二胡:Lesson and New Year Party

I had events with other students and teachers from my erhu's school yesterday. I'm also attending a performance event today, so I stayed at the hotel from last night.

Our Chinese teacher came from Tokyo to give us special lessons and spend time with us at the New Year Party. The lesson was a meaningful one for us. She taught us about some techniques and how to maintain the erhu well in order to play better. Erhu's parts, such as bow （弓） and string（弦）, need to be replaced from deterioration. Moreover, the rosin（松脂）which is used to maintain the bow needs to be replaced. I knew that it was important to replace once in a while, but I was surprised about the maintenance period. 

• bow: about once a year

• string: about once in 6 months

• rosin: about once a year

These maintenance periods are just one guide. If you practice or play frequently, you may need to replace the parts more often. I was especially surprised about rosin. Our teacher saw mine and advised me to replace it immediately. It's dry and even has cracks. I have been using my current rosin for about 3 years. I didn't even think about replacing it because I thought I could use it unless it was completely broken.

My rosin（松脂）

The New Year Party was fun too. We had a great time talking together about erhu. Since I have been attending group lessons, I have had chances to see other students. However, most students take only individual lessons. It's usually difficult to have time to even see each other. I met a new student who has been taking lessons for a year. It's great to meet who is interested in erhu. They all have different goals that they want to achieve. Our teacher also reminded us to enjoy playing erhu. That's the most important passion to continue.

I will also enjoy the performance event today.
Have a great weekend.