Chinese Musical Instruments by

Test Drive of Fang Fang Gaohu Strings

2011-12-21T19:43:00.001-08:00

Fang Fang Erhu strings are quite popular among Erhu players.

But not a lot of people use Fang Fang Gaohu strings. They are so used to using Dunhuang Gaohu strings that the mere thought of changing to another brand sent shivers down their spine.

So we decided to do a demo of the Fang Fang Gaohu strings on a Wan Qi Xing Aged Rosewood Gaohu.

The tone compared to using the Dunhuang Gaohu strings has improved significantly. It is much clearer and brighter, even at the higher registers. The volume has increased as well.

Here is the video demo:

As one user puts it, once you have used Fang Fang Gaohu strings you are never going back to the usual Gaohu strings.

Purchase them here:

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/mgh8.jsp

Christmas Promotion 2011!

2011-11-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

Its the time of the year again and we are glad to bring you our Christmas promotion!

If you are thinking of giving something to yourself or your musical

(or non musical) friends and family, below are some awesome gift ideas:

1) Dizi (Chinese flute)

Dizis make a great gift. They look great, are easy to ship and are very affordable.

Learning the basics is not difficult as well.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_dizi.jsp

Promo: Purchases above US$50 will receive a free dimo applicator

Also check out our other wind instruments:

Xiao: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_xiao.jsp

Bawu: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_bawu.jsp

Xun: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_xun.jsp

Hulusi: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_hulusi.jsp

2) Erhu

The tone that the Erhu produces is like no other. For the longest time, people have been

enthralled by the soulful sounds produced by the erhu.

Playing the erhu is not as difficult as you think, and with our online erhu lessons, we

will have you up and playing in no time.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_erhu.jsp

Promo: Purchases above $300 will get free access to our Erhu learning

portal www.learnerhu.com for 6 months

Also check out our other huqins:

Gaohu: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_gaohu.jsp

Zhonghu: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_zhonghu.jsp

3) Ruan

The Ruan is like a Chinese guitar. It has 4 strings and can be used to play notes

as well as chords. Play it like the guitar and get a totally unique sound.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_ruan.jsp

Promo: Free 2 nylon picks and Zhong Ruan chord chart

Also check out our other instruments from the plucked section:

Pipa: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_pipa.jsp

Liuqin: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_liuqin.jsp

*IMPORTANT NOTE*

- Normal shipping takes around 2-3 weeks. If you want it to reach you before Christmas,

Please make your purchase as soon as possible! Otherwise, express shipping is available

(Additional fee applies)

- Promotion period is from 25 Nov to 14 Dec

Thank you and Happy Holidays! (Local customers please enquire about our promotions at our store)

Da Da Zhonghu and its Flight Case

2011-11-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I custom made a da da zhonghu for an overseas customer.

The reason why I called it a da da zhonghu is because it is something in between a da zhonghu and a dahu. The resonator is bigger than a da zhonghu but smaller than a dahu.

The shape of the resonator is different as well.

According to the maker YKM, this is the most optimum shape for this kind of instrument.

Since, it is a custom made instrument, we chose premium grade aged rosewood and a good piece of snakeskin.

The instrument is preferably tuned E, B and does not have a baseplate.

The headstock was suppose to be much simpler in design but YKM decided to impose his sense of beauty on it.

The sound is quite marvelous. Bassy, mellow and rich.

Not only was the 'dahu' custom made, the case that houses it is also specially tailored.

The case is a custom made flight case and it is quite marvelous too. Seldom do we get individuals who are willing to invest in a flight case to house their instrument.

The only drawback is its weight!

Electric Guzheng

2011-10-30T00:29:00.000-07:00

A few years back we came across some plexiglass, see through, translucent electric Chinese instruments like the erhu, zhongruan and pipa. So it is inevitable that someone someday would come up with the translucent electric Guzheng.

Recently I stumbled upon one while in Shanghai.

Behold, a translucent electric Guzheng!

The whole Guzheng, including the bridges are made of see through plexiglass. But like an electric guitar, the guzheng is hardly audible without connecting to amplifier. When connected to an amplifier, it sounds, well, like an electric guzheng. The size and weight is definitely ideal for gigs or practising at home in the still of the night.

But before you raise your hand to say 'I want one of these!', I think we can still wait for the manufacturer to iron out some existing issues first.

Firstly, the bridges are glued to the soundboard, which makes adjusting the tension of the strings impossible. Secondary, the guzheng is not built for intense playing. Strum a little harder and you will have the strings falling out of the bridge grooves. Lastly, the sound is as good as how the amplifier sounds. And the amplifier that comes with the guzheng is total crap.

But still, it is an interesting product that shows lots of promise.

We will update if we do bring it in after the issues have been ironed out.

New Zhongruan Strings by Zhang Xin Hua

2011-10-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

There is a new type of zhongruan strings by famous Ruan / Liuqin player Zhang Xin Hua from Beijing, China.

Zhang Xin Hua has his line of ever popular Ruans. He is also famous for his extremely expensive nylon picks ($40 a piece). So it is inevitable that he will start to dabble in zhongruan strings sooner or later. His favorite recommended zhongruan strings used to be the professional series by XingHai FuYin.

But now he came up with the below:

What I heard is they are better sounding and longer lasting. Of course they are more expensive as well. They are priced around US$35 - $40.

I brought a few sets back and most have been reserved by some ruan players in Singapore. I do have 1 set left though.

Will update again when I get more feedback about the strings.

New Strings from Beijing

2011-06-24T01:13:00.000-07:00

We just brought in new strings from Beijing for Erhu, Gaohu, Zhonghu, Liuqin and Pipa.

Calling out to beginner players who are looking for good and affordable strings, Erhu Strings endorsed by Erhu Maestro Wang Guo Tong would be what you might be looking for.

After the really good response from the Abing Silver Erhu Strings (MEH21), we decided to bring in Gaohu and Zhonghu strings from the same label. ABing Silver Gaohu Strings and ABing Silver Zhonghu Strings.

These strings silver are made of pure silver and they are longer lasting. And not to mention that they are highly recommended for use by the China Erhu Association.

Not forgetting the pluck string instruments, we also brought in strings from two different companies for both Liuqin and Pipa. Beijing Xinghai Professional Liuqin Strings and Beijing Chang Qing Professional Pipa Strings..

So hurry up and check them out now!!

Bling Bling Bags

2011-06-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some stylish new bags that were just introduced to the market in China and have been a massive hit since! These really sleek looking bags are durable, lightweight and are available for a variety of Chinese instruments! And not to mention it comes in 31 colours!!

Zhongruan bag:

Pipa bag :

Liu qin bag:

Erhu bag:

Dizi bag:

The good news is that we are doing pre orders from now to 24th June!! So what are you waiting for?? Choose from the following colours and pre order these shiny bags now!!

Just to let everyone know, the HOT favorites are the following colours: 1, 28, 29, 30, 31

Available for the various instruments:

Erhu (S$45)

Dizi (S$40)

Liuqin (S$50)
Zhongruan (S$70)
Pipa (S$70)

Note: Prices are in Singapore Dollars and valid for pre-orders only. Retail prices may vary slightly.

How to order

For local and international orders, send an email to tansungwah@gmail.com with the following details

Colour code:
Instrument/Qty:

Name :
Contact number:

Mailing Address: (For international orders only)

We will reply your email with details of payment.

*Important*: Waiting time from closing date is 1-2 months and you will be notified when the bags arrive.

So hurry and choose your stylish instrument bags now!

Singapore Youth Festival - Central Judging of Chinese Orchestra

2011-04-21T03:47:00.001-07:00

Here are the latest results. Congrats to all.

Temasek Secondary School - Gold
Seng Kang Secondary School - Silver
Bedok South Secondary School - Silver
Broadrick Secondary School - Bronze
Jurongview Secondary School - Silver
Coral Secondary School - Gold With Honours
St Anthony'S Canossian Secondary School - Silver
Victoria School - Gold
Boon Lay Secondary School- Silver
Nan Hua High School - Gold
Chung Cheng Main - Gold With Honours
Fuhua - Silver
Balestier Hills - Bronze
Pasir Ris - Gold With HonoursChung Cheng Yishun - Gold With Honours
Manjusri - Silver
Bukit Batok - Silver
Bukit Panjang - Silver
Ngee Ann - Gold With Honours
Eastview - Bronze
Nanqiao High - Gold
Ahmad Ibrahim - Silver
Greenridge - Silver
Chua Chu Kang - Silver
Presb High - Silver
Mayflower - Gold
Swiss Cottage - Gold
Serangoon - Bronze
Beatty - Bronze
Holy Innocent - Silver
Jurong - Silver
Raffles Institution - Gold
Northland - Bronze
Outram - Bronze
Christ Church - Silver
Evergreen - Gold With Honours
Pasir Ris Crest - Silver
Rivervalley - Gold With Honours
Greendale - Silver
Dunman High - Gold With Honours
Siglap - Bronze
Siling - Bronze
St Nicholas - Gold With Honours
Katong Convent - Silver
Changkat Changi - Bronze
Catholic High - Silver
Woodgrove - Gold
Acs Barker - Gold
Anglican - Silver
Zhonghua - Gold With Honours
Marsiling - Gold
Hwachong - Gold
Nanyang Girls - Gold With Honours
Raffles Girls - Gold
Yuying - Gold
Maris Stella - Silver

New Shipment of Zhang Xin Hua Ruans

2011-03-19T21:28:00.001-07:00

We have a new shipment of Zhang Xin Hua Rosewood and Basswood Zhongruans, Rosewood Gaoyinruans and Basswood Daruans.

The rosewood Zhongruan is the one on the right and the basswood Zhongruan is the one on the left.

They look pretty identical, except that the rosewood Zhongruan feels significantly heavier, the grains are different and of course the tone is much better. The last batch of Rosewood Zhongruans came with a oval shaped soundhole but they reverted to a bird shaped soundhole this time.

All of them come with this type of plastic - metal alloy that is suppose to provide the durability of metal frets without the harshness - metallic overtones of steel frets.

Grab them before they are out again!

New Joyo Metronome, Tuner and Tone Generator

2011-03-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

We have a new type of digital tuner, metronome and tone generator from Joyo.

We kind of like this tuner better than the earlier version because:

1) It is smaller (10cm by 6cm)
2) It is lighter (60g with batteries)
3) It has backlight (Can see better in the dark)
4) The beeping is more soothing
5) It looks good (especially the white color)

Comes with contact mic and batteries are included.

If you are interested, here is the link:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/mtu9.jsp

Tropical Harmony Erhu Ensemble

2011-02-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

Singapore Chinese paper Zaobao (早报) wrote an article on the 20th February 2011 on Tropical Harmony Ensemble - which is made up of Japanese erhu ladies learning erhu at Eason Music Pte Ltd.

U double bass flute by Xie Bin

2011-02-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

There is a new flute in town.

It is a mega, huge, long double bass flute. Too log that you have to curve it into a U shape else you will not be able to reach with your hands.

It comes with 2 dimo hole instead of one.

The fingering is similar to that of a Xiao instead of the dizi.

Here's how it sounds:

Priced at US$329 each. Available keys are C and D. Shipping worldwide costs US$22.

Please email tansungwah@gmail.com if you are interested.

Pirastro Red Dragon Erhu Strings

2011-02-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

We just listed Pirastro Red Dragon Erhu Strings on our online store.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/meh35.jsp

If you are not sure what to buy, take a look at this blog post:

http://tansungwah.blogspot.com/2009/11/annual-erhu-strings-award.html

They are very good sounding strings and easy on the fingers.

US delivery delays due to tighter custom controls

2010-12-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

I've received a couple of emails from customers about not getting their orders yet.

For orders to Europe its probably because of the snowstorms.

But for orders to USA, its due to tighter custom checks (See advisory from Singpost below)

For those still waiting for your packages, I do hope you get yours soon.
---------------------------------------------------------

Mail and Speedpost Services to United States of America

Singapore, 16 November 2010 - Due to heightened aviation security measures
imposed on airlines flying into the United States from 18 November 2010, there may
be potential air transportation capacity constraints resulting in delays. There may also
be additional delays due to enhanced airline and customs screening of all items at
Singapore and US.

International air mail service including registered articles and parcel items as well as
Speedpost items from Singapore to United States may be subject to delays. Like all
other postal administrations, SingPost is monitoring the situation closely.

SingPost wishes to advise customers to post their items earlier, especially in view of
the coming peak holiday season.

To ensure smooth delivery, customers are advised to:

• State clearly the content for packages;
• Indicate the return address on the back of the envelope;
• Ensure the correct postage;
• Ensure the address is correct and complete; and
• Provide the addressee’s contact number where possible.

Customers are also advised to consider the following when preparing packages:

• Use good quality packaging materials, for example select a box that is strong
enough to protect the contents. Leave space for cushioning inside the carton.
• Cushion contents appropriately, for example with bubble wrap or foam to
avoid damage during shipping.
• Wrap each item separately when packing more than one item in the same
box.
• Pack tightly to avoid shifting.
• Always use tape that is designed for shipping, such as pressure-sensitive
tape, nylon-reinforced craft paper tape, or fiberglass-reinforced pressure-
sensitive tape. Do not use wrapping paper, string, masking tape or cellophane
tape.

Setting up your Erhu

2010-12-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

I have received much enquires on how to set up the erhu, especially by people who purchased from elsewhere and the instrument is not properly set up.

It might seem natural to established players but for those we have only seen the erhu for the first time, they might not have a clue with what they are doing.

Hence I made a video of how to do a simple setup on the erhu:

Here is the link:
http://www.learnerhu.com/node/149

Incidentally the above is our newest website Learnerhu.com which we will be putting lots of erhu related stuff on it.

Check out the erhu online course......

New Erhu bow from WXD

2010-11-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

We have some new bows from Beijing bow maker Wang Xiao Di.

The bow measures 86cm, which is 3 cm longer than the standard length of a bow, which is 83cm.

If we place it side by side with a standard length bow, you can see that wee bit of difference in the bow length.

But its not only the length that is different. According to WXD, the bow uses the finest quality bow hair which has especially good grab and gives better tone.

We placed it side by side with other bows and true enough the bow hair looks whiter and more glistering. Customers who used it comment that it does feel and sound better than the usual bow.

Priced at US$59.99.

We have not listed it on our website. Those who are interested please email tansungwah@gmail.com.

New Koudi

2010-10-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

We have some new koudi in our inventory.

A well made koudi is so much easier to play than a shoddily made koudi.

These koudis sounds nice and are easy to play.

Order them here: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/wdz42.jsp

Horny Dizis

2010-10-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

I've acquired some beautiful looking dizis made from the horns of some animal, which I am quite sure died from natural causes before putting their horns to musical use.

The thing about dizis made from horn is that the horns need to be of a certain thickness before they can be fashioned into dizis. So they are considered rather rare. The dizi is made by joining a few pieces of horn together.

The first type is one made from black buffalo horn. These are more readily available because there are more of them around.

The second type is made from flower ox horn, which is rarely available. They look absolutely gorgeous.

Currently I have a set of 5 (C, D, E, F and G) already reserved by someone.

These type of dizi might not sound as good as those made from bamboo but they are still very much playable. The dizis are made by Xie Bin from Hangzhou.

If you are interested in buying these kind of dizis, do drop me an email at tansungwah@gmail.com.

Difference between a normal and a good dizi

2010-08-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

One of the usual questions we get from customers is 'What is the difference between a cheap and expensive dizi?"

Well, besides the difference in price, there is a difference in the ease of blowing, the intonation, pitching and volume produced.

But most importantly, there is a difference in the tone of the instrument. A good dizi should sound rich and bright as compared to a lesser dizi that sounds thin and dull.

We did a test and put 3 of our best model of dizis together in video so that you can hear how they sound compared to one another.

Low G Key Dizis:

D Key Dizis:

Can you hear the difference?

The dizis used in this video are:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/xb(d).jsp
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/dxh(d).jsp
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/tq(d).jsp
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/xb(lg).jsp
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/dxh(lg).jsp
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/tq(lg).jsp

Stock Arrivals / Simple tunes 8

2010-07-27T20:33:00.001-07:00

New stocks have arrived!

We have some new hulusis, Xun, China made mallets, high grade liuqins, synthetic snakeskin sanxians etc.

More details coming soon.

---------------------------------

Here is Simple tunes for Erhu 8 : Auld Lang Syne

Dong Xue Hua Flutes / Simple Tunes for Erhu 7: Scarborough Fair

2010-07-07T19:53:00.001-07:00

New Stocks of Dong Xue Hua Flutes just came 1 week ago.

But the Low Bb and Low A are already sold out.

Also the prices have gone up a little, especially for his purple bamboo xiaos because the costs have gone up.

-------------------------------------

Simple Tunes for Erhu 6: Red River Valley

2010-07-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

Have fun!

Simple Tunes for Erhu 5: Home 可爱的家园

2010-06-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

Here is the 5th installment of Simple Tunes for Erhu : Home

I am not sure if that is the correct name of the song, but it is called 可爱的家庭 in Chinese.

Here it is:

Have fun!

Simple Tunes for Erhu 4 : You are my sunshine

2010-06-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the 4th installment of Simple tunes for Erhu:

WTH US customs??? Where is my Erhu???

2010-06-08T01:09:00.000-07:00

May has not been a good month for my erhus going overseas to USA. I had been sending erhus to USA for years and most I got are broken erhu necks. Never before had my Erhus been seized by the USA customs.

And in May I had 3 cases of my erhus being seized by Erhu customs. They took the erhu away and in some instances just delivered the bow to my customer. We subsequently received the below letter from them.

I was a little puzzled as we included the proper CITES certification below. I later realized that in addition to getting the CITES certificate, we have to get the box 15 endorsed by our AVA officers (the one that issued the certificate). It is as easy as bringing an erhu along while I collect the CITES certificate but, well, I wasn't told I need to do that.

It was clearly stated in box number 5 though but I guess I didn't notice since I had not been endorsing since 2 years ago and none of my erhus were seized.

Perhaps my luck ran out or perhaps the custom officers have taken a special interest in erhus lately. In any case, now we know what needs to be done. For those erhus that were seized we have sent replacement erhus at our own cost.

So for those living in USA who are buying erhus from overseas, please make sure the seller has the proper CITES documentations.

Well, if you buy from us (http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_erhu.jsp) there will definitely be no problems because we have gone through a baptism of fire.

I appreciate the initiative of one of the custom officers to send one erhu back to us instead of seizing it. At least we still have the erhu. But we incurred some returned 'fright' charges, I suppose for scaring the shit out of him with the horribly scalely python skin on the Erhu.....ooooooh......

-------------------------------------------

Anyway, here's installment 3 of Simple tunes for Erhu - Isle of Capri.

Enjoy!

Simple Tunes for Erhu 2: Long Long Ago / Ezfolk Forums

2010-05-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here is song 2 of simple tunes for erhu: Long Long Ago. Its a simpler song that Amazing Grace because it is all being played in the first position.

---------------------------

One of my favourite erhu forums in ezfolk.com was recently the subject of a virus attack. All the valuable old posts on all aspects of the erhu are gone. The accounts were deleted as well. What a pity...

So erhu players if you're listening, let's try to rebuilt this forum into the great resource it once was by registering and posting again.

Here is the link to the forum: http://ezfolk.com/smf/index.php/board,35.0.html

Table of Erhu Scores and Relevant Links

2010-05-24T01:32:00.000-07:00

Here's another which I drew inspiration from my quest to learn the ukulele. I was looking around for tabs and scores when I stumbled upon this guy called dominator. He had a website with a table of ukulele songs, tabs and links to youtube video.

I thought that is a very useful table. You get to download the tabs/scores and you can click on the relevant links for video demonstration.

So we did our own table of erhu scores and links to their respective videos. The Chinese names of the song and hanyu pinyin are there as well. This is particularly useful for people who do not know the Chinese language. I didn't bother to translate the titles to English because there is no official translation for the tune titles.

The table is accessible from the resources page. Here is the direct link to the page: http://www.eason.com.sg/resources/erhuscores.jsp

There are certain tunes which I cannot locate the video. If you do find them please drop me a note at tansungwah@gmail.com.

Simple Tunes for Erhu

2010-05-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Recently I picked up the ukulele and was searching around youtube for some video instructions. I came across this guy called ukulele mike. He posts lots of short videos of simple tunes for viewers to learn the ukulele.

I thought that was quite a cool idea, to have a resource of videos teaching you simple songs.

Hence I decided to do the same for the erhu will be creating a series of short videos showing how to play simple erhu tunes.

The first one we have done is the song "Amazing Grace. The scores are available for download at the youtube page. Please email me if you have any feedback on how to improve the video.

Performance at Renci Nursing Home

2010-05-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

On the 10 May 2010, we brought a group of Japanese ladies learning erhu from our centre to perform for some folks at a nursing home.

They have been playing together for 6 months under the guidance of Chin Yen Choong. This was their first performance and they were all very excited about it.

The erhu ensemble played the following tunes: '八月桂花遍地开', 'Love me tender', 'Spirited away', Edelweiss, '两忘烟水里'. The arrangement of these tunes are mostly written by us.

In between these songs, we played some popular oldies like 月亮代表我的心，千山万水总是情，甜蜜蜜 etc. on the erhu and guitar.

It was an enjoyable and meaningful afternoon for all of us. I hope we managed to bring some joy and laughter to the patients.

Singapore Youth Festival Chinese Orchestra Primary School Results

2010-04-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of the Singapore Youth Festival (2010) Chinese Orchestra (Primary School Level) competition:

Catholic High School - Silver
Bukit Panjang Primary School - Bronze
Tao Nan School - Gold with honors
Chongfu School - Bronze
Jurong Primary School - Gold
Red Swastika School - Silver
Telok Kurau Primary School - Bronze
Woodlands Primary School - Gold
Xingnan Primary School - Silver
Pioneer Primary School - Bronze
Elias Park Primary School - Gold
Boon Lay Garden Primary School - Bronze
Mee Toh School - Silver
Kong Hwa School - Gold with honors
Queenstown Primary School - COP
Princess Elizabeth - Silver
School
Rosyth School - Gold
Poi Ching School - Silver
Yu Neng Primary School - Gold
Jing Shan Primary School - Bronze
East Spring Primary School - COP
Pei Chun Public School - Gold with honors
Ngee Ann Primary School - Gold with honors
Woodgrove Primary School - Bronze
South View Primary School - Silver
Hong Wen School - Bronze
Nanyang Primary School - Gold
Nan Hua Primary School - Bronze
Xinghua Primary School - Silver
Sembawang Primary School - Silver
Henry Park Primary School - Bronze
Rulang Primary School - Silver
Keming Primary School - Silver
Maha Bodhi School - Gold
Qihua Primary School - Silver
Holy Innocents’ Primary School - Silver
Coral Primary School - Silver
Si Ling Primary School - Bronze
Evergreen Primary School - Gold with honors
Kheng Cheng School - Silver
Greenridge Primary School -Silver
Radin Mas Primary School - Gold with honors

Congratulations to all!

Free Plastering of your Erhu!

2010-03-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

About 2 and a half years back I made a short post on the practise of putting a small strip of plaster on the snakeskin protector of the erhu. This is to increase the drag on the bow which improves the handling of the bow. It also reduces the noise created when the bamboo part of the bow hits onto the protective strip.

The last time I used a narrow strip of plaster to demonstrate which isn't the best of examples. You need a wider piece of plaster so that you don't drag the sides of the plaster off when you bow.

Well, I've just gotten a few rolls of the wider type of plaster. It is not expensive stuff but it is definitely hard to find stuff.

I have no idea what to charge for putting a strip of plaster on your erhu. So we've decided to just do it for free for customers who brings their erhu to our shop.

Here's how the plaster looks like:

New Line of Erhus by YKM

2010-01-18T23:43:00.000-08:00

I've recently worked closely with an erhu maker from Zhejiang China to bring in his erhus.

Since I'll be putting out quite a few of his erhus on sale, I thought a share a little on how I got to know him....

One fine day in Shanghai at a music fair, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and it was Mr SYR.....you know, the famous erhu performer from China who knows erhus more than anyone else.

After a few exchanges of pleasantries, he told me he's been looking everywhere for me because there is this up and coming erhu maker he wants me to meet. They are displaying their erhus here for the first time and are creating already creating some buzz with the quality of their erhus. One music instruments factory has offered to buy up all his erhus. Famous erhu maker Lu Lin Sheng went over to check out his erhus and commented that he's someone to watch out for.

Oh wow I thought. This I got to see for myself.

We zipped over to the booth in a jiffy and was greeted by YKM and his sister. The booth ain't too fantastic but they seem to be sincere and earnest people that takes pride in their products. I later heard that it was a last minute decision to come to the fair so they weren't prepared with things other than their erhus.

So how are their erhus? First impression is that they use good materials. The snakeskin and wood used are of good quality. Most of the erhus are made from different grades of aged rosewood. Their aged rosewood are either harvest from old furniture or beams of old houses. They give their erhus a natural finish so moving up and down the neck feels very comfortable. The wood is undyed so you can clearly see the lines and grains of the wood - for better or worse.

On the whole the tone is clear and articulate with a little warmness. It sounds rather clean and the high registers are good as well. It isn't as responsive as MRX erhus but its not bad either.

We thus brought back a few of their mid range erhus from the fair and feedback so far has been very good. So we've decided to include them in our range of erhus.

Check out the 3 current models below:
1) Professional Grade Aged Rosewood Erhu

2) Concert Grade Premium Aged Rosewood Erhu

3) Concert Grade Violet Sandalwood Erhu

Awaiting their entry level erhu, gaohu and zhonghu to come in next......

English Speaking Erhu Teacher in Coppell, Dallas

2009-12-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

One of our Erhu teachers have just relocated from Singapore to Coppell, Dallas, Texas.

She's learnt from quite a few professional players in Singapore and have been teaching for a couple of years.

She's Japanese and speaks English so if you're around the area and thinking of picking up the Erhu or want some 1 to 1 coaching please email me tansungwah@gmail.com for her contact.

She's only going to be there for a year so do take advantage of this opportunity.

The Annual Erhu Strings Award

2009-11-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

There are a lots of different types of erhu strings. They come in different gauges, are made of different materials and each maker has their own little trade secret. When it comes to stringing your erhu, some people, even myself are at a loss of what to get.

So here are some information culled from experiences and feedback from customers (and myself) outside of what the packaging says. I hope they can aid you in making a decision on what type of string to use.

--------------------------------

"Safe Choice Award"
These strings are the more popular choices. They sound good, have pretty short run in period and are easy on the hands. If you have no clue what strings to use, just get Mudan strings. If you want something better, get the Fang Fang strings.
Mudan Erhu Strings
Fang Fang Professional Erhu Strings

"Loud-Hailer Award"
These strings are of thicker gauge and hence produces a tone with more body and volume.
Beijing Hua Mei Niao Brand Erhu Strings
Dunhuang Erhu Strings

"Challenge Yourself Award"
Because these strings are stiffer than the rest, you need more effort to press the strings and bow to get a good tone.
Beijing Hua Mei Niao Brand Erhu Strings
Dunhuang Erhu Strings

"Best Value Award"
Cheap and good
Mudan Erhu Strings

"Best of Both Worlds Award"
These strings give better volume and are still easy on the hands
Ming Ren Erhu Strings

"Best Singer Award"
These are arguably the best sounding strings.
Fang Fang Soloist Erhu Strings
Thomastik-Infeld Soloist Erhu Strings
Pirastro Red Dragon Erhu strings

"Plug and Play Award"
These strings sound good almost immediately. You don't need a week to run them in.
Fang Fang Soloist Erhu Strings
Thomastik-Infeld Soloist Erhu Strings
Pirastro Red Dragon Erhu strings

"Die Young Award"
The performance of these strings deteriorates pretty fast. Maybe they sound too good to begin with hence the difference is stark. So save them for special occasions
Fang Fang Soloist Erhu Strings (To be confirmed)
Thomastik-Infeld Soloist Erhu Strings
Pirastro Red Dragon Erhu strings

"Acquired Taste Award"
Either you like it or you don't. Made from silver and sometimes gold, these strings can have surprising results on your erhu - either way.
ABing Silver Erhu Strings
ABing Silver and Gold Erhu Strings

-----------------------------------

If you think I missed out any strings worthy of an award, please feel free to comment.

Another Type of Erhu Belt Clip

2009-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

A while ago, a customer of mine who has bought a belt clip from me before asked: "Sung Wah, do you have a belt clip that stays on the erhu permanently?". I replied: "Erm.....ya, the belt clip that I sold you....just don't remove it and it will stay on permanently right?"

End of conversation.

A few days later by some divine intervention, I noticed a box of erhu belt clips in my store. They were never given a chance to see the light of day because they were wrongly ordered by my supplier. I took a look at them when they first came and sent them straight to the darkest corner of my store. But upon closer inspection, I noticed that these might be the type of belt clips my customer was looking for.

It comes in 2 parts.

The piece on the left clips onto your belt / trousers like this:

and the piece on the right is glued onto the base of your erhu like this:

As you can see the 2 parts are velcro loop and hook sides which can be attached together like below.

And with that you can dance to your heart's content while playing the erhu.

Accordingly to the male model in the photo, the clip is more comfortable than the usual belt clip I am selling. And you can easily detach and attach the erhu to and from the velcro, making setup and storage a breeze. The construction feels more flimsy though.

And with the Velcro piece glued to the base of erhu, part of the belt clip stays on the erhu permanently...

Available in the shop @ Rochor Centre. Oversea customers please email me if you are interested. It costs slightly less than the belt clip we have in our online store.

A Very Good Wang Gen Xing Erhu

2009-10-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

I was at Shanghai last week and while I was there, I went over to Wang Gen Xing's place to pick out 2 erhus.

I had my picture taken with him. He insisted that I bring his erhu into the picture to prove that they are indeed from him because there are a lot of fakes around.

I chose the best 2 from his lot of 5. Initially I just wanted to take 1 with me because one of my customer from Germany had ordered it but another sounded so good I just had to take it away with me.

So there you have it. One aged rosewood Wang Gen Xing erhu specially selected and brought back from Shanghai by me.

If you are interested, click here to purchase it.

*Latest update: The erhu is sold*

Video on Erhu Symbols in Music Scores

2009-09-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

This video was done quite sometime back. The short version was posted in youtube while the full version was available to members of our mailing list. (http://www.eason.com.sg/shopping/mailinglist.jsp)

I have since posted the full version on youtube as well and here it is:

Gong For Hire!

2009-08-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

Looking to start off your event with a big bang?

We have Chinese Chao Gongs on for rental.

The gongs are fixed on stands with wheels which makes it easy to move it to the centre of your stage.

The gong in the picture measures 80cm in diameter. (100cm gongs are available as well)

The stand measures 142cm tall and 116cm wide.

Perfect for opening ceremonies by guest of honour.

Please email tansungwah@eason.com.sg for rates.

Videos of Chinese Percussive Instruments

2009-08-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

We've come up with a series of videos of Chinese percussive instruments like Chinese drums, gongs, cymbals and others.

The purpose of the videos is to show how the instruments sound like and how they are played.

The videos will be posted to our youtube site periodically. (http://www.youtube.com/tansungwah)

The first of the lot is about hand gongs - the low, mid and high pitched hand gongs.

You can view more information about the gongs here:

1) Low pitch hand gong
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/gong/pl10.jsp

2) Mid pitch hand gong
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/gong/pl9.jsp

3) High pitch hand gong
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/gong/pl8.jsp

Special thanks to Kenny Ng for helping out!

A CD of tunes featuring 12 different kinds of Huqin

2009-07-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a CD featuring tunes played using 12 different kinds of Huqins or Chinese string instruments.

Just when you thought there is only the Erhu, there are actually Yihu, Sanhu, Hamihu, Banhu, Jinghu and others.

Its quite interesting to listen to the tone produced by the different instruments as well as the unique flavours and styles associated with each instrument.

It was recorded by a Beijing erhu player Liu Chong Zeng (currently residing in Singapore) a few years back. Only a few hundred copies were produced and distributed locally in Singapore. I'm left with slightly less than 50 it will never be re-printed again. The cost is only US$9.95.

Here's the link to the CD:

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/books/mb16.jsp

You can listen to some samples in the link if you are using internet explorer. For some reason it does not work with Firefox.

The Things German Customs Do....

2009-07-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

I recently sent an erhu to a German customer of mine. When he received his erhu, the erhu case was cut open at various places.

Either they used a chainsaw to open the brown packaging, or they are checking if I slipped any drugs in between the folds.

And I got a package containing a Hulusi returned to me from Germany as well. According the customer, the customs could not see the price written on a very obvious custom declaration slip stuck onto the package. Since they could not ascertain how much to charge for custom duties, they have to send the package back to me!

Hey hey hey! Look carefully next time please!

Video on how to get to Eason Enterprises from Bugis MRT Station

2009-07-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Some of my customers have trouble finding their way to my shop. So I've made a video on how to get to our shop from Bugis MRT station. It is just a 5 minutes walk away.

New Video on the Basics of Ruan

2009-06-30T02:13:00.000-07:00

Just finished a new video on the Ruan.

Its a 4 minute video on the basics of Ruan playing.

Special thanks to Clara Tan for making this possible.

If you want to learn how to play the ruan, please email tansungwah@eason.com.sg.

Here is the video:

This is the instrument used in the video: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/ruan/tbzr13.jsp

Crazy Violin Sale!

2009-06-15T01:54:00.000-07:00

We're clearing our stock of violins!

China semi hand-made violins with 50% discount!
Usual Price: S$1800 - NOW: S$900!
Usual Price: S$1200 - NOW: S$600!
Usual Price: S$600 - NOW: S$300!

European handmade violins with 30% discount!
Usual Price: S$4500 - NOW: S$3150!
Usual Price: S$3500 - NOW: S$2450!

Feel free to drop by for a look! (Mon - Sun, 11am to 6pm)

I Am More 'Ming Gui' Than you!

2009-06-13T02:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sure flute players are very familiar with the 'Ming Gui' brand dimo. The meaning of Ming Gui (名贵) is along the lines of precious, valuable and pricelss.

The bright red 'Ming Gui' packaging has come to represent high quality dimo for a lot of flute players.

But did you know that actually 'Ming Gui' dimo is not just produced by 1 company?

Let me rephrase that. A whole lot of companies are using the bright red 'Ming Gui' packaging to package their dimo. The poor founder of 'Ming Gui' dimo did not copyright his 'Ming Gui' packaging and every dimo maker in China is using his packaging. As a result, you get a lot of 'Ming Gui' dimo with varying quality of dimo inside.

Just flip the package over and you can see the maker of the 'Ming Gui' dimo:

Take a close look at the dimo itself. The one on the left looks to be of better quality. It looks silky smooth and is broader. The one of the right looks a little coarser. The middle one looks, well, in between the left and right.

So does it mean that if you buy from the maker on the left you'll definitely get better dimo than the one on the left? Well, not neccessarily. The maker on the right might get a good batch of reeds once in a while and the maker on the left might get crap reeds sometime as well.

So unless you're on good terms with the maker who picks the good quality dimo for you, you'll get this and that, here and then.

Currently we're carrying dimos from the maker on the left, who told us these dimos comes from a particularly good batch of reeds. We opened a few and they look pretty good.

So if you want some good dimo now's a good time to order, cause we're not sure if the next batch would be as good. But don't hoard them as well cos they turn yellowish if kept for too long.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/wind_access/mdz7.jsp

Job Vacancy at Eason!

2009-06-10T02:11:00.000-07:00

We are looking for someone to work with us to bring more interesting information and media to people all over the world who are interested in Chinese traditional music and instruments!

So if you:
- know how to do web, video and photo editing
- interested in web 2.0 stuff like blog, twitter, youtube
- and love Chinese music (no need to know how to play them)

We would be interested to know more about you!

Positions are open for full-time or part-time.

If you are interested, please drop us an email at tansungwah@eason.com.sg.

Eason Music on Twitter!

2009-06-01T16:15:00.001-07:00

Hey guys I've started twittering!

See the column on the right ----------->

Join twitter and follow me on my tweets!

Homemade Guzheng from Norway

2009-04-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

Check this out! One of my customers Ann from Norway decided to try her hand at building a Guzheng!

So she ordered some bridges and strings from me and did the rest herself! (Well together with her husband)

Looks pretty cool eh?

Here's what she said:
"The guzheng is good enough to practice on, even though it's no substitute for a real instrument. I use it on weekends when we are in Sweden. It has a surprisingly good sound, considering it's a big heavy pine box! A piano tuner donated the tuning pegs and told us what sort of wood to use for them, and we consulted a book about piano building to learn details about how to drill the holes for them. We tried to mimic the curved top of a real guzheng by making the end pieces (that the strings go over) curved, and by arranging the bridges with the smallest on either end and the tallest in the middle. That's why I bought two sets of bridges, so we had enough of the different sizes to choose from. But despite all that, the strings are basically pretty flat. It isn't a big problem for occasional practice, though. And I measured the distance between the strings on my Dunhuang guzheng carefully, so the octave reach on this instrument is correct."

You're right Ann, it does sound pretty good! And you played it really well!

Well, we hope she does not do this seriously and put us out of business....

Our shop is now open on Sundays as well!

2009-04-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

In our bid to serve our customers better, Eason Enterprises / Eason Music is now opened 7 days a week!

Yes, from now, our showroom at Rochor Centre will be opened on Sundays as well - from 11am to 6pm.

So feel free to drop by after Church, CO practice, morning exercise or whatever.

Closed on public holidays.

Music Lessons @ Eason Music!

2009-04-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

After 30 years in the business of selling Chinese musical instruments, we finally decide to devote some of our precious shop space to conduct individual music lessons.

Offering music lessons seem to be a natural extension of a music retail shop but we never got down to doing it because we were all tied up with other aspects of the business. So after years of of talking about it, we're finally walking the talk.

What kind of music lessons do we offer? Almost everything under the sun - erhu, guzheng, pipa, dizi, zhongruan, yangqin, liuqin, xiao, hulusi, suona and even Chinese percussion.

Our profile of music instructors are a mixture of professional players who are young and talented, as well as not so young and overflowing with experience. The one thing they have in common is that they are all very passionate about their music.

Our instructors are effectively bilingual in Chinese and English.

So if you are interested in picking up a Chinese music instrument or want to bring your skills up another notch. Please email tansungwah@eason.com.sg or look for 'Wei Long' or 'Sung Wah' at 6294 7522.

I'll see you at our shop soon!

-------------------------

Details:
- 1 to 1 lessons
- Once a week, 45mins per lesson

Beginner $120/mth (4 lessons, excl. GST)
Intermediate $150/mth (4 lessons, excl. GST)
Advanced $180/mth (4 lessons, excl. GST)

- Registration Fee $15 (excl. GST- 4 lessons)
- Monday to Sundays (10:30am - 9:00pm)

Contact 'Wei Long' or 'Sung Wah' @ 6294 7522 or email tansungwah@eason.com.sg for enquiries.

Scratch and Dent Sale!

2009-03-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, its been quite a while since I updated the blog.

So what's up lately? Well, we are currently moving our store from point A to point B and its taking up a lot a lot of our time.

Its not as straightforward as moving from point A to point B. We've carved out 2 rooms in our new unit thus the storage space has been reduced.

If you've seen our store you would agree some parts resembles a bombed bunker. Some of the items found leaves me amazed at the diversity of my predecessors.

Anyway to reduce some of our inventory of older and less than perfect items, we are holding a 'scratch and dent sale' from this Sat, 4 March to 8 March.

Some items you can expect to find are:
- Erhu, Liuqin, Pipa, Guzheng hard and soft cases
- Erhu
- Pipa
- Liuqin
- Dizi
- Picolos
- Western Flutes
- French horn
- Trumpet
- Harmonica
- Violins
- Cellos
- Ruans
- Casette tapes
- CDs
- VCDs
- Yangqins

.....and many unimaginable things.

These items may look older or have a scratch or ding here and there, but they are going at rock bottom prices! And they definitely can be used to make music and not just for display.

So if you are thinking of setting up a Chinese orchestra but have limited budget, or you have always wanted to try to play Chinese instruments but don't want to spend too much, or you are someone who likes to work on instruments, do make a date to come down to our store this weekend.

Address:
1 Rochor Road
#02-606
Singapore 180001

Time: 10:30am to 7:00pm

New Stocks of Dong Xue Hua Dizis are here!

2009-03-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note that our ever popular Dong Xue Hua Dizis are here!

I've just removed all the out of stock signs.

Get them before they are gone again!

Dizi:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_dizi.jsp

Xiao:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_xiao.jsp

Obtaining a CITES Certificate for the Erhu

2009-03-03T01:29:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been hearing some 'weird' things about obtaining a CITES certificate for the erhu.

I just want to debunk some of the myths here:

1) There is not just 1, but a few companies, including yours truly - Eason Music, who can apply for a CITES certificate to accompany your erhu in Singapore.

2) It takes less than 5 minutes to submit the application if you have a previous record.

3) It takes 3 working days for the application to be processed. You can get it within the day if you opt for express service, but you have to pay double the fee.

4) The processing fee is S$29.40. Of course there are also the transport and toll fees incurred when collecting the certificate (because they cannot send it to us)

5) The processing organisation in Singapore is called Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore(AVA). Click here for their website.

So there you have it. I hope this is useful information for you.

Have a good day!

Black as Night Erhu Bow and Final Installment of Dizi Video

2009-02-18T02:25:00.000-08:00

Those of you who have tried our YS erhu bow will agree that it is one bow with good looks and good tone.

Now they come in another version with black hair. It's not the usual type of scratchy black hair bow that comes with jinghu or 'firewood disguised as erhu' erhu. It uses top quality black horsehair for more grip and power.

According to the maker it is currently very popular in China and especially good for breaking in new erhus.

Click here to purchase.

---------------------------

Here's the 4th and final installment of the types and ranges of Dizi video.

This video talks about the Da Di (Big Di)

Enjoy...

New Erhu Hard Case and New Strings

2009-02-11T04:22:00.000-08:00

A while ago I was selling some top quality 'designer' erhu cases. Although they look good, they are quite bulky and heavy.

Recently we brought in the 2nd generation of such erhu cases. They are flatter, lighter and the shape is also not as awkward. They've replaced the stainless steel locks with black Matt colored ones. Personally I like the look of stainless steel more.

It only comes in one color:

This is a 1st generation red case, but with the black Matt locks.

We have 2 of the 2nd generation erhu case and a few of the red cases with black locks.

-------------------------------

Another interesting item we are selling is Hua Mei Niao Brand Erhu strings from Beijing.

We've tested the strings on the erhu and we like the results. The tension feels good and the notes are responsive. Volume is quite balanced between both strings as well as the lower and higher registers. The inner string sounds warm and the outer string bright. Run in takes about 2 days if you play it intensively for 5-8 hours a day.

There is also one for the gaohu.

Purchase them here:
- Hua Mei Niao Erhu Strings
- Hua Mei Niao Gaohu Strings

Video on various types and ranges of Dizi Part 2 and 3

2009-02-11T01:08:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been a long while since I last posted on my blog. Chinese New Year had really slowed things down. As a result I have been busy clearing backlog these couple of days.

Not to mention the small matter of the birth of my second daughter on 5th Feb, which really takes time out of a lot of things.

There are so much things to update. But in order to make my posts more focus, I'll split them into various posts.

In my last post I talked about some videos on the various types of dizi. I've posted part 2 and part 3 on youtube already. They are about the bang di and the qu di.

Here they are:

Part 2 on the bang di:

Part 3 on the qu di:

Video on types and ranges of Dizi

2009-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

You know we've always been making free videos to let the public know more about Chinese music instruments.

We've just finished part 1 of 4 of a video that introduces the various types and ranges of dizi (Chinese bamboo flutes).

The first part talks about the Xiao Di, or small dizi. Part 2, 3 and 4 will be about Bang Di, Qu Di and Da Di respectively.

So here's the video:

Happy Chinese New Year to all!

(Our office will be closed for Chinese New Year till 31st January)

An Alternative Performance on the Guzheng and Erhu

2009-01-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of a very interesting performance by one of my customers from Germany. He's using a Wang Gen Xing Aged Rosewood Erhu.

Check out how his partner plays the Guzheng the other way round using yangqin beaters and a double bass bow!

Chromatic Gong Sets - Acoustic Gong / Yun Gong

2009-01-08T00:56:00.000-08:00

This is one of the newest set of Chinese percussion out there. The company who created it called it the 'Acoustic Gongs'.

Although it resembles a Chao Gong in terms of look, the tone is quite different.

The Chao Gong goes "Kwaaaaaaangggggg" but the acoustic gongs goes "Dong, Dong, Ding Ding".

If you have no idea what I am talking about, take a look at the videos below:

Each set consist of 13 gongs covering 1 octave chromatically from C to C.

Price of the low-pitch set of 13 gongs - US$625 .

Price of the mid-pitch set of 13 gongs - US$500.

Price of foldable rack with adjustable height shown in video - US$150 each.

We offer free tuning service for a period of 1 year. (Customer bears the cost of shipping to us and we'll take care of the charges of shipping back!)

Please email tansungwah@eason.com.sg for shipping rates.

---------------------------------------------------------------

But if you really want something more traditional, there is always the all time favourite 37 piece Yun Gong set.

The gongs are tuned chromatically from G to G.

You can listen to how it sounds below(forward to 3.53). A little pitchy but you get the idea.

For enquiries, please email tansungwah@eason.com.sg

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T23:39:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone!

May 2009 be a better year for all of us!

Here's a video of a recent Christmas performance by the electric erhu and a guitar.

Songs include: 'Let's eat snow, let's eat snow', 'gazing at spring wind', rude oaf the red nose rain dear' and 'My whey'.

Enjoy!

National Music Competition 2008 / WNZ Sandalwood Erhus

2008-12-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

The National Music Competition 2008 organised by the National Arts Council just concluded.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Special congratulations to Joyce Poh for getting first in the Dizi open category. She happens to be the lead cast in our youtube video: Basic introduction of the Dizi.

And special congratulations to the members Symphonic Percussion for getting first in the Percussion ensemble category. We hoped our gongs, cymbals, drums and mallets have helped you in one way or another.

Congratulations to the members of Toa Payoh West Community Club Chinese Orchestra for bagging the most number of prizes.

You can download the full list of winners here.

Lastly, congratulations to Artssphere Chamber Ensemble for getting first in the instrumental ensemble category. Each one of them are excellent musicians who came together to give a good performance, and scared the hell out of some kid apparently.

Which brings me to the second part of this email - the erhus that they used are supplied by us. Noticed how clean and uniformed the erhus sounded during the performance.

The axe that they use is this baby below:

This erhu is a maker in Tianjin by the initials of WNZ.

If you remember my first blog post I talked about one of the best erhus that I have come across. Well, I met him recently and brought in some of his erhus. His erhus especially the sandalwood erhus are excellent sounding.

If you are thinking of buying a good erhu, this is one instrument you can seriously consider:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/erhu/heh41.jsp

Chinese Musical Instruments of Beijing Olympics 2008

2008-12-07T06:40:00.000-08:00

Well, back to the Shanghai fair again.

Inside Shanghai Dunhuang's booth(the one with the giant lute - see previous entry), there is a special room where they house the Beijing Olympics 2008 Chinese musical instruments.

I only know that erhus were used in the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Seems like there are more Chinese musical instruments specially made for that occasion.

The first one is a chime stone. You hit it with the beater as shown.

'No touching' it says, but I touched.

The second is a weird looking erhu.

The headstock looks like a Christmas tree.

The body looks like some prop from the Gladiator movie.

It has a 'no touching' sign as well. Again, I touched.

Here are 2 Beijing Olympic flutes.

Don't know if it was used during the Beijing Olympics, but it has the words 'Olympics flute' in Chinese engraved.

'No touching' again. But again I touched.

A huge drum here.

Noticed the sign says 'You may touch', but I didn't. Not very good at taking orders eh?

Finally, my favourite - the erhu that was used by 67 Chinese babes during the Beijing Olympics closing. It is a collaboration between Shanghai Dunhuang and Roland Music.

It is a traditional electric erhu. Traditional in the sense that the erhu is like any traditional erhu, very similar to this model of erhu that I am selling in my online store. Electric in the sense that there are electronic components attached to it that allows the tone to be amplified and modified.

Here's a body shot of it.

The erhu has a cloud design headstock that symbolises prosperity.

There is an effects pedal affixed on the neck of the erhu. You can add reverb, delay, chorus etc to the tone of your erhu. By fixing it on the neck allows you to toggle the effects easily.

Some knobs in front of the erhu for you to set the parameters of the different effects.

The back is where you insert a 9 volt battery.

The brand names of Shanghai Dunhuang and Roland.

Real python skin was used for the resonator.

Here's where the cable goes.

I have 2 of these sitting in my shop. I haven't decide if I want to sell it yet. The last time I heard, the current market price in China is 30,000rmb, about 6000SGD, or 4000USD.

Feel free to let me know if you want to take a look at it if you ever drop by my shop.

Presentation on the Maintenance of Chinese Musical Instruments

2008-11-25T02:49:00.000-08:00

We were invited by recently by the Ministry of Education(MOE), Singapore to give a talk to secondary school students leaders of various Chinese orchestras on how to maintain and protect their Chinese musical instruments.

We starting giving such talks to teachers and students a couple of years ago and it quickly became a yearly affair.

Usually the talk is one of the programmes of a music camp organised by MOE for student leaders from the various secondary school Chinese orchestras.

The talk starts with a presentation by Tan Kim Seng- one of the founders of Eason Enterprises, followed by a breakout session whereby students are split into string, plucking and wind sections. The old dude one the left is Tan Kim Seng and yours truly is on the right.

Below is Mr Er, a music instructor for not the Erhu as his name suggests, but Chinese wind instruments like Dizi and Sheng(Chinese pipes). He is one of the few people in Singapore who can repair the Sheng. He gave some tips on how to do simple repairs on the Sheng.

And that's me speaking to a group of wonderful students from the string section on things like maintenance and setting up - the various aspects of the erhu except how to play it.

This is Mr Ng, one of the people from Eason. Besides knowing how to wipe the Yangqin, he plays and teaches the Yangqin as well, along with the Liuqin, Pipa, Guzheng and Ruans - well, almost every instrument in the plucking section.

I'm surprised many of the students who play Chinese musical instruments have blogs. I have added some of their blogs on the right.

I have also added a cbox on the right. It is a sort of message board so feel free to leave me a message. Please refrain from posting viagra ads or related stuff. The profile of my readers clearly is not your target audience.

New Products Listed - Mini Flutes and Mini Ruans

2008-11-19T00:15:00.000-08:00

I've just listed some new products on my website.

2 of them are koudis - which directly translated to English means 'mouth flute'. I suppose they called it a mouth flute because it is played with the mouth, as opposed to the rest of the flutes which is played by the, erm...., the mouth as well. Hey!....so why is it call the mouth flute?

After looking at the video below, I conclude they call it the mouth flute because the lady looks like she is whistling instead of playing a flute.

Anyway I shall call it the 'miniature flute' instead.

You need one of these if you want to do what this lady is doing:

One of it is a G key koudi and the other a D key koudi.

Click the below links to go to the individual product pages:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/wdz42(d).jsp
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/dizi/wdz42(g).jsp

------------------------------------------------

The other 2 products listed is a XiaoRuan (Small Ruan) and GaoYinRuan (High pitched Ruan). The XiaoRuan and GaoYinRuan is part of the Ruan family, consisting of DaRuan, ZhongRuan, XiaoRuan and GaoYinRuan.

Here's how they line up to be:

The XiaoRuan and GaoYinRuan sounds similar to the mandolin.

For those who are not acquainted with the 'hanyu pinyin', the pronunciation of 'Ruan' is more like Run, instead of 'Roo...Ann'.

Click on the video samples link in the respective pages to hear how they sound like.

XiaoRuan:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/ruan/tbxr5.jsp

GaoYinRuan:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/ruan/tbxr3.jsp

Ruan product page:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_ruan.jsp

More Photos From Shanghai Music Fair 2008

2008-11-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here are the rest of the pictures I took at the Shanghai Music Fair:

This was one of the main attractions at the Dunhuang booth - a butterfly Guzheng.

Its not just 1 Guzheng, its 4 Guzhengs in 1!

Shot of the gigantic lute again. Nothing new cos they recycled from last year's fair.

The world's largest erhu? Correction - the world's largest playable erhu. Tried playing it and sounds horrible.

A close up of the erhu. What a bridge.

The booth of Shanghai Dunhuang 'Yun' brand, which we are the sole distributor in Singapore.

Took them a long time to figure out sex sells....

After 1 year they are still together....

Nice booth.

To be frank I'm not sure what is this. Looks like a horn flute or something.

I took some shots of these ocarinas but was stopped by the owner. What's so special about them?

Miniature Chinese instruments.

Another shot of it.

The world's largest Chao gong. Correction - the world's largest playable Chao gong. According to the owner there are some bigger in size but they are all looks and no substance.

Coming up next.....Beijing Olympic Chinese music instruments.

Trade In Your Guzheng For Cash!

2008-10-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Do you have an unused Guzheng collecting dust in your storeroom or taking up space in your living room?

Have you or your kid decided that you're done with the Guzheng for the rest of your life?

Well, instead of throwing it away or wait for it to biodegrade, why not bring it down to our shop to exchange for some cash?

Because we are taking in used Guzhengs.

So if you have one which you would like to get rid of, please send an email to us at tansungwah@eason.com.sg with the following information:

- Describe the physical condition of the Guzheng
- Tell us when you bought it
- Are there any bridges or stands missing?
- Send us some photos of it if possible.

Please note that we only take in Shanghai Dunhuang Guzhengs.

If you are do not own any Guzheng at the moment and are thinking of getting one, please take a look at our selections here: http://www.eason.com.sg/products/products_guzheng.jsp

Two Videos From Shanghai Music Fair 2008

2008-10-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here are two of the few videos I took during the Shanghai Music Fair 2008.

The first is a dude from the Beijing Conservatory of Music. You might find him familiar because I previously posted a clip of him playing Jiang He Shui, also at a music fair sometime ago. Apparently he's doing some promotion for some erhu makers/manufacturers. He just puts his own bow on whatever erhu they give him and play!

This time I caught him playing the last part of Zigeunerweisen on the erhu.

Watch his fingers fly!

------------------------

The second clip is a guy playing the MaTouQin. "Ma Tou" means "horse head" and "Qin" means instrument. So Voila! The instrument he played has a horse head for its headstock!

The instrument is has 2 strings and a bow is used to play. For more information about the matouqin you can go over to wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matouqin

Notice he did not use his fingers to 'press' the strings like what you would do for normal string instruments. He uses his fingers to push the strings sideways instead.

'

Gaining in Strength to Strength With Your Erhu

2008-10-29T03:01:00.000-07:00

I was speaking to Dr Z yesterday about erhus.

We were talking about how the erhu will improve in sound when played by certain people, but will deteriorate in sound in the hands of another.

Certain people have the ability to 'grow' their erhus.

Part of it of course depends on the bowing technique (can be scientifically proven). With the bow pulling the strings at a correct angle, the vibrations created will give the snakeskin a good workout and have a positive effect on the tone.

The second part depends on each individual person's aura (not scientifically proven). It's like some jewelery looks sparkling on one person, but the same thing looks dull and jaded on another.

The last part depends on how you much you love your instrument (not scientifically proven again). The wood and snakeskin before they were cut down and up to make the erhu were living things before their demise. Part of them still lives within the instrument. So if you take care of them and nurture them with love, they will respond positively and the tone will improve.

One of my customers emailed me the other day: "I like my gaohu better the more I play it. I just wish there was more time and energy to spend on my fiddles. The more I practice on them the more they want."

Very true.

So do you find your erhu getting better each day or not as good as before? You could be the reason.....

Shanghai Music Fair 2008 / New Erhu Bow

2008-10-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted on blog. So how have all of you been?

The financial crisis is really getting to everyone. Today I was at a food centre and all the queues of the supposedly popular stores have vanished. More people are eating in instead of eating out. I think people will be more prudent with their spending, which means bad times for businesses.

Well, not all business are affected negatively. Pawnshops and second hand stores have reported brisk sales. Supermarkets have also seen an increase in people buying more groceries to cook at home instead of eating out.

So what's the direction going to be for Chinese musical instruments business? At the moment it seems the trend is down.

But I hope people realize that since they can't afford to change cars or houses so often, why not spend it on spiritually and culturally stimulating things like the erhu, pipa and dizi!

If you're thinking how are you going to learn to play the erhu, we have our online erhu lessons still going at an introductory price of US$480!

And for those who prefer a more in-your-face type of musical expression, you can consider our drums, gongs and cymbals! It is also a more economical stress reliever than St. Regis Monarch Resort. (Someone email my website address www.eason.com.sg to the executives of AIG)

Anyway, one of the reasons I went MIA recently is because I went to the music fair in Shanghai. Yes it is the time of the year again. Not a lot of surprises this year it seems. The number of exhibitors has in fact decreased. I did not see quite a lot of previously seen names at the fair. One told me that there were too many makers and those that cannot make the cut died off naturally.

The buyer power of the Chinese still seems very strong. Buyers are still seen in droves, buying at prices that even my most affluent customers would deem very expensive. How about 20,000-30,000 RMB for 1 erhu?

Anyway here are some pictures of the Shanghai fair. I'll post more later when I have the time.

>>The entrance to the expo centre

>>Registration area inside the expo centre

>>Big banner inside the expo centre

>>Funny looking pianos

>>Funny looking piano again

>>With a brand name that strikes a chord with Singaporean ah bengs and ah lians

>>A piano made of porcelin

>>The player of the piano made of porcelin

More later.
--------------------------------

I've recently listed another product on the website.

It is one of the most well made bows I have seen so far. Although the rod is not very thick, it is a rather stiff bow.

Read more about it here.

Montage of Video Clips of the Electric Erhu @ Eason

2008-09-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

We were playing around with the electric erhu and I took some clips of it.

Look out for the erhu, violin, jinghu, high pitched banhu, zhuihu, erhu in overdrive and some tones which I have no words to describe.

Interested parties please email me at tansungwah@eason.com.sg for details. Only 1-2 pieces left.

First Ever Online Interactive Erhu Course in English

2008-09-16T03:05:00.000-07:00

It's finally here.

We're want to teach you how to play the Erhu.

Click on the link below for more information.

http://learnerhu.wordpress.com/

New Arrival of Stocks - update

2008-09-15T03:17:00.000-07:00

We have a new type of Fang Fang Erhu strings. It comes in red and white packaging. It is of a similar grade to the usual Fang Fang Erhu strings in blue and white packaging. But the difference is the string gauge is thicker, which means more effort is required of your left fingers.

Fang Fang Blue - Outer String = 0.25mm / Inner String = 0.42mm
Fang Fang Red - Outer String = 0.26mm / Inner String = 0.44mm

(Click on image to go to product page)

-----------------------------

New stocks of Dizis (Chinese Bamboo Flute) and Xiaos (Chinese Vertical Flute) from Beijing maker Dong Xue Hua just came in. I ordered a few more pieces of Xiao because they always run out quickly. They come in the key of F and G.

Click here to see how they look.

Click here for their Dizis.

------------------------------

Our Hulusis (a Yunnan minority wind instrument) have also been restocked. They come in Bb and C key - subject to stock availability.

Click here for our Hulusi page.

-----------------------------

Tomorrow is the date where details of the first ever Online Interactive Erhu Course will be released!

Stay tuned!

The Erhu of the Future and the Bridge of the Past

2008-09-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today I tested the Plexiglass Electric Erhu.

Boy was it FUN!

It's really a very fun instrument to play.

The package came with a set of speakers and an effects box. The setup was pretty straightforward. You just need to connect a few wires here and there and you're all set to go.

The effects box came preset with 50 over settings that turns your Erhu into a Zhonghu, Gaohu, Banhu, Cello, string ensemble etc.

I have to admit I was a little skeptical in the beginning, but I really enjoyed playing the instrument today, changing to different tones just buy tapping my feet on the effects box.

The plexiglass Erhu itself is surprising, very easy to play and very responsive. It plays almost effortlessly. The bow grabs itself nicely on the strings and the tone is very clean, without alot of the noise associated with normal Erhus.

To the purists it might sound very artificial and 'un-Erhu' like. But you have to accept that its an 'electric Erhu'. You don't expect an electric guitar to sound like an acoustic guitar anyway.

I brought in 3 pieces but I doubt I will be bringing more in the future unless someone pre-orders it, because the cost is very high.

I'll set it up in my shop and let you guys have a go at it. 1 piece is sold and another is reserved. That leaves just 1.

I'll post some videos soon.

------------------------------------------

My stock of the 4300 year old Erhu bridges are here. Only less than half remains.

Those in Singapore can bring their Erhus to try the bridge and be convinced before buying.

Those not in Singapore, we have a money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the result the bridge brings, just mail it back for a full refund!

Click here to order.

Woolly Woolly Lamb Felt Damper

2008-09-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've just listed the felt dampers that I have in my shop for sale on my online store.

It's called the "Woolly Woolly Lamb Felt Damper"! Woohoo!

From our experience felt material works best so we've been using felt ever since lambs started to baaaa on earth.

A piece of damper makes a big difference in the tone of the Erhu. It cuts out a lot of the irritating cackling noise that you produce on a Erhu without a damper.

You fold the damper and insert it under the bridge between the strings and the snakeskin. The ideal thickness is achieved when you do not need to remove the bridge to slide the damper in but at the same time you need to push and pull a bit to get the damper in. (You can view the Erhus in my online store if you have no idea where to put it)

Pushing the damper down towards the base will give you a brighter tone so you can shift it to your preference.

Selling these things are not going to make me rich (unless I sell a million of them) but I thought you might find it useful.

Click here to go to the product page.

----------------------------------

My new stocks of instruments and accessories are arriving early next week.

Which means those of you who ordered the 4300 year old Erhu bridge will be getting it really soon!

And I can finally the Fang Fang strings to those whom I have owed for so long.

Some of the new items that I am expecting are:
- A new all black Erhu bow that accordingly is very popular among Erhu professionals in China
- A new version of Fang Fang strings
- The Electric Erhu!
- New Xuzhou Liuqins by Master Liu Wei Zhong
- New Pipas by Master Qiu Ting Yu
- New Erhus by WNZ

More information will be posted soon.

The Erhus Used in Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony

2008-09-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

I've found out more about the Erhus used in the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics:

- They're made by Shanghai Dunhuang

- A total of 60 Erhus were made for the performance

- The Erhu comes with a built in pickup

- The headstock is specially designed with a 'prosperity cloud'

- Because of the 'cloudy' headstock, the Erhu weighs a whopping 2.5kg

- The Erhu is fitted with a clip that hooks on to the belt that the performer wears so that she can prance around the stage with ease

- The Erhu is specially made by a team of 3-4 master Erhu makers including - Wang Gen Xing

- The Erhu is made of Aged Rosewood

- These Olympic Erhus took 3 months to manufacture and Shanghai Dunhuang will not be producing anymore of the same kind.

- Shanghai Dunhuang will be keep some of the Erhus as mementos and the rest will be put up for sale

Great, so they are selling them!

Well, I've enquired with them and apparently all the Erhus have been snapped up.

I'm being placed on the waiting and will only be allocated if someone fails to make payment for it.

I'll let you know if I get my hands on one.

But its mine......all mine.......

-------------------------------------------

By the way, I've just listed an interesting book on the origins of Chinese music.

It's quite a simple book written in a comic book format.

Click here for more information about the book.

Beijing Olympics 2008 Closing Ceremony

2008-08-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

Did any of you catch the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics?

The part with hordes of young pretty Chinese girls playing the Erhu together is quite lovely.

They really look like they can play. Their hand motions are very fluid. But I doubt they are playing live.

Their Erhus look very interesting. The headstock is something like this Erhu that I have (Click here).

I can't figure out how they support the Erhu to play standing up. It looks nothing like the Erhu belt clip I have. The base looks thick and heavy. I'll see if I can get my hands on one of these just for the fun of it.

The golfing attire is charming, but I would prefer a more traditional attire though. I think that's because the closing ceremony is suppose to portray a modern China, contrary to the opening ceremony.

Here's a video link for those who have missed it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt-ptMfsaK8

Catch it before it gets taken down!

The First and Only Online Erhu Classes in the World

2008-08-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

These are exciting times.

We've been working very hard to develop this program.

So that anyone in the world can learn how to play the Erhu, whenever and wherever you are.

All you need is an internet connection and a pair of computer speakers.

Most important of all, you learn to play the Erhu CORRECTLY.

The knowledge that we share is going to blow you away and we guarantee you will be sounding much better than before with our systematic approach to learning.

The program will be launched on 16 September 2008.

Watch this space.

How to Slice Open a Dimo

2008-08-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I was clear enough when I added subtitles to the video "How to fix dimo on the flute".

I added the line, "slice the dimo open....", but I am still getting emails from customers overseas telling me I sent them the wrong size Dimo.

I tried to explain that Dimo comes in tubes but they thought I meant I packaged the Dimo in a tube, which of course they did not receive.

A video speaks louder than words so this is what I meant by, "slice open a tube of Dimo":

Introductory Video of the Dizi, Chinese Bamboo Flute

2008-08-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

We've just finished an introductory video on some of the basics of the Dizi.

This video shows you the different parts of the Dizi. It also shows you how to hold the Dizi, the fingerings and the posture.

So with the how to fix the dimo video and this video, you should be able to get a good sound out of the Dizi and look good doing it!

If you haven't got a Dizi, head over to our store here to purchase one.

It's great fun!

(Special thanks to Joyce Poh for her help in the videos)

It's Been 1 Year Already?

2008-08-02T01:58:00.000-07:00

Today (or yesterday depending on where you are) is a significant day.

Yes, 2 August 2008 is exactly one year after I started this blog.

I have so far made a total of 114 entries, which surprised myself because I never liked writing diaries when I was young.

The most common entries my teacher saw from my diary assignments were "Today nothing much happened" or "Today was an uninteresting day".

So happy birthday/ creation day to my blog.

I hope I'll still be at for many years to come.

And thank you for reading my blog, whoever you are.

Update on Video on How to Fix the Dimo on the Dizi

2008-07-31T01:02:00.000-07:00

I've done an update to my video on How to Fix the Dimo on the Dizi.

From the emails that I have received, quite a number of beginners don't know that the tubes of Dimo that they bought needs to be sliced open before use.

Some of them paste 2 pieces of Dimo (before cutting them open) together because they find that 1 piece is not big enough to cover the hole. Of course the result is disastrous.

The new version comes with English subtitles with some additional information.

Here it is:

Tips On How to Maintain Your Erhu Bow

2008-07-26T01:22:00.000-07:00

Wang Xiao Di is an Erhu bow maker from Beijing. Her bows are very good quality and I carry one of her mid-range bows in my online store. Being an Erhu player herself, she also came up with a pack of 6 bridges for the Erhu.

She's very passionate about Erhu bow making. Everytime I meet her at music fairs in China she'll go on and on about her blog and her bows.

And everytime I order her bows she'll pack in a stack of cards with information on how to take care of your Erhu bow.

So for the benefit of those who do not understand Chinese, here it is in English:

1. Keep the bow away from oily substance. Do not touch the bow hair with your hand. The oil on your hand will reduce the grab your bow has on the Erhu strings.

2. Apply enough rosin on the bow hair before use. After playing for 1-2 hours, reapply rosin again to prevent damage to the microscopic scales on the bow hair.

3. Loosen the bow hair after use. This is to preserve the natural curvature of the bamboo rod as well as the elasticity of the bow hair.

4. If you are not going to use the bow for a long time, clean off the rosin from the bow rod and bow hair and store it in a plastic cover.

5. When fixing the bow to the Erhu, it is advisable to detach the frog from the bow first. After fixing the strings, attach the frog back to the bow. This will prevent the pointed tip on the frog of the bow from breaking (applicable for Beijing styled bow only).

6. A professional player changes their bow every 6 months to stay on top of their game. A non-professional player should change their bow at least once a year. When you feel that the bow does not grab the strings as well as before despite rosining, it could mean that the scales on the bow hair have been eroded through constant playing. It is thus time to change a new bow.

New Stocks of Shakuhachi in D and G Key

2008-07-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

Our new stocks of Shakuhachi just came in. We have them in both G and D keys.

Here are their individual root shots:

D key Shakuhachis:

Purchase them here:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/shakuhachi/wsk1.jsp

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G key Shakuhachis:

Purchase them here:
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/shakuhachi/wsk2.jsp

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I'm working on some free instructional videos for the Dizi, like what I did for the Erhu. I hope you're as excited as I am.

1st Chinese Orchestra Education Convention (COEC) 2008

2008-07-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

The Co-Curricular activities branch of our Ministry of Education will be organizing the 1st Chinese Orchestra Education Convention (COEC) 2008 on the 25th and 26th of August this year.

They've done education conventions in previous years for symphonic bands and but this year they are doing one for the Chinese Orchestra.

If the band convention is a yardstick to go by, there'll be talks by keynote speakers, workshops, and a mini exhibition all relating Chinese Orchestra music.

For more information, please refer to the official letter below by one of the officers in charged:

---------------------------------------------------------

Dear CO teachers-in-charge. CCA administrators, educators and musicians,

MOE,CCA Branch will be organising the 1st Chinese Orchestra Education Convention (COEC) 2008 on 25 and 26 of August at the Singapore Conference Hall. You can visit the COEC website at http://www3.moe.edu.sg/ccab/coec.htm (please bookmark the website URL as more info will be updated in July) for the programme information on this event.

Registration forms can also be downloaded from the above website. Alternatively, you can also come to CCAB reception counter (2nd level) to obtain the registration forms. Participation fee is $50/pax for 2 days including lunch, tea, one convention kit, admission to keynote, concurrent and plenary sessions. For the concurrent sessions, participants will be informed at a later date to sign up for those topics of their interest.

Attached herein are the documents on COEC brief and publicity brochure. Please be informed that registration closes on 8 Aug 2008. So sign up now!

We look forward to your participation at this inaugural COEC 2008.

Thank you.
Lim Seng Yuen
--------------------------------------------------

We'll be having an exhibition booth there as well. I've submitted a proposal to have bikini clad girls playing the erhu, pipa and guzheng at my booth but that was rejected by the organizers. I think they're afraid people might stay at the exhibition area all day.

In any case, please give them your support.

Erhu Bridge Made From Very Very Very Old Wood

2008-07-03T02:50:00.000-07:00

A while ago I talked to about a 4300 year old bridge that does wonders to the tone of the Erhu.

I've finally got some audios and videos to show.

I did a test using a Wan Qi Xing Ming Qing Aged Rosewood Erhu. I switched between
a blackwood bridge to the 4300 year old bridge, to a whitewood bridge and back to
the 4300 year old bridge.

The tone of the Erhu using the blackwood and whitewood bridge sounds more restrained and muted, while tone of the Erhu using the new bridge opens up and sounds more liberated!

You can view the video of the whole process here:

In addition to the video I also made a audio recording so that you can listen more clearly the difference in the tone here: http://www.eason.com.sg/documents/4300yearbridge.wav

So instead of spending hundreds or thousands buying a new Erhu, you can have a marked improvement in the tone of your Erhu for just a fraction! We are offering it at an introductory price of US$40.

Yes, yes, I know some of you might be thinking that not all Erhus are created equal. So what if the 4300 year old bridge does not work for me?

Well, just mail the bridge back to us and we will refund you the US$40, plus the shipping you incurred in shipping back the Erhu bridge. (For people in Singapore, feel free to bring your Erhu to our shop to test the bridge before you decide to order)

You have zero risk and absolutely nothing to lose!

We will be ordering limited number of bridges which will come in 6-8 weeks time.

So to avoid disappointment, click here to pre-order your 4300 year old bridge now!

Remember, you have nothing to lose but a whole new sparkling tone to gain!
http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/meh66.jsp

A Visit From a Friend From The Other Side of The World

2008-07-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

I was away for quite a while. I went for a 5 day business course.

Recently one of my customer/friend from Canada came to Singapore to visit.

This is Skully, one of the main charactors in my Who? Handroll blog post.

Because he did not buy enough Erhus from me, I decided to teach him a lesson and brought him to a fish farm to feed his feet to the fishes.

Naively, put his feet into the pool full of vociferous fishes, thinking that they will eat away the dead skin on his feet.

Pretty soon, he had no more hair left on his feet....

The progress was too slow, so I suggested to him to go to another pool with bigger fishes.

Soon he had only one foot left.....

This fish took a toe home for supper.

That will teach him to buy more Erhus from me!

Fearing for the rest of his limbs, he begged me to take him to my shop to buy one dozen Erhus back home.

As a special bonus for buying a dozen Erhus from me, I treated him to a Liang Xiao performance on the Erhu with the all seeing eye...

The moral of the story is, if you are coming to visit, buy enough Erhus from me first!

Electric Erhu Part 2

2008-06-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

I had a previous entry on an electric Erhu I saw at the Beijing music fair.

I managed to contact the maker to get more information about the Erhu.

Below are some sound files recorded using the instrument:

1. 江河水 Jiang He Shui
Effects: Erhu in Overdrive
10`20

2. 小草 Small Grass
Effects: Wah Wah
2`48

3. 好日子 Good Days
Effects: Mid Pitch Banhu
6`59

4. 良宵 Liang Xiao
Effects: Erhu 二胡音色
2`45

5. 天山 Sky Hill
Effects: Violin
5`01

6. 沸腾 Fei Teng
Effects: High Pitched Matouqin
2`04

7. 花儿为什么红 Why are the flowers red?
Effects: Violin
2`43

8. 天涯歌女 Tian Ya Ge Nu
Effects: Erhu
2`42

9. 草原之夜 The night of the grassland
Effects: Violin Ensemble and Erhu
3`58

The Erhu effects pedal contains 50 over different tones.

The product apparently has won the gold award at the 2nd national traditional Chinese music instruments competition.

Don't think I want to keep inventory so I'm taking pre-orders here.

Interested parties please email me at tansungwah@eason.com.sg.

Enjoy the sound clips! (Though some of them made my hair stand)

6 Pack Erhu Utility Bridge Package

2008-06-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

I just posted a new product on my website, in case nobody noticed it.

I named it the 6 Pack Erhu Utility Bridge Package.

According to the bridge maker who came up with this package, with this 6 pack in hand you can conquer the world.

So here they are, the 6 superheroes (clockwise from top left):

1. *Long shaped maple bottom with ebony tip* – All purpose bridge. Responsive.

2. *Long shaped Pinewood* – Traditional Beijing Erhu bridge. Reduced noise

3. *Long shaped Sandalwood* – Rich and penetrative tone.

4. *Round shaped wood* – Suitable for new Erhus. Clean clear tone

5. *Round shaped maple* – Same material as violin bridge, gentle and beautiful tone

6. *Round shaped Ebony* – hard material, loud and bright tone, suitable for snakeskin with less tension

The bridges come together with a big piece of damper and some sandpaper - all packed in a box.

Click here to purchase it.

Disclaimer: The above are just general guidelines by the maker. Experience tells us that every Erhu is different and what sounds good on one, may not sound good on another.

Electric Erhu with Effects Pedal

2008-06-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is a new plexiglass Electric Erhu I saw at the Beijing fair.

There are knobs at the bottom of the Erhu which think should be volume and tone.

It has a bridge made of plexiglass as well. Initially I thought the plexiglass bridge is essential till I saw another piece with a normal bridge and a damper!

Ok, the interesting part of the electric Erhu is not the Erhu itself. It is the stuff that comes with it. It comes with a specially designed effects board with presets where your Erhu can sound like an Erhu, Zhonghu, Jinghu, Zhuihu, Cello, Erhu in overdrive etc. It has 60 over different presets.

The Erhu in overdrive.... The guy is played double stop quite clearly. I suspect the bow is modified such that the bamboo part is playable as well.

Alternative Way of Putting Your Damper

2008-06-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

Here's another way of putting the damper on your Erhu.

You fold it and insert it in between the strings.

The idea is that the unwanted noise comes from the part of the string between the bridge and the base of the Erhu. So putting the damper there reduces the noise. The Erhu will sound less muted than if you put the damper under the strings because there is much less pressure on the snakeskin.

New Bridges

2008-06-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

I brought back some interesting bridges from the music fair:

1) The tip is made of Ebony and the bottom is made of Pine.

2) A hybrid of Ebony and Maple.

3) Bridge made from Maple wood

4) Bridge made from very old sandalwood

5) Maple bridges

6) I like this one - white sandalwood. (The names the Chinese come up with...)

8) Finally the mother of all bridges - Bridge made from 4300 year old petrified wood. Be afraid.....be very afraid......

I have tried it and it is really good. It feels like when you have a nose block and a hoarse throat, then suddenly your nose block clears and your throat feels great and you can sing without any obstacles!

Beijing Music Fair 2008

2008-06-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so here we go, an update on my trip to Beijing for their yearly music fair. It wasn't a particularly big scale fair, but all the better since I don't need to cover so much ground. I didn't take a lot of pictures so here they are.

Here is the entrance to the fairgrounds. The balding guy in the centre of the picture with a sling bag across is my father.

Here is where you insert your tickets. When you exit, you get touts waiting to buy your tickets to resell to others. But you have the police walking around trying to catch the touts as well.

In preparation of the upcoming Olympics, all visitors have to have their belongings scanned. They only confiscated cigarette lighters. I don't see anyone being searched like in the airport.

Here's where you line up to get your pass into the exhibition area. Foreign visitors have an express queue. :)

Another shot before going into the exhibition area.

There are booths set up opposite the ticketing area, mostly electronic products.

Traditional Chinese Music Instruments occupy a small hall on level 2. This is the first booth you see when you enter the hall.

Next to it is the booth of Biquan Guzhengs. They have a Guzheng performance going on!

Real triplets playing the Guzheng. Very charming. They are personally coached by my good friend and famous Guzheng performer Yuan Sha. They are 16 years old this year - all of them.

They were bamboo thin the first time I saw them 3 years ago. I heard they've been told to watch their weight!

Here's a short video of them in action:

This is the booth of Beijing Raoyang instruments factory. The boss is a certain Mr Yang. I had dinner him together with Dizi maker Dong Xue Hua and Pipa maker Cao Wei Dong one night. Boy can they drink. After downing a few bottles of Chinese liquor with 55% alcohol content, they still have to order a few bottles of beer to wash down the Chinese liquor!

Some Pipas hanging at the back of Beijing Raoyang's booth with artwork on it:

Newly designed arty Hulusis!

Ooh...Looks like some part of the female anatomy with dragons tattooed on it.

Erhu with huge scales on the snake skin.

Get an idea of the noise level I had to deal with at the fair:

Dear dear binoculars, what are you doing together with banhu resonators? Have you lost your way? The fair for peeping toms is on the other side....

Another electric Erhu found. I'll leave the details for another post.

Finally, a young dude in Zhang Zhong's booth playing Jiang He Shui. He's pretty good.

I'll post more after I've finished testing my newly acquired accessories.

I am back!

2008-06-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

Took an overnight flight and touched down at 6am in the morning.

Well, overall I had a good trip to Beijing. The fair wasn't particular big (I reckon just 1/5 the size of the Shanghai trip) but I still saw some interesting stuff.

I've got some new Erhu bridges. Pictures and audio comparisms will be posted soon. I've also got lo and behold! - 2 pieces of the US$50 Erhu bridge to try out. It is made from fossilized wood that is 4300 years old! Tested it today and whoa....the difference will blow you away. Details coming soon.

I've also got some samples of a Pipa sling, so that you can dance and play the Pipa at the same time.

Brought back some Dong Xue Hua Xiaos and Dizis. If I owe you some DXH Dizis or Xiaos, they are already on their way.

I've got some pretty interesting Erhu bow as well, some woolly damper for the Erhu and an excellent sandalwood Erhu.

I'll post more details after I've tested them.

To market, to market, to buy a fat bow

2008-05-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

There's a music fair held in Beijing from this Thursday to Sunday and I'll be there.

The Beijing fair is usually of a smaller scale than the Shanghai fair, but it'll still be interesting nevertheless.

I'll be looking for new gadgets and accessories, mainly for the Erhu and Dizi. One of my customers ask me to pick some fat bows from WXD.

I'll be back with more pictures and videos.

Watch this space.

Videos of a Yangqin, Zhongruan, an Erhu

2008-05-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

I would like to share 3 videos that I took recently of some music instruments.

1) The first is an instrument called the Yangqin. It is a dulcimer type instrument played using 2 beaters. Click here for a brief introduction of the Yangqin. The Yangqin in the 2 videos below is from Beijing Yuehua model number 402G.

It has such a beautiful tone. But maintaining and tuning it is such a pain. There are 100 over strings altogether. Imagine how tedious it is to restring the instrument. Its like restringing 20 over guitars in one shot.

But my collegue the baldie (you've seen him in some videos) does a fantastic job in restringing the Yangqin. He even soaks the small metal ball bearings in spirits to give it a shine.

2) A while ago one of my customers asked if I have a cheaper Zhongruan than those listed on my website. Well, we have one that costs US$219 and I made a sample video of it. Here it is:

Not listed on the website yet.

3) The last is a Sandalwood Erhu by Lu Lin Sheng. It was on my website for a long time but only recently I took a video of it.

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Update on the new Erhu hardcases

Red color is out of stock! But we found one unit of blue.

The cases are listed here.

More Pictures of New Erhu Cases

2008-05-14T06:38:00.001-07:00

Ok I've took some pictures of the new Erhu cases that came in.

They come in 4 colors:

....Red

...Silver

...White

...and Black

...The 4 colors lined up together

...You can sling it on your shoulders by attaching the straps included to the rings on the underside of the case

...Or you can hand carry the case

...the plush interior again

Cost of case: US$85

Because it weighs a hefty 3.5kg, the shipping fee to USA and Western Europe is US$68.

New stocks! And No Stocks!

2008-05-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

New stocks of instruments and accessories just came in yesterday. Below is a run down of some of the items. People in Singapore can just drop by our shop to check them out. People not in Singapore will need to wait till I get my act together to view some of the new items.

1) Fang Fang Soloist strings
Nothing new but been out of stock for quite a while.

2) Belt clip
Dancing while playing the Erhu seems to be the new fab.

3) Song Round Rosin
Very good piece of rosin.

4) Erhu Bow by WXD
We brought in a higher quality model than the one in the link.

5) New High Quality Erhu Cases
The plushy new Erhu cases which I talked about in my previous post are here. I haven't seen them all yet, but I spotted silver and red colors. I think I brought in black or dark blue as well.

6) Wang Gen Xing Erhus
Got a couple in and left with 2 aged rosewood. Email me at tansungwah@eason.com.sg if you are interested.

7) Wan Qi Xing Gaohus
Not a lot of people interested in Gaohus apparently. Too high pitched for your liking eh? But here's a good one if you are looking for one.

8) Shanghai Dunhuang Guzhengs
Among them are new stocks of Aged Rosewood Guzhengs with new designs and stocks of starter grade Guzhengs that costs S$500.

9) Concert Grade Shanghai Liuqins
I've let you down, my Liuqins... I know I've never given you much attention compared to the rest of the Chinese instruments. Your time will come soon.

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I have to apologize to those people who are still waiting for Dong Xue Hua's Dizis and Xiaos to come. The flutes were sent to us a couple of weeks ago and the latest from him is that his shipping agent cannot track where the package is at the moment. I hope they get it sorted out soon. Feel free to let me know if you quit waiting and want a refund.

Dizi, Chinese Bamboo Flutes by Xie Bing

2008-05-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

I had a new batch of Dizis (Chinese Bamboo Flute) that came in today by a maker called Xie Bing (解兵).

Xie Bing's flutes were actually brought to my attention by Zhan Yong Ming, who is a 1st grade Dizi performer in China. He was in China a while ago and we asked him if he could pick and bring back one lot of Xie Bing Dizis to Singapore.

He came to our shop this afternoon with the Dizis. I'm not a flute player so I'm usually very excited when excellent flute players share their opinions on the different Dizi makers.

Zhan Yong Ming was full of praise for Xie Bing's Dizis. He told me the quality of his Dizis has improved tremendously over the years. XB's flutes are easy to play, has excellent tone and has excellent intonation. He has been introducing the Dizis to all his students recently.

He took a few Dizis and tested the different octaves in front of me. I not so discreetly took out my digital camera and took a few clips.

By the way, he just used scotch-tape to tape over the dimo hole for convenience sake. So you can imagine how good it sounds with the dimo on:

See how the high notes are reached with ease.

And they look gorgeous as well:

I have his F, E and D key flutes listed on my website currently:

- Xie Bing F key Dizi
- Xie Bing E key Dizi
- Xie Bing D key Dizi

The keys not listed but in stock are high A, high G, C, low A and low G. You can contact me at tansungwah@eason.com.sg if you want to order them.

I know some of you might be thinking, these bamboo flutes might be prone to cracking. What if I bought one and it cracks not due to my negligence?

Well, we have good news for you. We've spoken to Xie Bing and he has agreed to do a 1 to 1 exchange if his Dizi cracks due to climatic changes (not if you drop it on the floor or bash your friend with it.)

But please take good care of it by keeping it in the cloth case provided when you are not playing it. Do not hang it out to dry after playing.

So there you have it. Xie Bing's Dizis. Quality guaranteed. You get a new piece if it cracks naturally. (We'll need to bill you US$12 for the return postage though)

If you are interested in seeing performances of Zhan Yong Ming, here are some youtube videos of him when he was younger:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxKiaB3GNPA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYqfkCuzLo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOGm6RlF9zI

A search would yield more results.

USA Economic Stimulus Package

2008-05-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

President George Bush has announced, as part of the economic stimulus package, to give each US taxpayer as much as US$800 by Spring.

Now you should know by now I am on personal speaking terms with George Bush, who gave me the go ahead to adapt his Bush - Hu joke for my Hu Han Rou blog entry a couple of months ago.

I just got off the phone with him and wants US residents to spend all of it on Erhus, Pipas and Dizis in my online store!

I will in turn use the proceeds to buy books from Amazon.com, a ring for my wife from Tiffany & Co., a Chevrolet Corvette and a piece of US real estate from Ebay.

The ultimate goal of stimulating the US economy is achieved. In fact I've already done my part by paying to go to a seminar full of motivational speakers from all over USA!

But the last time I checked, only 27% of US citizens have positive views of George Bush. So the rest of the 73% might try to go against him. Rats!

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I'm just kidding if you haven't figured it out by now.

By the way, we're having a Lu Lin Sheng Erhu promotion for our mailing list subscribers which is ending pretty soon. If you are interested to know more, please join our mailing list by filling up the form on the top right hand corner of this page.

Nothing In Particular...

2008-04-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've finished posting his products on my online store. Head over to the new products page to take a look at them (the first five products).

If you are thinking of buying different strings to try out on your Erhu, take note that the strings need some time to run in. Give it at least a week before you conclude that your old strings are better.

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I just realized that the audio from the videos taken by my Canon digital camera is very bad. I recorded something using my Canon digital camera and a Fujifilm digital camera and the sound quality of Fujifilm turned out much better. The clip taken by Canon actually sounds very harsh, noisy and slightly sharp! Drat. All my product videos were taken by the Canon.

So when you view the product clips please imagine them sounding 50% nicer.

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By the way, I am going to a music fair in Beijing end of May. Let me know if you are looking for anything special.