.jpg) Musician playing the jinghu inHarvard Square,Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. (5 May 2006) | |
| Classification | Bowed string instrument |
|---|---|
| Related instruments | |
Thejinghu (京胡;pinyin: jīnghú) is aChinese bowedstring instrument in thehuqin family, used primarily inBeijing opera. It is the smallest and highest pitched instrument in thehuqin family. The jinghu has a tone similar to a violin but raspier.
Like most of its relatives, thejinghu has 2 strings that are customarily tuned to the interval of a 5th which the hair of the non-detachable bow passes in between. The strings were formerly made of silk, but in modern times are increasingly made of steel or nylon. Unlike otherhuqin instruments (erhu,gaohu,zhonghu, etc.) it is made ofbamboo. Its cylindrical soundbox is covered with snakeskin on the front (playing) end, which forms a taut drum on which the bridge rests, sandwiched between the drum and the strings, which are connected to a peg at the bottom of the soundbox.
In Beijing opera, the jinghu often doubles the singer's voice.Jinghu performers in Beijing opera rarely shift into higher positions, and instead choose to compress themelody into a singleoctave.
Thejinghu was also featured prominently in the single "Shinjitsu no Uta" by the Japanese bandDo as Infinity.[1]
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