The exact origins of the erhu are not known, but its use in ensembles and particularly in Chinese opera have been recorded from the 18th century onward. It is thought to have been used to accompany folk music for a few centuries prior to its introduction into more formal music.
The erhu is about 75 cm long with a bow of about equal length. It consists of a hexagonal or octagonal, or sometimes round, resonator box to which a long wooden neck is attached, drilled into one of the faces of the box. The box is covered in snakeskin on one end and usually has a carved sort of grate at the other end. The erhu has two strings that run from the base of the resonator box, over a bridge resting on the snakeskin side of the resonator, and parallel to the neck up to a set of large friction pegs. A nut is formed below the pegs by a strip of cord or fabric tied around the strings and around the neck. The top end of the neck is usually adorned with a carved head of some sort, or sometimes other ornamentation.
The bow of the erhu is curved toward the hair for most of the length of the stick, much like the bow used with western bowed instruments, but with a stick that simply curves toward the hair at the tip, rather than with a Tourte head as seen on a western bow.
The erhu is played with the hair of the bow between the two strings. The bow is held with the hand sideways much like a German double bass bow. The bow hold has also been likened to holding the Chinese writing brush. Because of the placement of the bow hair between the strings, the strings are bowed almost perpendicular to the plane on which the strings lie, rather than almost parallel to this plane as is the case with western bowed instruments.
The strings are tuned in fifths, though there are no definite pitches to which they are to be tuned, probably because of the instrument's origins as a folk instrument to accompany singing. In modern Chinese orchestras, A440 is a common tuning for the higher string.
The strings are stopped by lightly pressing down on the strings, just enough to produce a stopped tone rather than a natural harmonic. The fingers press only against the string, not against a fingerboard. (Written by Erika Rose McLaughlin)
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