Tips On How to Maintain Your Erhu Bow

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.

Erhu Bridge Made From Very Very Very Old Wood

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

Electric Erhu Part 2

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

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

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

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

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!

To market, to market, to buy a fat bow

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.

More Pictures of New Erhu Cases

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.

Erhu Maestro Wang Guo Tong's products

Today we received a package of new items that we ordered from Erhu Maestro Wang Guo Tong. Wang Guo Tong happens to be one of the most famous Erhu masters in China. He's done countless recordings, performed countless solos and written countless Erhu books and VCDs.


So before I start my tedious task of listing them on my website, here is a brief overview of the items:

1) A book of music scores with hundred over practise passages and really simple tunes for beginners. The best thing is the accompanying 2 CDs that has recordings of all the approximately 150 simple tunes in the book.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/mb10.jsp

2) Volume 2 of 1) with hundred over practise passages and simple tunes for beginners (notice the omission of the word 'really' to differentiate the level of difficulty between volume 1 and 2.) The not so good thing is that it does not have any accompanying CD.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/mb11.jsp

3) A book of Guangdong Erhu/Gaohu tunes compiled by Wang Guo Tong with his own fingerings.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/mb12.jsp

4) Second edition of Liu Tian Hua Compositions in Music Notation + Music CD.
This book has Liu Tian Hua compositions in music notation format + a music CD with recordings by Wang Guo Tong and Liu Tian Hua himself. I'm not sure what changes are there in the second edition, but paper quality's lower that's for sure.

5) 2 types of Beijing Erhu strings endorsed by Wang Guo Tong. One of them is the standard type and the other is a silver wound.

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/meh62.jsp

http://www.eason.com.sg/products/string_access/meh14.jsp

New Video on Symbols in Erhu Scores

We've recently completed a video on the various symbols you see in Erhu scores.

The partial version is posted in youtube:



If you would like the full version, please join our mailing list (look to the right of your screen) and you will get a link to download.

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We have a new batch of Dizis and Xiaos from Dong Xue Hua as well as new Erhu learning materials from Erhu maestro Wang Guo Tong coming in a week's time. Also, a new shipment of instruments and accessories will be coming end of the month.

Stay tuned!

Tips from Mr Z (Part 3) - Dampener

The dampener (piece of thing below the bridge), when installed will eliminate wolf tones and noises from your Erhu.

The problem is that there is not really a 'correct' way of installing the dampener. There are definitely better ways in the relative sense but it is hard to pinpoint the best way.

The general concept is to have the dampener stuck between the strings and the snakeskin below the bridge so that it has ample contact with the snakeskin without being too tight or too loose.

I have seen a lot of different materials used as the dampener. There is of course the standard issue of a rectangular piece of foam. I have seen people use tissue paper as well!

However, the material that most people favour is a piece of felt.

So comes the next question, how thick should the piece of felt be? Too thick and it will mute the tone too much, too thin and it hardly has any effect. To fold it such that it makes good contact with the snakeskin without being too tight takes some skill.

So here comes tip number 3 from Mr Z:

Put a piece of sponge in between the felt.

The material of the sponge will give provide more elasticity and at the same time more mass and body to the dampener.

Folded felt might be too hard and sponge by itself might be too soft. So together they make a great combination.

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I've just listed 3 new products on my online store. One's the big Sanxian you've read about in my previous blog posting. The others are 2 new models of Erhu between the range of US$200-$300.

Check it out.

Who? Handroll?

Just communicated with Wang Gen Xing a few days ago about my next batch of Erhus from him. He says this will be the last batch of Erhus he is making. He has no raw materials left and is getting old.

So that's it folks. No more Wang Gen Xing Erhus (except for the 1 or 2 Aged Rosewoods that are we are getting in April).

If you manage to get it elsewhere, there are 3 possibilities:
1) They got it sometime ago
2) They are fakes and imitations
3) He lied

So I am now looking to his apprentice, Hu Han Rou for exquisite Shanghai Erhus. Hu's Erhus are said to be as good as Wang's, and they cost slightly less as well. Hu's Erhu also has an uncanny resemblance to Wang's Erhus. Pretty much the same design. Even the font they use to stamp their name looks similar.

I had this conversation with a Canadian friend/ customer the other day. His favourite game is an intellectually un-stimulating game called fight club. Thus you can imagine that his brain is a little rusty sometimes. He thinks he is Skeletor in disguise, so I call him Skully.

-----------
Me: - Wang's not making any Erhus anymore, so I'll be getting Erhus from his apprentice.

Skully: - Great. Tell me about his apprentice.

Me : - Hu is the apprentice of Wang.

Skully : - Well, that’s what I want to know.

Me : - But that’s what I’m telling you,

Skully : - Well, that’s what I’m asking you, Sung Wah. Who is the apprentice of Wang?

Me : - Yes.

Skully : - I mean the fellow’s name.

Me : - Hu.

Skully : - The apprentice of Wang.

Me : - Hu.

Skully : - The new maker you'll be getting Erhus from.

Me : - Hu.

Skully : - The Chinese national!

Me : - Hu will be making the Erhus.

Skully: - Whaddya’ asking me for?

Me : - I’m telling you Hu will be making the Erhus.

Skully: - Well, I’m asking you, Sung Wah. Who is making the Erhus?

Me : - That’s the maker’s name.

Skully : - That’s who’s name?

Me : - Yes.

Skully : - Will you or will you not tell me the name of the apprentice of Wang?

Me : - Han Rou

Skully. : - No I don't want a handroll. You know I don't like Japanese food.

Me: - Buzz off Skully.....

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Yeah I made that up. Adapted from a Bush joke.

But Skully's a real person who likes fight club and seems to be a rather intelligent being.

Some Interesting Stuff

Some interesting media clips:

1) Some dude came into my shop the other day with this minority Erhuesque instrument:

According to my collegue, we used to sell these a long long time ago. Out of the 20 pieces we ordered, we condemned 10 of them.


2) Check this out: http://www.gandharva.at/

Soothing Zen music from an Austria instrumental group comprising of the harp, cello and the Erhu!


3) Finally, this lady made a youtube video with an Ebony Erhu bought from my online shop. She picked up the instrument on her own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqzaZ0LzdBQ

Enjoy!

Tips from Mr Z (Part 2)

Its part 2 of Tips from Mr Z!

Back to the Qianjing again, instead of putting superglue or UHU glue on your Qianjing, drip some wax on it. According to him, the effect is even better!

Why? I can't remember. Something about giving more weight to the Qianjing which makes it a more effective conduit between the strings and the neck.

Try it and let me know please.

Tips From Mr Z (Part I)

The great thing about having a shop selling musical instruments is that you get music enthusiasts that come into your shop regularly and they share with you some of their own findings on how to improve their instruments.

Today I had a visit from an old friend who loves to tweak his Erhu. He was playing around with the Erhus in my shop here and there he gave some of his tips of how to improve the sound the Erhus. Most of them make sense to me, although some of them goes against what I have been usually doing.

Some of them may work for you, some of them may not. You have to do some trial and error to find out if it suits your Erhu.

So here they are, the first tip from Mr Z, as we shall call him. Have fun trying them out.

- Qianjing
The Qianjing should not be tied with too many loops. This is because too many loops reduces the vibrations circulation from the strings to the neck of the bridge. The ideal number of loops should be 6 across the string, and just one extra loop above and below on the neck. You will find that the sound of your Erhu improves by 10-15%. If you're worried that the Qianjing is unstable, put some UHU glue or superglue on the Qianjing on the 2 areas indicated below:

Abing Silver Er Quan Erhu Strings

I just listed Abing Silver Er Quan Erhu strings on my online website.



These are strings specially for Erquan Erhu to be tuned G, D. Click here for my information about the Erquan Erhu.

Some Erhu players who don't want to purchase an Erquan Erhu just to play 2 songs buy these strings to try on their Erhu.

You can give it a go but still nothing beats the real thing.

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One of my Erhu customer in Spain has this to say about the Erhu belt clip.

Hello Tansungwah: I have received the belt clip this morning. I immediately tried it and it was very good to can play the erhu while moving through a room and stand up. I like very much this item, it is very useful. Thanks a lot.

I reckon the feeling is like the first time I got my guitar strap. Its great to be able to move around the school campus serenading girls with my guitar.

Groovy Erhu Bridges

Have you noticed something about the grooves on the bridge of the Erhu? If you look closely, one of the grooves is always bigger than the other. The bigger groove is for the inner string while the outer string.

Someone asked me how does the height of the bridge affect the sound of the Erhu. Well, a higher bridge would give a brighter and sharper tone to the instrument. Usually after sometime of playing or due climate changes, the snakeskin on the Erhu might start to sag. The notes might sound a little less distinct to the point of being muffled. In this case you might want to change to a higher bridge to bring back some clarity.

Also, when the snakeskin is sagging, the strings might touch the resonator when you are doing pressing vibrato at the high registers. Changing to a higher bridge would resolve the problem.

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So what's up lately? We had some new models of Erhus: A less expensive Wan Qi Xing Rosewood Erhu and this model of Shanghai Dunhuang Ebony Erhu without the bronze tuning mechanisms. Pictures and sample clips will be posted soon.

Those who are interested in owning a Wang Gen Xing Erhu will have to wait a while now. My stocks are gone and he does not have any stocks left. He asked me to check back in March to see if he has gotten the raw materials to start making. If you are interested please let me know early, there is a queue forming.

Also, the below Erhu hardcase will be available sometime middle of March.





It comes in 3 colors - black, silver and red!

(Retail price is US$79. Shipping cost to be confirmed.)

Erhu Resurrection Kit

Hello to all again!

It's good to be back after a long Chinese New Year break.

This is a new product I've put together:

So you've got an used Erhu from Ebay or a garage sale. It looks like its seen better days. The strings are rusty, the bow looks bare and you're not sure what else is needed to make the Erhu sing again.

Enter the Erhu resurrection kit. Everything you need to restore your Erhu to its former glories.

The package includes:

1. 2 Set Mudan Erhu Strings

Strings become dead, dull and rusty over time. We'll pack in 2 in case you mess up the first.

Click here for a video on how to change the strings.


2. 1 Shanghai Erhu Bow

Old bows filled with grime and dirt will reduce your Erhu to a whisper. You'll definitely need a new one.


3. 1 Song rosin

With great bow, comes great rosin. We'll pack in a boxed Song rosin. Yes you can buy rosins in violin shops but nothing come close to Song rosins.

Click here for a video on how to rosin the bow.


4. 1 roll of Qianjing

The nylonesque string that pulls the strings towards the neck. You can't find this kind of material easily anywhere. A roll of Qianjing string is good for 10 ties or tries.

Click here for a video on how to tie the Qianjing.


5. 2 fine adjustors

Made in Germany by Wittner. Some Erhu pegs are very stiff and some tend to slip. This helps you to tune your Erhu.


6. 4 Erhu bridges

2 white wood bridges and 2 black bridges of varying height. The different wood gives a different tone and if your snakeskin has sagged, try the higher bridge. Place the bridge in the centre of the snakeskin.


7. 2 cloth dampener

Makes the sound more compact and reduces some harshness and noise. Fold it thick enough to fit under the strings below the bridge.


8. 1 Erhu mute

Erhu can be quite a loud instrument. Use this to cut out 90% of the volume if you are practising at night.


9. Erhu fingering chart

Stick it on the neck of the Erhu to give you a guide on where your left hand fingers should press.

Click here for more information on how to stick the chart.


So that's everything you need to get your Erhu back on track. If you have a can of Lemon Pledge at home, you can use that to clean your Erhu, but stay clear of the snakeskin.

Total price of package = US$60.
Shipping of all items to USA, Europe and Canada = US$20

Click here to purchase the Erhu Resurrection Package!

Pictures and Videos of Wang Gen Xing Erhus

Here are pictures and videos clips of Wang Gen Xing Erhus.

The Small Leaf Sandalwood Erhu has gone over to Hawaii but the 2 aged Rosewoods are still around.

Aged Rosewood Erhu:

Price: US$1300

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Small Leaf Sandalwood Erhu: