We have moved!

As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our blog and websites, we have moved our Chinese musical instruments blog to:

www.EasonMusicSchool.com/blog

If this is the first time you are visiting this blog, do stay around and browse our old articles.

If not, head over to our new blog site for more interesting updates and articles on Chinese musical instruments.

www.EasonMusicSchool.com/blog

Erhu Fingering Chart

Thought I post this Erhu fingering chart in the key of D, G, F, C, A, Bb, E and Eb.  

Can't seem to find them when you need them.

Posing with Hu Han Rou Erhus

A new batch of exquisite erhus by famous Shanghai Erhu maker Hu Han Rou just came in and they decided to pose for the camera.

Should you decide to own one of them after we transform them into erhus, please visit our shop or our website by click on the links below:

- Premium Aged Rosewood Erhu

- Premium Violet Sandalwood Erhu

Her violet sandalwoods are exceptionally good!

Helping a Customer Choose an Erhu

We just want to share here the lengths we go to to help a customer on the other side of the world choose his erhu.

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On 2 Dec, a customer emailed about our Shanghai Dunhuang aged rosewood erhu.   He pointed out that the sound clips were of poor quality and wondered if we had better ones.  I quickly realized that I have not updated the sound clips since we starting selling online which is 7-8 years ago.  So I quickly did a new demo and posted it on youtube:



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He replied that it is not exactly the sound he is looking for.  He is looking for something close to the video below:



I replied that although I do not play or look as good as Yu Hongmei, I will try to give him some recommendations as close as possible.  I recommended him the Aged Rosewood Erhu by Hu Han Hou, and the Ming Qing Aged Rosewood Erhu by YKM

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He replied that he likes the Ming Qing Aged Rosewood Erhu by YKM, but it is a little out of his budget.  He then requested a video demo of the below two erhus:

YKM1 - Aged rosewood Erhu by YKM
HEH10 - Shanghai Dunhuang aged rosewood Erhu

He wanted to hear the same person play both erhus, with the camera/microphone the same distance away the whole time. He also requested to choose two songs and play the same two songs on each erhu as well as to show a close-up of the front and back of each erhu.

I came back to him with this video.



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He came back and told me that he liked the sound YKM1 (Aged rosewood erhu by YKM) but he wanted to hear the erhus being played on the higher registers (which I didn't do in the previous video)

I subsequently made this video for him, playing the hark the herald angels sing on the high registers for both erhus.



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He replied that while he liked the overall tone of YKM1, he didn't like their higher registers.  He requested another video demo of the following 3 erhus:

MMK4 - Suzhou Black Sandalwood Erhu by MMK
HEH14 - Shanghai Dunhuang Violet Sandalwood Erhu
YKM2 - Violet Sandalwood Erhu by YKM

I told him the quality of YKM2 is quite inconsistent and recommended him the Suzhou Black Sandalwood Erhu by Wan Qi Xing instead.  I subsequently made this video demo for him, playing Love me tender on 3 positions on the below 3 different erhus:

- Suzhou Black Sandalwood Erhu by MMK
- Shanghai Dunhuang Violet Sandalwood Erhu
- Suzhou Black Sandalwood Erhu by Wan Qi Xing



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He told me he liked MMK4 and wanted more of the same for comparison.  So I made the below video for him (cos I'm left with only 2pcs).



I told him I like the second one in the video better.  He agreed that he liked the second erhu too and subsequently made the purchase!

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So, if you are looking to buy an erhu from us online and want to see the exact instrument before buying.  Feel free to ask!

Testimonial from a Hulusi customer

Recently we sold a rosewood hulusi to a customer in Portland, USA.  He was so happy with the hulusi that he wrote us a testimonial.  I just want to share it here.  The below is in no part edited by me.

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I am EXCEPTIONALLY pleased with my concert-grade rosewoood hulusi from Eason Music. I had previously bought another hulusi from a different company in the same price range, also of rosewood, and had to return it to China at my own expense because it was improperly tuned, hard to blow, and smelled strongly of toxic chemicals that gave me a sore throat. After returning it I searched some more on the Internet and found positive reviews about Eason music, so I contacted them.

Tan Sung Wah at Eason graciously answered all my questions and concerns before I placed my order. He even took videos of the exact instrument being played on his iPhone and e-mailed them to me so I could ensure that the tuning was acceptable. Exceptional customer service.

When I first held my hulusi from Eason music I was very pleased with how much more solid it feels compared to the hulusi from the other company. It weighs at least twice as much as the other instrument, which to me indicates higher quality materials and construction. It has a wood wind chamber instead of a gourd, which of course would add weight, but even the pipes are heavier when hefted separately. 

Then I tried playing it. The other hulusi was very hard to blow (the reeds probably needed adjusting, something I'm not familiar with yet). The Eason instrument played beautifully right out of the box. And while the other instrument's tuning was not internally consistent (two notes were off by more than 1/4 step), The Eason instrument's scale sounded perfect. All the notes are a little bit sharp (I knew this already from the videos I was sent) but they're in the acceptable range and can be played with other instruments well enough. Most importantly, the tuning is internally consistent.

Then I turned on the drones. They use a nice twisting tube with hole mechanism that's easy to use, and most importantly, they're in tune with the main pipe. The other instrument used a flimsy hinge mechanism that, while easy to open and close, would probably wear out quickly, and the drones were way off pitch from the main pipe.

Within 30 minutes of opening the package I was improvising and truly enjoying my wonderful new hulusi. 

And now I know to go to Eason for all Chinese musical instruments. THANK YOU EASON!

Paul Erdman

Portland, USA

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So if you are thinking of buying a Chinese musical instrument and need more information or need to hear how the actual thing sounds like, please feel free to drop us an email at tansungwah@gmail.com.

The heavier the erhu, the better?

A lot of times I hear customers commenting that the heavier the wood the better the erhu.

While it may be true in some sense, there are still other factors affecting the sound of the erhu like the snakeskin, type of wood, skill of the maker etc.

But most importantly, the weight that you feel in your arms while holding the erhu may not be the actual weight of the erhu.

Take a look at this:

Yes the round silverish thing in the centre of the baseplate is a piece of lead.

This piece of lead will make the erhu feel heavier than it actually is.  Some even inserts 2 blobs of lead instead of one.

I don't think it is the intention of the makers is to mislead buyers, but to give it a heavier base so that it feels more stable on your lap when playing.

So the next time you hold a very heavy erhu, it might be because of the lead in the baseplate.  

Thus, do look at other factors in buying an erhu other than the weight.

Rosin for your Erhu makes a difference

Few of us realize the impact erhu rosins has on the sound and feel of your erhu.

Some rosins are more sticky than others.  Some offers more grab.  Some gives out more rosin powder.  Some are easier to apply.

Recently we did a blind test on a few types of rosin.

What we did is we took 7 different types of rosins and applied them on 7 new erhu bows.

The rosins that we used were (in order of price):

1) Pirastro Oiv Rosin

2) Pirastro Schwarz Rosin

3) Song Rosin

4) 4 different kinds of Leto Rosin

The bows were attached to 7 Hu Han Rou aged Rosewood erhus.

I did not know which bow is rosined with which brand of rosin and I tested them one by one.

After playing all the 7 erhus with different rosins on the erhu bows, my preference were as follows:

1) Pirastro Oliv Rosin

2) Pirastro Schwarz Rosin

3) Song Rosin

4) 4 different kinds of Leto Rosin

Yes!  Exactly from the most expensive to the least expensive.  

I find that Pirastro Oliv Rosin produces the most satisfying grab on the strings.  As for the 4 Leto rosins, they all feel quite the same to me, although they were sprinkled with bronze, silver and gold dust respectively.

So does that mean the Pirastro Oliv Rosin is the best rosin for the Erhu?

The plot thickens......

I got one of my erhu instructors to do the blind test as well, and guess what he said?

"The one with Leto rosins are the best!  The Pirastro Oliv Rosin and Pirastro Schwarz Rosin is too sticky for my liking."

Thus the conclusion is........different rosins suit different people!

If you like sticky rosins with good grab, the Pirastro Oliv Rosin is good for you.  If you prefer a smoother experience, the Leto rosins are good (coming to our store soon).

So, be adventurous to try out different types of rosin to see what suits you best.

Visit our Rosin store here.

Rosewood Zhongruan for Sale!

We have a rosewood Zhongruan for sale!

In line with our Christmas promotion 2013, we have put up a very special rosewood Zhongruan for sale.

The usual price was S$650 but we are clearing them at S$380!

The Zhongruan for sale is from Shanghai Dunhuang Yun Brand.  It comes with friction tuning pegs instead of the usual mechanical pegs.

Here's a run down of the pros and cons of this Zhongruan:

Pros:

• Slightly smaller build than usual zhongruans, easier to handle
• Very comfortable and effortless to play
• Sweet sounding
• Classic look with the friction pegs (zhongruans started off with friction pegs)
• Superb value rosewood zhongruan at S$380 instead of S$650

Cons:

• Looks slightly aged
• Case that comes with it looks quite aged too
• Friction pegs might be challenging for some to handle

Here's how it sounds:

Click here for a Zhongruan Chord Chart for you if you decide to strum it like a guitar or ukulele.

If you're looking for something that plays well and sounds good, click here to purchase this Zhongruan.

Bamboo Flute for Christmas Anyone?

Christmas is around the corner!

We have put together some packages and offers for this special festive season.

First up is a Christmas Dizi Package.

We realised that many might have a mind block looking at all the different keys and types of Chinese dizi that we stock.

Nevermind that, we have narrowed it down to just the key D with 3 different quality of bamboo flutes to choose from based on your budget.

Your Chinese bamboo flute purchase will come wrapped in a Christmas wrapper complete with ribbons and a Christmas card.

Please order before 28 November to make sure the Christmas Dizi Package reaches you before Christmas if you are at the other side of the world from us.

Do check back for more Christmas specials from us!

Click here for >> Christmas Dizi Package

Free Music Workshops for Erhu, Guzheng, Dizi, Pipa, Zhongruan and Hulusi

Thinking of picking up a traditional Chinese instrument?  You can try them out first at our free music workshops!

We are glad to announce that we are conducting free 45min music workshops for the Erhu, Guzheng, Dizi, Pipa, Zhongruan and Hulusi.  Coached by our experienced teachers, this is the best time to discover the magic of Chinese traditional instruments.

The workshop is open to people of all ages and no prior music experience is needed.  All instruments are provided.

So check out our schedules below and book a slot now! (Email: EasonMusicPteLtd@gmail.com or call 6294-7522)

Workshop venue: 1 Rochor Road, Rochor Centre, #02-612 (5-min walk from Bugis MRT)

Bilingual Guzheng Book for NUS Chinese Instrumental Examination

Here's something new for this year's NUS Chinese Instrumental Examination for Guzheng.

They have released a version that is bilingual.

Which means, everything that you see in Chinese in the 3 books (Grade 1-3, Grade 4-6, Grade 7-8) is translated into English beside / below the Chinese characters.

Perhaps more and more non-Chinese reading people are taking up the Guzheng....

The price tag is different as well.  The additional English words will cost you S$4 more!

Have a good day!

Pictures of New ABS Erhu Hardcases

The Erhu ABS hard cases are here and they come in 3 colors.  Direct translation from Chinese would be:  Purplish Silver, Greyish Silver and Purplish Red.

Here are pictures of them:

Price of the case is US$131.   We did not bring in a lot of them so please book one if you are interested.

New Shipment of Instruments and Accessories

New shipment of goods just arrived.  Lot of new and old things as well.

Here's a summary of what's here:

1) Erhu and Zhonghu bows by Wang Xiao Di (WXD)
2) Erhu bows with extra hair by Li Huai Gang (LHG) - Li Huai Gang makes bow for erhu professionals in China
3) Ah Bing Silver Erhu / Gaohu / Zhonghu strings
4) Professional Beijing Xinghai Liuqin / Zhongruan strings
5) Travel size Guzheng from Yangzhou (Something else other than Shanghai Dunhuang)
6) Reduced sized Sandalwood/ Rosewood Guzheng from Songbo / Taiwan

7) Wan Qi Xing Erquan Erhu and black sandalwood Erhu
8) Ebony Banhus from a maker who is not Man Rui Xing
9) New Liuqin and Zhongruan by runaway disciple of Song Guang Ning
10)  Zhongruans and Daruans from Song Guang Ning / Zhang Xin Hua
11) Jiayue high quality erhu hardcase
12)  Lots of Chinese cymbals and gongs
13) Zhonghu hardcase
14) Suzhou Rosewood Zhongruan with shell engravings

More details coming up!

New ABS Erhu Hard Case!

Well, well, Jiayue has came up with another type of high quality erhu case.

If you remember, they started off with these kind of erhu cases.

A bit chunky and heavy and with silver metal locks.  The surface gets scratches easily and you have to buff it often with car wax or something.  I remember telling that to a Korean customer who bought it and he was quite pissed and I never heard from him again.

Then they came out with a slimmer shape/design which is significantly lighter.  

In view of the easily scratchable surface, they also introduced a rough texture exterior that is suppose to resolve that problem.

After a while, for reasons unknown, they reverted back to this design again.  

But this time, they changed the locks to black and the easily scratchable surface improved a lot.  It seems lighter at the same time, more sturdy than its predecessor.

But now, they came up with this: An ABS surface erhu hard case.   

It adopted the shape of its second generation case.  But the exterior is glossy shiny ABS!  

The interior is plush and comfortable as usual.

The locks have changed again.  I don't know how to describe these locks except that it has a spring mechanism inside.  It looks more dainty than the previous locks used.

On the back are rings for you to attach straps so that you can sling them over your shoulder.

All in all, we think it is the best looking erhu hard case so far.  And despite the glossy surface, it does not seem to scratch as easily.  

We only have 12 pieces of assorted colors coming to us in 2 week's time.

So if you are interested in one, be sure to book early with us!

The Guzheng Song Bo?

We have been selling only Shanghai Dunhuang Yun Brand Guzhengs for the longest time.  Not that there are no other Guzheng manufacturers in China.  In fact there are thousands of Guzheng makers in China.   But mainly because Yun brand Guzheng sounds great and there are not many that sound better than them. 

But recently we decided to bring in another brand of Guzheng.  The brand is called Songbo 松柏.  They are actually by a Taiwanese Mr Cai who was makes his Guzhengs in Taiwan.  He only shifted his production to China only recently.

We have actually known Mr Cai for a long time already.  We see him once every year in Shanghai and would meet up for dinner or something.  Everytime he would tell us to bring some Guzhengs back to try and we would say all right, maybe next time.

So maybe next time has arrived.  We are going to order some pieces in to Singapore.

Why do we like their Guzhengs? Well, they look gorgeous and the finishing is better than any that we have seen.  The tone is quite different from Shanghai Dunhuang Yun Brand.  It sounds deep, resonant and clean compared to the warm, sweet tone of most 'Yun' brand Guzhengs.    

Here are some pictures of their Guzhengs:

- Zitan Sandalwood Guzheng

- Rosewood travel size mini-Guzheng

-  Here are some demos on youtube:

We will not be ordering much this time, so if you like what you see and would like to make a pre-order, please visit us at our showroom or drop us an email at tansungwah@gmail.com to avoid disappointment.

We are quite confident that when asked, "The Guzheng Song Bo?" with your purchase, your reply will be "Sibe Song...."

("Song Bo?" is colloquial language for "Are you satisfied?".  "Sibe Song" would mean "Very satisfied")

 

Launch of EasonMusicStore.com

Its been 6 years since we first set up of our webstore (www.eason.com.sg).

Since then we have sold thousands of Chinese music instruments and accessories to customers all over the world.

In order to serve you better, we have finally upgraded to a bigger and better webstore @ www.EasonMusicStore.com!

Here are some new features from www.EasonMusicStore.com:

1) Local Shipping Options
We have added domestic shipping options so that locals in Singapore can order their instruments and accessories at the comfort of their home!  We can help you pick and test if you are buying instruments.

2) Currencies in USD and SGD
You can choose to pay either in US dollar or Singapore dollar by choosing the display currency at the top left corner.  (Default is US dollar)

2) Search Function
Want to find something fast?  Just use the search box at the top right corner of the website

3) More Shipping Options 
You can now choose the shipping option that fits your need and budget.  Once you add to cart the items you want to buy, click on estimate shipping to show cost of different shipping options.

4) Automatic Combined Shipping
Combined shipping is automatically calculated.  This just means you save on shipping whenever you order multiple items.

5) More Products and Better Navigation
We have much more products online now!  And you can now choose to display the products according to price, view products according to different manufacturers etc.

What's more, from now to 25th March, registered customers on www.EasonMusicStore.com will enjoy a one time 8% discount on all products ordered via www.EasonMusicStore.com.

So pop over there and sign up now!

www.EasonMusicStore.com

Happy shopping!

Online Shopping and Merry Christmas!

A week ago, my wife decided to buy some Christmas gifts online.  So she went to a reputable online site with multiple sellers and ordered some stuff with express shipping.  She ordered from seller A and seller B.

Only after we paid, we realized that seller A was located in China while seller B was located in Singapore.  I went to the profile of seller A and found that some buyers did not receive their items even after two weeks!  Damn, we need the items to reach us before Christmas.  We started to panic a little, especially after seeing most of the questions buyers posted on seller A's profile went unanswered.

I quickly sent a bilingual email to seller A, in Chinese and in English because I concluded seller A might not be too conversant in English, hence the unanswered questions on his profile page.  True enough, he replied in Chinese saying that the items will be sent out on 17 Dec.  He subsequently gave me a tracking number and a site to track.  But when we clicked on the site, it says no information found.  So we emailed the seller again.  He told us that during holiday season the website might be overloaded and 'with luck(WTH?)' the parcel should be able to arrive before Christmas.  There is nothing much we could do except formulate a plan B if they do not arrive in time.

Seller B is located in Singapore so we are not too worried.  Worse come to worst, we will just drive over to the seller's house and pick up the stuff.  Then we received an email from seller B saying that items A, B are out of stock, asking us to choose something else.  All right then, we chose something else.  Then he replied that something else is out of stock as well.  Ok then we chose something else again.  We also fixed a delivery time on Sat evening time.  The day before, he emailed to say that one item I ordered is left with the last piece and is defective and asked me to choose another.  Ok fine, we chose item T.  Then on Sat, he emailed to say he cannot deliver this evening and asked if Sunday morning is possible. We agreed on a Sunday afternoon delivery.

When the items finally came, we saw that one item was missing.  It turned out to be item T.  I messaged him about it and he admitted that he forgot about it.  I will get a refund from him instead.

As for seller B, today (Christmas eve) I called speedpost about my parcel from China and confirmed that it is still in transit (somewhere over the poppy fields in Laos I presume) and will not reach Singapore in time for Christmas.  Hooray!!

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Actually I am glad I get to experience all these issues with online shopping as a buyer.  I did not get particularly angry at any point of time, except a sense of Deja Vu.  Those issues I mentioned are not new to me.   As an online seller myself, I am also guilty at some point of time of all the above or even more.  Now I can empathize fully when customers emailed me about not receiving their products, not able to track their product, missing items etc.

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So in 2013, we resolved to improve our communication with our online customers.  We will do whatever we can to alleviate their stress in ordering an item from a country hundred of miles away.

In addition to that, we have decided to move to a new webstore.  This webstore will enable us to have more exciting products, better shipping options, more promotions etc.  There will also be an option for domestic shipping so locals can buy their essentials without making a trip to town.  We will also be adding a few more interesting product lines.

Stay tuned, as 2013 promises to be an exciting year!

With that, we would like to thank all our customers for your support and we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Pimping your Erhu!

A few days I got an enquiry from a customer who wanted an erhu with synthetic skin made from better wood than Rosewood.  We do sell synthetic skin erhus but we only have them in starter grade versions and in Rosewood.  

Well, the problem is the erhu makers don't like to 'waste' a good piece of wood on synthetic skin erhus hence most of them are made from Rosewoods.

So he asked if anything can be done to optimise the sound of his erhu.  Well, gave him my list of recommendations and he took it all up.  

Then I proceeded to help him set up his erhu with the new accessories that he bought, taking a video sample of each changes made along the way.  

Here's the erhu in its stock form.  I just adjusted the position of the bridge, damper and rosined the bow.   

The tone sounds a little bit thin and raspy, but overall it still sounds pretty decent.

1)  The first thing I did on the erhu, compliments from me, is to retie the qianjin.  The qianjin that was on the erhu feels rather soft, and the way it was tied was not my usual way of tying.  Hence I changed it to the type of qianjin that we sell from our shop and tied it my usual way.

It sounds less raspy immediately, and you can hear that the tone is more focused and tight.

2)  I changed the strings next.  I recommended him the Pirastro Red Dragon strings or the Fang Fang (blue) strings.  He opted for the Fang Fang strings.

Strings usually need a few days for it to run in.  This video was taken right after I put them on.  The sound should improve much more after playing them for a while.  However, you can still hear the difference in the tone.  It sounds louder and richer.  It also feels more responsive and the touch is more comfortable.

3) The third thing I changed is the bow.  I changed it to a Beijing bow by Lee Huai Gang(LHG).  Lee Huai Gang's bows are very popular among erhu instructors and performers in China.  Not only that, I used his newly purchased Pirastro Oliv rosin on his bow.  Pirastro Oliv rosin gives a good grab on the strings without sounding harsh.

The tone sounds cleaner and less harsh.

4)  The fourth thing to change is of course the bridge.  He opted for the best bridge that we have - 4300 year old erhu bridge.  It is rather pricey compared to the other bridges but no other bridge come close.

You can hear the marked increased volume of the instrument.  The resonance of the instrument has improved tremendously, though it sounds a bit more mellow now.

5)  I realized that the damper only fits loosely below the bridge, which is probably the reason for the openness and the little harshness in the tone.  So I took a bigger piece of damper and insert it below the bridge.

A bit of the edge in the tone has gone, but it sounds more polished and refined.  I kind of like the edge in the tone of the previous video actually.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the final tone of the erhu after all the changes.  You can click on the first video and hear the difference.  With continued playing, the tone, especially the high registers will definitely become even better.

Have fun with pimping your erhu too!

(Pimping means making something cool or better.  It is know also known as znging from where I come from.)

Where Do Broken Necks Go?

Throughout all my years of selling erhu to oversea customers, these are the photos that I dread to see most:

Ouch.

Ouch, ouch.

Ouch. ouch, ouch.

Ouch, ouch, ouch ouch.

Despite our best efforts to pack the head, sometimes the shipper had a bad day and starts to throw the packages around.  One poor customer in Japan had his erhu neck broken on his initial purchase.  He insisted on sending it back to us despite our best efforts to dissuade him.  But the replacement that we sent him was broken yet again!   

Its quite depressing to hear customers tell us things like, 'You sent me a broken instrument!', 'I'm very disappointed in your service and products!', 'This is the last time I am ordering from your company!'.  

The head is the most fragile part of the erhu.  A lot of people do not realize that the head is made up of 2 pieces of wood glued together and not carved out of 1 piece of wood.  You can clearly see that from the pictures below. Some makers bother to make the 2 pieces of wood closer in grain and color.  (Some obviously couldn't care less)  Hence it does break rather easily so you need to be extra careful with it.

Fortunately a broken head does not affect the sound of the erhu in anyway.  And it can be easily fixed by any respectable guitar or violin repairman.  We usually advise our customers to bring the broken to a repair shop to get it fixed.  It is always a better option than shipping the erhu back for a replacement as there are shipping costs and CITES application costs involved.  And the main thing is that there is a slight chance the neck will be broken again. 

The erhu will always look as good as new after repair and our customers are generally very happy with the end result.  Especially when we tell them to send us the bill and we will reimburse their repair costs.  I think we are the only company that does that. 

Just don't try your hand at gluing it with superglue first.  It's going to take the repairman thrice the effort to remove the superglue and patch up the holes if you did a botched job.

Homemade Erhu!

One of my erhu students made an erhu from materials collected from his kitchen.

Check this out:

The maker looked for some container that has the same size as an erhu resonator and found his coffee powder tin can.  He poured out all the contents and used it as the resonator.  He drilled holes on the back of the tin can.

For the neck he used some broomstick/mop handle and for the pegs he used something that looks like a pair of chopsticks.

The base plate is just a piece of wood stuck to the bottom.

The bow, strings, bridge, damper, adjustors are purchased from our shop.

I tried it and surprisingly the pegs work fine.  I was able to get it in tune without using the adjustors.

The bowing is quite smooth as well.

As for the sound, well it sounds like a normal erhu....with a mute on it.