Craig's Instruments
Artist, Composer, Musician
Erhu (China)
The Erhu is a two string
Chinese version of a violin which dates back 6,000 years.
It has a snake skin covering a small wooden body.
It is usually tuned D,A, just like the middle two strings
of a violin... that is about where the similarities end.
There is no fingerboard, so only the finger makes contact
with the string. Another thing that makes the Erhu
different from other bowed instruments is that the bow
hairs go between the two strings... to play the lower
string you push down with the bow, and for the higher
string you pick up on the bow.
I have played this Erhu for several sound tracks including
Van Dyke Park's "Broken Trail."
