The basic idea of some erhu reformers is: through the transformation of the existing erhu, a musical instrument that retains the characteristics of the erhu and has a wider range than the erhu, so as to replace the erhu as a stringed instrument and apply it to the national band. It is such an assumption that leads to the paradox of erhu reform.

The ensemble of the erhu has a narrow range of sound, so for more than half a century, there has been a constant call for reform of the erhu, and various experiments have emerged one after another. One by one, it retains its advantages and gets rid of its shortcomings, so as to make it meet the needs of the band.

Decades have passed, and two generations have passed, and the whereabouts of this instrument that suffices is still unknown. Is it because the conservative forces refuse to use it? No, how can people who really have such erhu who retain their inherent advantages and have significant advantages not use it! Then it is the music to reform no one? making major discoveries more difficult? Still not. The problem is: "retaining and expanding" is a paradox that cannot be realized at all on the erhu. Enlarging the range is the change of the structure of the musical instrument and the change of the playing method caused by the addition of strings, until the loss and change of the unique value and charm of the erhu, indicating that the two are fundamentally incompatible on the erhu.

Practice has also proved the existence of paradox. These "erhus", who have sincere goodwill and aimed to eliminate the shortcomings of the erhu and improve the erhu, do not dwarf the erhu, but dwarf the original erhu. This has to make us examine and look at it again: Why is Erhu so charismatic that we can turn a blind eye to her shortcomings and have a soft spot for her? Here try to clarify this issue from the following aspects:

1. The simple and elegant, simple and natural modeling structure is completely in line with the natural movements of playing and is simple and convenient

The way of holding the erhu instrument determined by the shape of the erhu instrument is that the left hand moves up and down, and the right hand runs left and right. Also, running the left hand further up the handlebar (down position) becomes more and more relaxed as the arm's natural arm weight sags. (To explain this problem, you can do the fixed handle practice on the existing upper, middle, and lower handle positions. After this type of fixed handle practice is proficient, you can realize that the lower handle position is better for pulling, and changing the handle The difficulty of the handle appears during the operation, and it is an illusion or unclear concept to say that the difficulty of the lower handle is high.) In the right-hand movement method, two strings clamp a bow, and a bow hair is rubbed inside and outside. Of course, the operation is convenient, reasonable and direct. Easy. Yes, it is this bow clip that has led to the difficulty of reform. If the bow of the erhu is not clipped at all, it would be too easy to add strings to the erhu. However, we still have to look at the erhu clearly: should its bow be clipped or taken out? It is certain that our ancestors were right at all, with the erhu’s natural, simple and natural modeling structure. The inside and outside are consistent, horizontal and vertical. The more in-depth and detailed our observation of Erhu, the more we can appreciate the great wisdom of our ancestors in taking the law of nature.

2. The sound produced by the simple but common cylindrical resonator is better than that of all stringed instruments

The shape of the resonance body of the erhu comes from everyday objects, and it is easy to manufacture, even easier than hooping a bucket. A bucket requires sixteen boards, while an erhu tube costs at most eight. But it is just such a tube covered with a piece of leather. There is also a simpler one, using a cannonball barrel to intercept a bamboo tube, and such an instrument is not inferior to solo use. We know that it was the erhu in the bamboo tube that made "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" come out back then. Doesn't this explain the magic of this tube? Talk about how reasonable the resonance body of the violin is, how good its sound column is, how good the sound beam is, and so on. The erhu's resonator is so simple, no frets and no bracing, but the sound is better than that of the violin, so we don't know why it is necessary to always use the violin to talk about things? The violin's resonator is another Well, no matter how reasonable it is, the erhu will not be used. The erhu's resonant body is so simple but it makes a good sound, even a low-end violin doesn't make the unpleasant low-end sound of a violin, and isn't it absolutely reasonable?

3. The performance skills produced by the unique hanging string space are unmatched by the performance skills of other stringed instruments

The erhu is played by pressing the fingers on the two strings without the fulcrum of the fretboard. The playing skills produced in this suspended string space are more than the playing skills of all stringed instruments combined, that is to say, on other stringed instruments Of course, the erhu can do the skills that can be done, but the skills that can be done on the erhu are impossible to do on other stringed instruments.

Like a vibrato. In terms of basic action and basic effects, the vibrato of a fingerboard stringed instrument can only be one way, that is, a method of changing the string length to make the pitch fluctuate. On the erhu, there are three methods, that is, the method of changing the tension, the method of changing the chord length, and the method of changing the length and tension of the chord at the same time.

Like glissando. The portamento of fretboard-type stringed instruments is accomplished only by the sliding of the fingers, making the strings shorter by sliding higher and longer by sliding lower. There are still three methods for erhu portamento: sliding method, pressure sliding method, and string pressing method (hold down a note without moving and rely only on pressure to play a portamento that can rise and return up to a minor third).

such as vibrato. The vibrato of other string instruments can still be different. For example, when you use the string pressing method to vibrate your fingers at the same time, please experience what effect this is?

such as pitch. There are three intonation methods on the erhu, only the positional intonation is the same as other stringed instruments, and there are two other intonation methods that are not found on other stringed instruments. The string pressing action is the same) and the intonation in combination of tension and position. Therefore, the progression between the sounds of the erhu is not from one pitch to the next, but there is a transitional pitch from one pitch to another.

such as strength. Common sense tells us that two strings of the same pitch, one is tight and the other is loose, because the tight string has a high tension, so this string has a stronger sense of dynamics. Due to the tension technique caused by the hanging strings of the erhu, the performance of the erhu can produce a large change in the dynamics. It is the existence of the above-mentioned performances that makes the erhu in a solo performance position that is unattainable by any musical instrument. It is a pity that there is no clear understanding of the above characteristics of erhu in the erhu world, and these superior properties have not been fully exerted. In the hands of most players, there is not much difference between erhu and fingerboard instruments.

Having said this, some reformers will say: "Erhu Xuanxian is good, I haven't changed it." Then look at this example again, such as (Good Night) 3 2 1 2 3 5 3 2 12 3 During the tenth jump from the first to the second measure, the performance on the erhu is only a sixth on one string. When jumping, the bow is moved from the inner string to the outer string. Such an example is common in Erhu performance, which is very convenient and unmatched by any stringed instrument with split strings and fingers (of course, including multi-string Erhu). Therefore, we understand why the reform of the erhu always fails to change the erhu itself.

Erhu is Erhu, it is a solo instrument with excellent performance. It is also a solo instrument only, and it would be inappropriate to claim it with an orchestra instrument. A clear understanding of these problems will help the erhu's self-confidence and pride as a musical instrument, and at the same time eliminate the blindness of improper use of it.