Analysis on the Changes in Playing Techniques of Erhu under the Impact of Westernization——Taking the Erhu Concerto the Praise Song for Chu

Abstract

With the constant social development and cultural exchange, it’s inevitable for Chinese traditional music to be affected by the western music. Among the traditional music of China, Erhu, as one of the representative traditional instruments, has also encountered a series of changes. The westernization of Erhu is not only an inevitable tendency but also a product of cultural exchange and integration. This paper aims at studying the westernization of Erhu in Chinese traditional music, probing into the impacts and changes of modern music on the traditional music, and interpreting the new vitality and charm of Erhu in the modern music through learning from the changes in Erhu’s playing techniques and the Erhu concerto The Praise Song for Chu. The main part of this paper is divided into two sections. The first section reviews the development process of Erhu within the historical context, and presents the evolution of Erhu playing techniques. The second section analyzes the playing techniques of Erhu in The Praise Song for Chu, comparing with three classic Erhu compositions, thus demonstrating the changes and characteristics of westernization of the Erhu in the contemporary context.