A brief look about Erhu playing techniques

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Selamat sejahtera kepada para pembaca. Tulisan ini sebenarnya adalah sebahagian daripada foleo Koko saya di tarc. Jadi, dalam bahasa Ingerislah. Nak tahu teknik yang ada, bacalah (teknik yang terlalu ringkas) ini!

Erhu is one of the Chinese popular music instrument which survive until now. Since this instrument requires a regular education, Erhu possess a lot of skills of playing. Generally, the playing techniques are divided in to two main section, which is the left hand techniques and the write hand techniques. Before we discuss further, let us see about the basics of it.
Basically, Erhu is a string instrument which a little similar to the violin. Erhu consists of a pair of vertical strings which attach to the tuners and the bottom of the sound box, a bow with hairs placed horizontally between the strings, a tuner for each strings, a neck and a sound box which covered with Python skin. The Erhu player (who play while sitting) require 1/3 region of the chair sitting space. The sound box placed on the top of the left thigh while the left hand hold the neck lightly with 45 degrees from the player’s body.
The left hand technique is basically pressing the strings in order to perform different notes. The nearer the pressing region on the strings to the sound box, the higher the pitch produced. There are specific points for every note according to the key. Besides pressing the strings, there are several advance skills which are finger sliding skills, vibrato technique and changing the position. Those techniques are used to create various wonderful sound.
The right hand plays a very important role. The technique is basically about pushing and pulling the bow. The energy required must be extremely balance and very fluent in order to produce a clean and clear sound. It cannot be too light, yet cannot too strong. To fully master these two basic skills, we must train frequently for a very long time. For the advance player, the energy of the hand controls can be manipulated to adjust its volume. It’s also can perform the emotion of the melody itself. Hopefully, my writing provides at least a little values to you, MejaLogam readerS!

(just for sharing purpose)