Questions all new Erhu Players Ask: Part 1 — Erhu Assembly

Our work revolves around musicians, both beginners and experts who are always so kind to lend a hand at helping beginners with seemingly mundane but extremely important issues. When it comes to Erhu, most beginners overseas, in their search for more information, have come across Patty Chan. Prolific performer, educator, Music Director of Toronto Chinese Orchestra… the list goes on. She has always been a friend of The Bamboo Grove and we’ve even collaborated on projects and performed together several times.

She’s kindly given us permission to reproduce some of her instructional videos. More info can be found at http://musinno.com

Erhu Assembly

Well, most purchases made today have the erhu come mostly assembled. In the off situation where the erhu is disassembled, here’s what to do:

1) Fit the neck (shaft) into the hole on top of the sound box and through to the bottom.The top hole is usually oval or olive shaped, while the bottom hole is round (maybe 0.5″ in diameter) or square. Make sure the fit is snug.

2) Push the first tuning peg through the hole at the upper neck, then do the same for the second tuning peg. Make sure they fit securely. There are 2 pegs and just 2 holes, so you may have to play around to see which peg fits which holes the best. Make sure that both the small ends are approximately equally long after you have put the peg through the erhu peg hole.

3) Attach the base to the bottom of the sound box. In the video below, Patty demonstrated using a Dunhuang erhu made in the 80s with a thin base. Post 1990s, most erhus require a screw to hold the base to the resonator box securely.

Attaching the Strings

1) Take out your set of erhu strings. First take the inner string (内弦) and thread it (the end withoutthe loop) through the hole of the upper tuning peg until 1 inch of the string is through. Make sure the string lies over the lower tuning peg.

2) Loop this end through the hole again so that the sharp point is not exposed.

3) Turn the peg slowly (away from you) to tighten the string, making sure the string is wound closely together. As you are turning the peg, use your thumb to push the peg tightly into the instrument so that it does not loosen when you release it.

4) Tighten the string until the loop end of the string is close to the base of the erhu, where two pins are located.

5) At this point, put the loop over the pin and push it in until it is secure.

6) Tighten the string until the tension from the tuning peg and pin keeps the string secure.

7) Repeat steps 1 – 6 for the outer string (外弦). Note that at step 3, for the outer string, turn the lower tuning peg towards you.

Tying the Qianjin

The above is the best animation i saw on a clear way of tying the qianjin strings. Very stable and very secure. Though remember, you probably need about 60 Inches or 5 ft of Qianjin Strings. If you cannot find qianjin strings handy, go to hobby lobby or Michaels’ and look for Waxed Linen Thread. They work!

THERE YOU GO! Your Erhu is ALMOST READY TO PLAY!