Banhu
Encyclopedia
The banhu is a Chinese traditional bowed string instrument
in the huqin
family of instruments. It is used primarily in northern China. Ban means a piece of wood and hu is short for huqin.
Like the more familiar erhu
and gaohu
, the banhu has two strings, is held vertically, and the bow hair passes in between the two strings. The banhu differs in construction from the erhu
in that its soundbox is generally made from a coconut
shell rather than wood, and instead of a snakeskin
that is commonly used to cover the faces of huqin instruments, the banhu uses a thin wooden board.
The banhu is sometimes also called "banghu," because it is often used in bangzi
opera of northern China
, such as Qinqiang
from Shaanxi
province.
The yehu
, another type of Chinese fiddle with a coconut body and wooden face, is used primarily in southern China.
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
in the huqin
Huqin
Huqin is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes upwards...
family of instruments. It is used primarily in northern China. Ban means a piece of wood and hu is short for huqin.
Like the more familiar erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
and gaohu
Gaohu
The gaohu is a Chinese bowed string instrument developed from the erhu in the 1920s by the musician and composer Lü Wencheng and used in Cantonese music and Cantonese opera...
, the banhu has two strings, is held vertically, and the bow hair passes in between the two strings. The banhu differs in construction from the erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
in that its soundbox is generally made from a coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
shell rather than wood, and instead of a snakeskin
Snakeskin
Snakeskin may refer to:*Snakeskin, a material that is made from the skin of a snake*Snakeskin , a song by Australian band Gyroscope*Snakeskin , a New Zealand film*Snakeskin , a side project of Tilo Wolff from Lacrimosa*Snakeskin Glacier...
that is commonly used to cover the faces of huqin instruments, the banhu uses a thin wooden board.
The banhu is sometimes also called "banghu," because it is often used in bangzi
opera of northern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, such as Qinqiang
Qinqiang
Qinqiang or Luantan is the representative folk Chinese opera of the northwest Province of Shaanxi, China, where it was called Qin thousands of years ago. Its melodies were originated from the rural areas of ancient Shaanxi and Gansu...
from Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
province.
The yehu
Yehu
The instrument comes in various sizes. In Chaozhou music it is a leading instrument, and is tuned quite high. In Cantonese music it can be quite large and is often tuned to a relatively low pitch, lower than the erhu...
, another type of Chinese fiddle with a coconut body and wooden face, is used primarily in southern China.
Listening
Listening
- Banhu MP3s (click on headphones to listen to individual tracks)
See also
- HuqinHuqinHuqin is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes upwards...
- YehuYehuThe instrument comes in various sizes. In Chaozhou music it is a leading instrument, and is tuned quite high. In Cantonese music it can be quite large and is often tuned to a relatively low pitch, lower than the erhu...
- Music of ChinaMusic of ChinaChinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...
- Traditional Chinese musical instrumentsTraditional Chinese musical instruments-The Eight Sounds or Eight Tones :The eight categories are: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide. There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications. This is one of the first musical classifications ever.-Silk :...
- String instruments