How to tell whether erhu is high-grade or low-grade?

To understand the pronunciation principle of erhu, read the materials first and listen to them one by one when you buy it.

Pay attention to the production technology and sound quality of erhu.

Pronunciation principle of erhu: under the action of the right hand, the bow hair stained with turpentine causes the strings to be continuously and evenly rubbed, which causes the strings to vibrate, and the strings then transmit this vibration frequency to the piano skin through the bridge. Due to the effect of "membrane", the amplitude of piano skin is expanded many times at once. This basically meets the needs of people. However, if there is no special function of * * * sounding box-bucket, the sound made by leather is harsh. Only when the bucket produces * * * sounding function can the piano sound softer and purer. With the basic conditions of pronunciation, whether the pronunciation of erhu meets the performance needs of music content depends on the performer's playing skills.

You can buy erhu according to your own economic situation. For beginners, the popular erhu is all right. When purchasing erhu, we should first pay attention to the production materials of erhu, and at the same time, we should take into account the firm structure, symmetrical layout, generous style, fluency and cleanliness.

If you have decided to buy an erhu, you'd better try to play it to see whether the pronunciation is pure and sensitive, whether the volume can meet the minimum requirements, whether the volume gap between the upper and lower ends is too large, and whether the air sand phenomenon is more serious. In addition, you can also check by hand. Generally speaking, the quality of the same variety of erhu is basically guaranteed when the production materials are sufficiently dry.

High-quality erhu should have the conditions of fine selection of materials, fine craftsmanship, pure sound quality, beautiful sound quality, large volume, high sensitivity and good balance. In terms of external quality, we should choose mahogany or rosewood with straight texture, uniform color and no scars, and the python skin should be uniform, bright, bright and tough. When making, the shaft should be smooth, flat and straight, the piano barrel should be angular and symmetrical, the appearance should be neat and beautiful, the skin should be moderately elastic, the installation angle should be appropriate, and the cooperation should be tight and firm.

In terms of sound, the sound quality should be pure, the pronunciation should be clean without noise, and the timbre should be beautiful, soft, round and bright, rich and not turbid. On the basis of pure and beautiful sound quality, the volume should be loud, loud and clear, and the communication effect is good. The two strings should respond quickly in each sound zone, and the sensitivity should be high regardless of weak sound or strong sound, so it is labor-saving to pull. The volume between the upper, middle and lower handles is relatively uniform, and the difference is not too big.

Generally speaking, the newly made erhu is always noisy, and it will last for months or even years. After the nature of python skin is gradually stabilized, the sound will be soft and beautiful. Therefore, when choosing a new erhu, we should estimate its future development. It is a well-made erhu. If you always store it and don't play it, the sound will not be good, but the erhu played frequently will have better sound quality.

From the perspective of wood manufacturing:

I. Wood

In terms of wood, the top grade is of course high-density mahogany. Rosewood, rosewood, rosewood, ebony and chicken wing wood are all acceptable, with rosewood being the best. Followed by Populus euphratica or Mu Xin, erhu made of other miscellaneous trees can only be practiced as beginners.

Of course, it is good to buy an erhu made of mahogany, so what is mahogany and how to distinguish its advantages and disadvantages? After reading this article, you should have a correct understanding.

Definition and identification of redwood

The definition of mahogany The traditional wood varieties of court furniture in Ming and Qing Dynasties are mahogany and yellow gorgeous. By the middle of Qing dynasty, the deficiency of the two was replaced by acid branches. Sour branches evolved from purple branches, shaped like red sandalwood, with purple heartwood and purple stripes, and sour when fresh or wet in water. Later, traditional hardwood furniture made of rosewood, rosewood, rosewood, ebony and chicken wing wood in Ming and Qing Dynasties was called mahogany furniture, and workshops and manufacturers were called mahogany furniture factory and mahogany carving factory. The above-mentioned wood is collectively called mahogany, and the name of mahogany is widely known throughout the country. Therefore, mahogany is not the name of a tree species in tree taxonomy, but a general term for a specific tree species that makes mahogany furniture or sculptures. Different times and regions have different connotations. According to the national standard of rosewood, rosewood includes rosewood, rosewood, rosewood, ebony, striped ebony, rosewood and rosewood (controversial). According to tree taxonomy, each category has representative tree species with correct family, genus and species names. Because the wood tissue structure of different tree species is different, it is necessary to scientifically identify and distinguish wood slices under the microscope.

Identification method of mahogany At present, the mahogany market in China is rather chaotic, with shoddy products, false colors and product quality complaints. South American ant wood is used as imitation rosewood, and cypress, cajanus cajan, Mongris, red heart paint, glue paint, cajanus cajanus, poji and iron seed are used as imitation rosewood. Sell African sour branches as sour branches, sell African chicken wings as Southeast Asian sour branches, and sell inferior chicken wings as Southeast Asian chicken wings. Therefore, consumers should enhance their awareness of self-protection and guard against counterfeiting mahogany, while technical supervision departments should strengthen law enforcement, crack down on counterfeit and shoddy products and protect consumers' legitimate rights and interests. If you encounter problems, you can consult the professional department.

Redwood knowledge

Rosewood is a particularly hard and heavy tree species in Leguminosae, and it is the most advanced material in mahogany.

Red sandalwood is a deciduous tree with a diameter of about 15 cm. The trunk is rarely twisted and straight, and there are many holes, which is known as "ten sandalwood and nine empty". The sapwood is yellow-brown-white, and the heartwood is orange-red-yellow, with few black patterns and very fine plaid patterns (wave marks). Wood is rich in orange pigment, its specific gravity is greater than 1: 1, and its fiber structure is S-shaped. The thin bend in the tube hole is very similar to cow hair, so it is called "cow hair rosewood";

Classification of rosewood rosewood is one of the rarest and most precious wood species in the world. Produced in the tropical rain forest of Nanyang Islands, marine rosewood and mainland rosewood in the neighboring countries of South China. Commonly known as rhinoceros horn rosewood, Venus rosewood, ox hair rosewood, rosewood. There are also shades in tone.

Other characteristics of rosewood rosewood rosewood is a particularly hard and heavy tree species in Leguminosae, and it is the most advanced material in mahogany. Rosewood must be the heartwood of Pterocarya stenoptera, and the color of wood is red and purple, which will turn black and purple after a long time; When the moisture content is 12%, the air-dry density of wood is greater than1g/cm3; The average chord diameter of the tube hole is less than 160 micron. It includes rosewood and sandalwood rosewood.

Second, the skin membrane.

The skin film on the erhu tube is python skin, with bright and clear color, even scales, smooth and oily, and moderate thickness as the top grade. The thickness and elasticity of python skin have great influence on the timbre of erhu. If it is too thick, it will vibrate slowly, and if it is too thin, it will make noise easily. If the piano is covered too tightly, the sound will be sharp and hard, and if it is covered too loosely, the sound will be dull and easy to collapse. Generally speaking, it is better to put a new python skin on the piano barrel. When you first use it, put some vegetable oil on the skin and don't loosen the strings after playing the piano. Play for two or three months every day, and the tension of the piano skin can reach a moderate level. At this time, you need to prepare a pencil as long as the horizontal plane of the piano barrel, and put it under the strings after using the piano to reduce the number of players. Also, if you buy a piano in the south and use it in the north, you should choose one with loose leather tension; If you buy a piano in the north and use it in the south, choose one with tight leather tension. The climate in the north of China is dry and the climate in the south is humid, so the skin film will change greatly under the influence of climate.

Third, the piano rod

The piano pole is the support of erhu. It must be made of good wood, the string has great tension, and it must be complete wood. There can be no boils in the middle and no splicing. Otherwise, it is easy to deform and fracture. Piano poles used to be round. With the extensive use of steel wire strings, the tension of strings increases. Now it is generally changed to a flat round shape that can resist bending. The cross section is like the shape of a quail egg. The standard length of the piano rod is generally 830 mm, if it is too long, the piano rod is easy to bend. If it is too short, the tension of the strings is not enough, which will affect the timbre.

Fourth, the piano axis.

There are three kinds of piano shafts: all-wood shaft, turbine shaft and spiral shaft. Mechanical shaft for general amateur piano learning. Its advantage is that it is convenient to adjust the string and it is not easy to run the string. However, it is necessary to check whether the production is precise when purchasing, and point a little sewing machine oil properly when using, so as to avoid problems such as overflow and cross movement due to moisture corrosion.

Verb (abbreviation for verb) bow

The bow of erhu is made up of bow rod and bow hair, which is baked with bamboo. Bow hair is a ponytail, which leads from the small arc bend at the bow tip at the fish tail to the bow root. Bowfish is generally made of plexiglass or animal bones, and fixed on the bow-tail screw to adjust the tightness of Pinus massoniana. The whole bow rod is shallow saddle-shaped.

Bow is a key tool for erhu pronunciation, and its quality has a great influence on playing. Although the thickness, weight and length of the bow rod are different, it should not be too heavy, too light or too soft. Too thick and too heavy to appear clumsy and noisy; It's too long to control; If it is too short, it will affect the long tone performance. Therefore, it is generally appropriate to use about 850 mm, and the materials are old red bamboo, river reed bamboo and water hyacinth bamboo, with few knots and uniform thickness as the top grade. The curvature of the arch tip and the arch root should be moderate, and it is difficult to control if it is too large. Too small a bend will affect the flexibility of the fingers holding the bow.

Bow hair with white ponytail is top grade. When choosing a bow, we should not only pay attention to the problems mentioned above, but also see whether the ponytail is neatly combed and firmly tied with the fishtail. Many newly bought bows won't last long because of Pinus massoniana, but they didn't pay attention to this problem when buying bows. In addition, the ponytail should be adjusted in time with the change of climate when used, and the fishtail screw should be loosened after use to keep the bow rod intact. Once the ponytail gets greasy, it can't be wiped with rosin. Never touch the ponytail with your hands to keep the bow hair clean. Rosin must be rubbed on the bow hair with special huqin rosin or violin rosin. It is not allowed to burn rosin on the piano barrel, which is easy to make noise. When the piano is pulled up, rosin foam splashes on the strings and strings, which will affect the change of the handle and the performance in the high-pitched area.

It is not easy to rub rosin on a new bow. Some broken rosin can be pressed on the bow hair. Rosin should be rubbed frequently, not too much at a time. Generally, it is advisable to wipe the piano once after playing for two to three hours.

Qin tuo, an intransitive verb

The piano holder is a wooden holder under the piano barrel, which is made of heavy hardwood. After the erhu is equipped with the piano holder, the body of the erhu is more stable on the legs, which greatly facilitates the exertion of the lower handle technique and increases the volume.

Seven, Qin Ma

The bridge is the key component to transmit the sound of strings to the piano barrel, which plays an important role in pronunciation and volume. There are many materials for making bridge horses. For decades, people have done many experiments on bridge horses, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. At present, bridge horses made of maple and pine knots are mostly round or oval bottoms, with a height of 1 cm, a width of 1.5 cm and a horizontal width of 1 cm. These two kinds of qinma are generally considered to have soft pronunciation and pure sound quality.

Of course, the pronunciation of erhu depends not only on the piano horse, but also on the quality of the wood of the piano barrel, the thickness and elasticity of the membrane, the sunny weather, the humidity, dryness and warmth of the air. So, prepare as many kinds of bridge horses as possible (wood, bamboo, bones, plastic, etc. ) in order to adjust under different climatic conditions. As for what kind of bridge horse to use under what circumstances, you need to experience it yourself. Near the bridge, a small pad made of flannel or felt must be inserted between the strings and the leather membrane, which can solve the "wolf sound" of the erhu, eliminate the empty sound of the erhu and make it concentrated and full. The thickness and size of the pad should be moderate, too thick will affect the volume, and too thin will not do.

Eight, buying experience

If you want to buy a satisfactory Aegean Sea, you should first start with wood, which is the premise of erhu sound quality. At present, there are many erhu materials on the market, some of which are shoddy. We should be more careful when buying, so as not to be fooled. How to distinguish the authenticity and advantages and disadvantages of wood?

First, look at the timbre. According to our audition performance, we should try as many pianos and as many handles as possible. You know, pianos of the same brand or the same price sometimes have different timbres, and a good erhu can stand the test.

Second, look at the workmanship. Generally speaking, the higher the quality of erhu, the finer and rougher the workmanship.

Third, look at the price. High quality erhu is expensive! Of course, you must not just look at the price or that sentence, be careful to be fooled!

The second is to look at the skin membrane. What kind of skin film is a good skin film? It's simple. First of all, the particles of the membrane should be large. Second, the more yellow in the color composition of the film, the better.

Finally look at the bow. There are three criteria for a good bow. First of all, the bow should be long and straight. Second, the bow hair should be white, and the bow hair should be more and tidy. Third, the knots of the bow rod should be few and small.

Wish you all the best!