Open Strings of Huqin

Almost every huqin only 2 strings, one inner, one outer. And for Erhu(Terra), the inner string is D4 or d¹ and the outer string is A4 or a¹. For Gaohu(Terrin), the outer string is G4 or g¹ , the inner string is D5 or d². For Zhonghu(Terron), the open strings are one octave lower then Terrin’s, they are G3 or g(outer) and D4 or d¹(inner).

So, generally, the pairs of open strings of huqin are as follow:
Erhu       (Terra): DA - exactly the same D with Terron
Gaohu   (Terrin):GD
Zhonghu(Terron):GD - 1octave lower than Terrin.

Erhu(Terra)

 Gaohu(Terrin)

Zhonghu(Terron)

Erhu Strings

Obviously, there're only two strings on Erhu. One thicker, one thinner, yes.....

D string's diameter is usually around 0.44mm and
A string's is usually around 0.26mm

Different brands of Erhu strings sound slightly different from each other, and of course the quality differs from each other.

The brand I like to use is Dun Huang's Ming Ren Erhu strings, they sound louder, smoother and easy to control, and the vibration is stable.

They look like this:

Players and soloist choose the strings according to their preference, some like big sound, some like clean sound, some like sharp sound, and etc. Therefore, there's no saying that which strings are the best, whichever strings are the best if the player can present the characteristic of the strings to the fullest.

Usually the lifespan of a set of Erhu strings lasts for about 2 months. Then someone will ask: How will they die, or, how do you know they are flawed? Well, when they are flawed, the interval of the strings, which is supposed to be Perfect 5th, will not be accurate anymore when going down the lower position. For professional performers, it's very annoying. But, if you're not a professional player and not feeling uneasy with that, then you might as well use them until they literally break. But for an Chinese orchestra, I really do urge the members to change the strings for every 2-3 months to ensure better quality of practising and listening.

To protect the strings from rusting, that's almost impossible, unless it's stainless steel. Therefore, every huqin player should prepare a multi-purpose cloth to clean the strings everyday and every once in a while when practising in order to preserve them.

I guess that's all what about Erhu strings I could think of to share with all the Erhu players, hope it's useful. Cheers~ :)