The Best Erhu I came across so far...

My first blog entry and I decided to blog about one of the best Erhu I came across recently.

Its a Tianjin Erhu made of really old Aged Rosewood. I got it from Mr SYR, who is 1st grade Erhu performer in China. Here's how the story goes: During the Erhu competition held somewhere in China this year, SYR was as one of the judges for the competition. One of the sponsors for the event, a Erhu Manufacturer "NZ" invited him to try their Erhus. SYR had a yank at them and wasn't too disappointed, but wasn't too impressed either. Determine to impress SYR, NZ brought out some of their best stocks for SYR. SYR immediately took possession of one Erhu that is different from the rest. Now this SYR has more than 100 erhus in his personal collection and he knows a good Erhu when he sees one. In addition to creme of the crop that he picked, he also put in a few of his own touches to bring out the best in the Erhu.

The result is an Erhu with balanced inner and outer string, loud volume, clear and penetrative highs and an unbelievably sweet tone. It has a voice that somehow captures your attention and brings you back in time.

Well, too good for me and too bad for any of you who are thinking of having a go at it, the Erhu was sold. I thought I was going to hold on to it for a little while longer but a customer came along and fell in love with it. She bought it for her daughter who was going to start learning Erhu. Lucky kid. I hope she perseveres and do justice to the instrument.

This is also the most expensive Erhu that I have sold to date, but it is worth every cent. An extremely good Erhu with the x-factor is hard to come by. You might find another Erhu with the same specifications but well, it just doesn't sound the same.

Ok, this is what I have been talking about:


Justin Timberlake Mixes New Music with Middle Eastern Oud

New music meets old world instrument in Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around... Comes Around", the third single from Justin Timberlake's second solo album FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). The song begins with about 15 seconds of a guitar-type solo which is played on an oud.

Throughout history, versions of the oud instrument have made their mark in various civilizations from Spain to China. Today, the oud is known as ut or ud in Turkey, laouta in Greece, udi in Africa and barbat in Iran. The oud is considered the most important Arab instrument and is called the prince of the instruments.

The sound of the oud is similar to the guitar but more mellow and more rich. Kudos to Justin Timberlake for giving this beautiful sound lots of radio play time.

The Bigger The Gong, The Bigger The Sound?



When shopping for a gong, should you go with a large gong for a large sound? Maybe . . .

Generally speaking, the bigger the gongs will have a bigger sound. Also, large gongs have vibratioins that you can feel. At NAMM 2007, a trade show for musical instrument manufacturers, I stood behind a 70 inch gong (yes, that's a gong over 5 feet across!!) while someone else struck it. You can really feel the vibration - it was awesome!

WorldMusicalInstruments.com is now offering some very large gongs, including the 39 1/2 inch wind gong and the massive 70 inch chao gong.

Keep in mind that you don't have to strike a gong real hard. A nice firm strike will product great resonance. For a sustained sound, strike repeatedly in a rapid fashion.

School Assembly Presentation on Musical Instruments from Around the World

WorldMusicalInstruments.com provides presentations at school assemblies and recently provided one at Freeman Elementary School in Aurora IL. Freeman was celebrating Fine Arts Week, and wanted to include music and instruments as part of this celebration. We worked with 2 groups of grades K-5 to listen to music, learn about instruments, and drum in a drum circle.

The music featured ethnic instruments such as the duduk, bloul, shvi, oud, tabla drums, doumbek, ashiko, sitar, and many small percussion instruments. Musical instruments demonstrated include:
djun-djun drum
doumbek drums
ashiko drum
tabla Indian drum set
conga drum
tambourine
Tibetan gong and Chinese wind gong
chick shake eggs
ankle bells
hand cymbals
caxixi Brazilian percussion instrument
bull horn
cuica Brazilian friction drum
bongos
rain stick
bull roarer Australian instrument
shakere
temple blocks
toke
agogo

Then the fun part: drumming. Since each group had about 150 children, it is not practical for everyone to play a drum. However, everyone can clap or pat on their laps, so the children use their "built in" instruments to participate in the drum circle. For groups which include all ages, we learn some basic drumming rhythms, work with volume changes, and have 2 groups play different rhythms at the same time.

We concluded the program with some thoughts toward world peace. The children briefly tried the instruments on their way out of the gym.

Fun was had by all at Freeman Elementary School, and we thank them for inviting us to share their Fine Arts Week celebration.

If the school assembly group consists of just older children, we use more complicated drumming rhythms for the drum circle portion and are able to give the children hands on use of the instruments.

Please consider WorldMusicalInstruments.com for your next school assembly program in the Chicago IL area. We tailor the assembly presentation to your theme, whether it's a focus on a country like Africa, a multi cultural celebration, or a tribute to the fine arts.

Schools Embrace Ethnic Musical Instruments, Buying on School Purchase Orders

This has been a big week for schools to buy ethnic musical instruments. In this one week alone, WorldMusicalInstruments.com has sold musical instruments to schools in California, Missouri, Minnesota, and Illinois. WorldMusicalInstruments.com accepts purchase orders from schools buying musical instruments. That makes the purchasing process easier for the schools, getting the instruments in their hands as soon as possible.

So what instruments do schools buy? Here are some of the small handheld percussion instruments that schools have recently purchased:
- kalimba
- castanets
- maracas
- caxixi, a Brazilian percussion instrument
- singing bowls
- gongs

In addition to small percussion instruments, schools like drums like:
- djembe
- doumbek

Occassionally schools will buy string instruments like:
- lute
- oud

It's great to see school music programs branching out to non-traditional instruments. School children of all ages enjoy learning about instruments that reflect cultures from around the world.