How the zhonghu makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the zhonghu belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The zhonghu (Chinese: 中胡; pinyin: zhōnghú), short for zhongyin erhu (Chinese: 中音二胡; pinyin: zhōngyīn èrhú; lit. 'alto erhu', 'middle-voice two-string') 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 (similar in range to the European viola) to increase the pitch range of the instruments used in a Chinese orchestra.
The zhonghu is analogous with the erhu, but is slightly larger and lower pitched. Its body is covered on the playing end with snakeskin. The instrument has two strings which are generally tuned to the interval of a fifth, to A and E or to G and D (this latter tuning equivalent to the violin's lowest two strings). It has a deep, mellow sound similar to that of the cello.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a zhonghu sound like?
As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the zhonghu?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.313).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q922001 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Zhonghu – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Alex Stoll / Flickr user: N22YF ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/n22yf/ ) – CC BY-SA 2.0