The ''gaohu'' ( 高胡;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: ''gāohú'', ; Cantonese: gou1 wu4; also called ''yuehu'' 粤胡) is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

bowed

string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...

developed from the ''erhu'' in the 1920s by the musician and composer

Lü Wencheng Lü Wencheng (wikt:吕, 吕wikt:文, 文wikt:成, 成, pinyin: Lǚ Wénchéng, or ''Lui Man Sing'' in Cantonese) (1898 in Zhongshan - 1981 in Hong Kong) was a Chinese composer and musician. He composed ''Autumn Moon Over Calm Lake'' () in the 1930 ...

(1898–1981) and used in Cantonese music and

Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of Ch ...

. It belongs to the ''

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 up ...

'' family of instruments, together with the ''

zhonghu The ''zhonghu'' (), short for ''zhongyin erhu'' () is a low-pitched Chinese bowed string instrument. Together with the erhu and gaohu, it is a member of the huqin family. It was developed in the 1940s as the alto member of the huqin family (si ...

'', ''

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-s ...

'', ''

banhu The ''banhu'' (板胡, pinyin: bǎnhú) 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 ...

'', '' jinghu'', and '' sihu''; its name means "high-pitched ''huqin''". It is the leading instrument of Cantonese music and opera ensembles. Well known pieces for the ''gaohu'' include ''Bu Bu Gao'' (步步高, Higher Step By Step) and ''Ping Hu Qiu Yue'' (平湖秋月, Autumn Moon on Calm Lake).

Construction and design

The ''gaohu'' is similar in construction to the ''erhu'' but has a slightly smaller soundbox, commonly circular, and is tuned a fourth higher, to G4 and D5. Whereas most ''huqin'' are placed on top of the left thigh, the traditional ''gaohu'' is played with the soundbox held in between the knees. It has a brighter and lighter tone as compared to the ''erhu''. It has two strings and its soundbox is covered on the front (playing) end with snakeskin (from a

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

). Since the soundbox is so small, the overall sound of the "gaohu" is quiet Although originally a regional instrument used only in Cantonese music, the ''gaohu'' (in different forms and played placed on the leg, as the erhu) is used in the modern large

Chinese orchestra The term Chinese orchestra is most commonly used to refer to the modern Chinese orchestra that is found in China and various overseas Chinese communities. This modern Chinese orchestra first developed out of Jiangnan sizhu ensemble in the 1920s i ...

, as part of the string family, along with the erhu, zhonghu, banhu, cello, and double bass. Gaohu - The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw

Notable players

Notable ''gaohu'' players include: *

(吕文成,

: Lǚ Wénchéng) (1898–1981

in Chinese *Liu Tianyi () (1910–1990

in Chinese *Gan Shangshi () (1931– ) *Yu Qiwei () (1953–

in Englis

in Chinese

References

* Huehns, Colin. "China's fiddle." ''Strad'', Vol. 110, Issue 1312 (Aug 1999) * Zhao, Y. et al. "Sound Intensity Radiated by Gaohu." ''Science China'', Vol. 53, No. 7 (2010) * Huang, Rijin (1997) ''Guangdong Yinyue; Gaohu Qu Xuan'' (Guangdong Music; Selected Pieces for Gaohu). Beijing: ''Renmin Yinyue Chubanshe'' (Peoples Music Publishing House) Bowed instruments Chinese musical instruments Drumhead lutes Huqin family instruments Cantonese music {{huqin-stub

Construction and design

Notable players

See also

References