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

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.



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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

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

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

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

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

1. Catholic High School - Silver
   
2. Bukit Panjang Primary School - Bronze
   
3. Tao Nan School - Gold with honors
   
4. Chongfu School - Bronze
   
5. Jurong Primary School - Gold
   
6. Red Swastika School - Silver
   
7. Telok Kurau Primary School - Bronze
   
8. Woodlands Primary School - Gold
   
9. Xingnan Primary School - Silver
   
10. Pioneer Primary School - Bronze
    
11. Elias Park Primary School - Gold
    
12. Boon Lay Garden Primary School - Bronze
    
13. Mee Toh School - Silver
    
14. Kong Hwa School - Gold with honors
    
15. Queenstown Primary School - COP
    
16. Princess Elizabeth - Silver
    School
    
17. Rosyth School - Gold
    
18. Poi Ching School - Silver
    
19. Yu Neng Primary School - Gold
    
20. Jing Shan Primary School - Bronze
    
21. East Spring Primary School - COP
    
22. Pei Chun Public School - Gold with honors
    
23. Ngee Ann Primary School - Gold with honors
    
24. Woodgrove Primary School - Bronze
    
25. South View Primary School - Silver
    
26. Hong Wen School - Bronze
    
27. Nanyang Primary School - Gold
    
28. Nan Hua Primary School - Bronze
    
29. Xinghua Primary School - Silver
    
30. Sembawang Primary School - Silver
    
31. Henry Park Primary School - Bronze
    
32. Rulang Primary School - Silver
    
33. Keming Primary School - Silver
    
34. Maha Bodhi School - Gold
    
35. Qihua Primary School - Silver
    
36. Holy Innocents’ Primary School - Silver
    
37. Coral Primary School - Silver
    
38. Si Ling Primary School - Bronze
    
39. Evergreen Primary School - Gold with honors
    
40. Kheng Cheng School - Silver
    
41. Greenridge Primary School -Silver
    
42. Radin Mas Primary School - Gold with honors
    

Congratulations to all!

Free Plastering of your Erhu!

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

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

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

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.

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"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

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

Another Type of Erhu Belt Clip

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.