Erhu is one of the most representative national musical instruments in my country, and it is widely favored for its unique artistic charm, such as wide range, soft timbre, great expressiveness and national characteristics. In recent years, with the continuous development of erhu teaching theory and practice, performance techniques have become increasingly rich and diverse. However, it remains the same. The so-called "three-point fingering, seven-point bow strength" and "bow movement" are always the most core technical links in the erhu practice process, and are also the key to measuring the level of erhu performance. How to give full play to the potential of the right arm and the right hand, use the bow as a carrier, inject the right amount of power, be good at changing the speed and strength of the bow, grasp the pitch, and control the timbre well. .

Bowing is a synthesis of a whole very complex phenomenon and process - from nerves, psychology to the tiny movements of the fingers, the angle and position of the string, and so on. It involves a lot of scientific principles, we can only take the main points when analyzing and researching. At the same time, even from a physical and physiological point of view, they are in any case an indivisible whole. But in order to analyze and express, they must be divided on purpose. To sum up, the basic principles of bowing mainly include the following aspects:

(1) Leverage during bowing

Bowing embodies a kind of leverage. Correctly understanding the fulcrum, key (also known as resistance point) and position of force point of this leverage is of great significance to mastering good bowing. The fulcrum of the erhu is at the place where the thumb and index finger hold the bow, and the key point is the point where the bow hair is rubbed. As for the force point, it is not at the same point when playing the chord. When playing the chords, the point of force is at the point where the fingers operate the bow hair (depending on how the bow is held. For example, some people use the middle finger and the ring finger to operate the bow hair, while others use the ring finger alone to operate the bow hair. Therefore, the point of force can only be determined by the fingers. bow hair). When playing the external strings, the force point is the combined force point where the finger (usually the middle finger) is backed against the stem and the point where the thumb pushes the stem outward (they vary greatly depending on the way of holding the bow and the method of exerting force, but our general It can be defined as "the point of action of the fingers exerting outward force".) The resultant point of the right side of the thumb touching the bow and the index finger is the fulcrum, and the resultant point of the left side of the thumb touching the bow and the back of the middle finger against the bow is the fulcrum. strength. In my opinion, it is precisely because of the different positions of the force point when playing the inner and outer strings that many people (almost no exceptions for beginners) can't help but treat the inner and outer strings equally when playing. Correctly understanding the position of the three points of leverage, force and weight in bowing can enable us to overcome to a certain extent the problem of uneven force when playing the inner and outer strings, resulting in uncoordinated bowing. And grasping the leverage of the whole bow is even more important for our performance: it instructs us: when the heavy arm is long, increase the pressure; when the heavy arm is short, reduce the pressure; when using a short bow When playing weaker notes, use the bow against the tip of the bow; when playing stronger notes with a short bow, use the bow against the root of the bow (all depending on the vision requirements and possible circumstances).

(2) About pressure

From the point of view of physics, the force acting on the string during bowing is the resultant force of pressure and tension, and the sound is produced by friction. The tension is mainly borne by the movement of the arm, and the pressure is mainly generated by the various parts of the arm (from the chest, shoulder, back to the upper arm, forearm and hand, etc., which are directly connected to the arm) through the fingers (the force point where the bow is held) imposed. If we don't use our fingers to control the pressure of the bow on the string when we move the bow, then no matter how good our bow movement is, it will be in vain. The key reason for the failure to use and control the pressure of the bow against the string may be conceptual error in the first place. That is, it is wrong to think that the pressure is only the force generated by the finger itself. Therefore, when it is necessary to increase the pressure, the finger is used to exert force in isolation and rigidly. Very dark and noisy. At the same time, due to such exertion, the muscles of the hand and wrist are too tense and even stiff, which seriously affects the flexibility of the movements of the arms (making them clumsy and ineffective). The strength of the upper arm is also blocked from reaching the point of force where the bow is held. The pronunciation is frivolous and frivolous, mainly due to one-sided attention to the movement of the bow (while ignoring the pressure), and the stiffness of the wrist and fingers (obstructing the transmission of force). Therefore, establishing a correct concept of the source of stress is the fundamental premise to solve the correct and reasonable use and control of stress. Where does the source of pressure come from? It comes from all parts of the arm from top to bottom, that is: the highest position of the hip muscles transmits the force to the upper arm, the upper arm to the lower arm, and then to the fingers. Fingers, on the other hand, mainly act as agents and executors. I think that some vague statements about how to use the force of the bow, such as the strength of the wrist, the strength of the fingers, etc. in isolation, are also one of the reasons why the concept of the force source of the pressure cannot be correctly established. The use of pressure in bowing must be closely related to what is being expressed (varies with strength and timbre requirements).

(3) About "support" (or "support force")

"Motion Biomechanics" tells us that when some parts of the body move, many other parts are relatively immobile, so as to establish a fulcrum for the various parts of the body to move. Many muscles immobilize one part of the body with their supportive (static) tension, allowing other parts of the body to move quickly, powerfully, and accurately. It can be seen from this that our movements are closely related to "support". Without the support of the muscle work that establishes the fulcrum for each part of the body movement, we cannot ensure that we move quickly, powerfully and accurately. Support is provided by the relatively immobile portion of the muscle with its supportive tension. Support is the effect of "static tension" of the muscles and is therefore sometimes called "static" or "static support") ("motion" is the effect of "dynamic tension" of the muscles). As mentioned earlier, support plays an important role in movement, and in our performance, and as stated in "Biomechanics of Exercise", "The mechanism of movement is achieved by the cooperation of dynamic and static muscle work. Therefore, we must have a clear and firm support concept to complete the mechanism of the action and achieve the coordination and unity of the bow movement. Through the above elaboration of the basic principles, we know that the key to mastering a good bow is movement and force. Action and exertion are inseparable, interrelated, mutually influencing and coordinating. When playing, it should be used flexibly, not mechanically. To sum up, the complicated factors and principles can be summed up as follows: When traversing the bow, the entire right arm and the erhu bow are a unified lever system. in leverage. In this lever system, the focus is still on the brush point of the bow hair. The total fulcrum is the main rotation axis (shoulder or axis or wrist) when the arm moves, and the total force point is at the active action part (upper arm or forearm or wrist). In this lever system, the arch of the hand is nothing but The medium of force point (force) and the agent (of action). The point of force (wherever it is) to where the bow is held is the natural extension of this lever arm. No doubt they are constantly changing and interacting. The general law of its change is that the content changes with the change of action and force.