Banhu

The knee violin Banhu (板胡, bǎnhú ) is a traditional Chinese string instrument, belonging to the family of huqin instruments. It is mainly played in North China. The word Banhu consists of Ban ( translated means a piece of wood ) and hu, a short form of huqin.

Construction and sound quality

Like the better-known instruments erhu (二胡, erhu ) and Gaohu (高 胡, Gaohu ) has the Banhu two strings and is held vertically. It is played with a bow, the hair of the bow between the two strings runs. The construction of the Banhu is substantially similar to the erhu, but differs in particular the fact that the sound body is made from coconut shells and not wood. Unlike other huqin instruments, which usually has a snake skin, the surface of the resonator body covered includes the ensemble of Banhu with a thin wooden plate. This results in the characteristic sound of the Banhu. The tone is bright and clear. In the orchestra for traditional and modern Chinese music Banhu occupies a leading position. In addition, the Banhu is used as a solo instrument. The two strings are usually in fourths or fifths. The technique is characterized by frequent characteristic fast bow movements and glissandi. Overall Banhu has a range of more than two octaves.

Instrument History

The Banhu has a 300 year history in China. Its origin is found in northern China, where it played a major role in the instrumental accompaniment of ballads songs and Chinese operas. Often the Banhu is also called Banghu, which is due to the use in the Bangzi opera mid-17th century. For more northern Chinese local operas in which the Banhu found application are: the Ping opera of Hebei Province, the Yu Opera of Henan Province and the Qin opera of Shaanxi Province. With the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the instrument experienced in relation to the Banhu a true development thrust. Some new variants like the midrange Banhu that Hochtonbanhu, the three-stringed Banhu or Banhu with bamboo sound box expanded the Banhu family.

The Yehu, another stringed instrument with coconut and wooden body surface is primarily played in South China.