kailam77
Approved
| Joined: | Sat Jun 6th, 2009 |
| Location: | Tennessee USA |
| Posts: | 3 |
| Instrument Interest: | Other |
| Status: |
Offline
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Hi all! I'm brand new to the Erhu and to this forum. It's amazing to find such a great source of information and good people willing to share their thoughts and experiences. I'm hoping to get clarification on a couple points regarding bowing. I realize that the best way to get these questions answered would be to see an instructor, but I don't have access to one at the moment.
First, I've seen several threads in this forum that talk about the bamboo accidentally hitting the outer string when trying to play the inner string. The solution that was suggested was to position the middle and ring fingers such that the middle finger pushes on both the hair (with the fingertip) and the bamboo (with the knuckle) at the same time, thereby forcing a wider separation of the hair from the bamboo.
I just wanted to clarify whether most people find this is necessary, since all the instructional videos I've seen suggest that simply applying pressure to the hairs with the fingertips - without pushing back on the stick - should do the trick. Is it just a matter of practice and strengthening the fingers properly? Or do some people find they must 'separate' the hair from the stick deliberately?
Second, I'd love a little insight into the transitioning from outer string to inner string and vice versa. I find that I'm really putting pressure on the bow to play one string, and switching to the other requires a degree of force (from pushing the bow outward to pulling it inward) that results in bouncing and a substantial break in the sound.
I'd like to know precisely what parts of the arm come into play when transitioning - which fingers switch pressure (does the pressure of the thumb on the bow change?), does the wrist move differently, etc. Also, does it sound like I'm applying too much pressure to the string, indicating that maybe I haven't rosined my bow enough, and that is making it harder to transition from one string to the other?
I greatly appreciate this forum and the folks who post here!
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