into being after thirty years of research, experiment and reform by Professor Yang Yusen. On the basis of the basic timbre and shape of huqins, it also incorporates the resonation structure of cello and double bass. In the early period of its development there were four kinds of gehus: small, medium, large and bass gehus. Since the 1950's, large gehu and bass gehu have been incorporated, rather successfully, into Chinese Orchestras and ensembles.

The gehu is made up of a resonator covered with a single membrane of snake skin, a bridge, a neck and four strings. The gehu is articulate and resilient in sound quality, and has a broad range.


¡]V¡^Bass Gehu
The bass gehu is more or less identical to gehu, but of an even larger size. Its bowing technique is the same as that of a double bass, and it reinforces the bass range in a Chinese orchestra.