- Gehu
Infobox Instrument
name=Gehu
names=
classification=
*Bowed string instrument
range=
related=
*Huqin The "gehu" (;pinyin : géhú) is a Chinese instrument developed in the 20th century by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen (, 1926-1980). It is a fusion of the Chinesehuqin family and thecello . Its four strings are also tuned (from low to high) C-G-D-A, exactly like the cello's. Unlike most other instruments in the "huqin" family, the bridge does not contact the snakeskin, which faces to the side.There is also a contrabass "gehu" that functions as a Chinese
double bass , known as the "diyingehu ", "digehu", or "beigehu" ().By the late 20th century the "gehu" had become a rare instrument, even within China, as the tendency for the snakeskin to lose its tightness increases with humidity. Today, it is used mostly in
Hong Kong andTaiwan , although even there, the cello is beginning to become a popular replacement for it. In addition, there are also other Chinese instruments that are able to take on the role bowed bass range instrument, such as the "laruan " (which uses the structure and acoustics of theruan ), the "lapa " (also known as "paqin", using the structure of thepipa ), and the bass "matouqin ".External links
* [http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Music/mus-gehu.html Gehu page] from Paul and Bernice Noll Website
* [http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/gehu.htm "Chinese Version of the Cello and Double Bass] , by Brandon Vooee also
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Diyingehu
*Laruan
*Dihu
*Dahu (instrument)
*Traditional Chinese musical instruments
*Huqin family instruments
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