I'm talking about the black butterfly mute for the Erhu.
It is a nifty little device that mutes 90% of the volume of your Erhu. Listen to the difference in volume here!
It works by stopping the vibrations the strings send to the snakeskin through the bridge. Usually people put a pencil or dongle above the bridge to mute the sound of the Erhu. But the problem is that the pencil or dongle changes your left hand finger positions because it 'shortens' the string. Also, it is barely audible from the 2nd position onwards, unless you bow very hard.
With the mute you can play your Erhu normally, without compromising on your bowing or fingerings.
This is especially useful when you feel like practicing the Erhu at night. Not everyone lives in places where you have to drive to reach your neighbours. And you still have your family members and pets to contend with.
So on your way to playing like Min Huifen, get one of these and put a smile on the face of the people around you.
(Although you should play without the mute whenever you can, to hear how you really sound like)
*I read somewhere that the mute actually improves the volume and tone of your bowing, especially for those self conscious people. When you are conscious of your playing, you usually try to play softer or try to control your bowing. Overtime, your tone will become thin and soft. With the mute, you will try to play as loud as possible to be heard, unconsciously training your right hand......
