Jinghu (instrument)
| Musician playing the jinghu in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. (5 May 2006) | |
| Classification | Bowed string instrument |
|---|---|
| Related instruments | |
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The jinghu (京胡; pinyin: jīnghú) is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the huqin family, used primarily in Beijing opera. It is the smallest and highest pitched instrument in the huqin family. The jinghu has a tone similar to a violin but raspier.
Construction
[edit ]Like most of its relatives, the jinghu has 2 strings that are customarily tuned to the interval of a 5th which the hair of the non-detachable bow passes in between. The strings were formerly made of silk, but in modern times are increasingly made of steel or nylon. Unlike other huqin instruments (erhu , gaohu , zhonghu , etc.) it is made of bamboo. Its cylindrical soundbox is covered with snakeskin on the front (playing) end, which forms a taut drum on which the bridge rests, sandwiched between the drum and the strings, which are connected to a peg at the bottom of the soundbox.
Use
[edit ]In Beijing opera, the jinghu often doubles the singer's voice. Jinghu performers in Beijing opera rarely shift into higher positions, and instead choose to compress the melody into a single octave.
The jinghu was also featured prominently in the single "Shinjitsu no Uta" by the Japanese band Do as Infinity.[1]
See also
[edit ]References
[edit ]- ^ "Wu Ru-Jun's biography up to 2003" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 30 October 2005. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
External links
[edit ]- Current profile Archived 18 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese) of Wu Ru-Jun (Beijing opera musician who played the jinghu in Shinjitsu no Uta ) from his official website. Includes information about parts of a jinghu and Beijing opera.
- Zongti Lin's blog (in Chinese) A blog of another Beijing opera musician, with videos on the Beijing opera and jinghu lessons.
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