The ''gaohu'' ( 高胡;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

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

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

developed from the ''erhu'' in the 1920s by the musician and composer Lü Wencheng (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 ...

. 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 ...

'' family of instruments, together with the '' zhonghu'', ''

erhu The (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, that is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-stringed fiddle''. It is used as a solo instrument as ...

'', ''

banhu 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'' ...

'', '' 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). 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 ...

, 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: * Lü Wencheng (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