Leiqin
Leiqin ( 擂 琴 / 擂 琴 , léiqín - "thundering instrument"), also leihu , is a two-stringed tubular violin in Chinese music .
origin
The leiqin was developed in the 1920s by the Chinese folk artist Wang Dianyu based on the zhuihu . Since 1953 the name of the instrument has been leiqin .
Design
The metal body is covered with snakeskin. At its upper end there is a small bridge over which the two strings of the instrument are led to the fretless fingerboard . There are two types of leiqin of different sizes : the larger one is 110 cm long and strung with two steel strings, the smaller 90 cm long has silk strings.
Style of play
The player holds the leiqin vertically or almost vertically against his thigh while one hand guides the bow and the other presses the strings against the fingerboard. The sound of the instrument, which is played both solo and in an orchestra, has a wide range. The leiqin can be played very loudly and therefore has great expressiveness. Instrument virtuosos like Yongzhi Zhang can imitate animal voices such as howling or chirping birds, human language, and even the voices of Chinese opera and various other instruments.
