Banhu
Banhu ( Chinese 板胡 , pinyin bǎnhú ) is a bowed tube lute that is played in Chinese music and belongs to the family of huqin instruments. The string instrument originally comes from northern China . The word banhu is made up of ban ("a piece of wood") and hu , a short form of huqin .
Design and style of play
Like the more popular instruments erhu (二胡, èrhú) and gaohu (高 胡, gāohú ), the banhu has two strings and is held vertically. The hair covering the bow runs between the two strings when playing. The construction of the banhu is essentially similar to the tube lute , but it differs in that the sound body is made from coconut shells that are open on the underside and not from wood. In contrast to other huqin instruments, where a snakeskin usually covers the surface of the sound box , the sound box of the banhu closes with a thin wooden cover. This gives rise to the characteristic sound properties of the banhu . The timbre is particularly bright and clear. The banhu occupies a leading position in the orchestra for traditional and modern Chinese music . In addition, the banhu is used as a solo instrument. The two strings are usually in fourth or fifth tuning . The playing technique is characterized by frequent, rapid bow movements and glissandos . Overall, the banhu has a spectrum of more than two octaves .
origin
The banhu has a history of around 300 years in China . Its origins can be found in northern China, where it played a key role in the instrumental accompaniment of ballads and Chinese operas . The banhu is often also called banghu , which can be traced back to its use in the Bangzi opera in the middle of the 17th century. Other North Chinese local operas in which the banhu was used are: the Ping Opera of Hebei Province , the Yu Opera of Henan Province and the Qin Opera of Shaanxi Province .
With the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, instrument making experienced a real leap in development with regard to the banhu . Some new variants such as the “mid-tone banhu ”, the “high-tone banhu ”, the three-string banhu or a banhu with a bamboo resonance body expanded the banhu family.
The yehu , another string instrument with a coconut body and wooden surface, is mainly played in southern China.
