Qinqiang Banhu Lafa: "Flat-legged pose": Sit down with your legs naturally apart, with your left foot slightly forward, right foot back, and the Banhu placed slightly outside the bend of the left thigh. (or the inner third of the thigh) The advantage of this posture is that the center of gravity of the whole body moves downwards, the burden on the waist and legs is less, and the range of movement is wider during playing.

When performing, keep your expression natural and generous, without being nervous or artificial.

Be careful not to slant your shoulders or have your left shoulder higher than your right shoulder. This is something that we players don’t pay much attention to, but we should prevent this kind of phenomenon from happening.

It is taboo to shake your head, gnash your teeth, or perform various actions and behaviors that are not beneficial to your performance while playing.

Generally speaking, it starts with drawing the bow and ends with pushing the bow. The notes on the strong beat or strong position in the music must be played with a bowed bow, while the notes on the weak beat or weak position must generally be played with a bowed bow. Of course, if there is a strong accent that needs special emphasis in the song, the bow must be pulled or shaken.

Extended information:

Compared with other Chinese huqin instruments, the biggest feature of banhu is its large volume and crisp and loud tone. It is especially good at expressing high-pitched, passionate, enthusiastic and fiery music. Emotions are also characterized by beauty and delicacy.

The banhu is the main accompaniment instrument for Bangzi tune and Luantan tune. It is also used to accompany folk arts, such as Lanzhou Guyu and Daoqing. The banhu is an instrument based on the huqin with the emergence of opera bangzi tune in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Because the Qintong glue is made of thin wooden boards, it is named Banhu. It has a history of more than 300 years.

Concerning the maintenance of banhu, you should pay attention to the following points:

After using the instrument, use a soft cloth to wipe off the stinging dust on the body, strings and bow. Then put it into a piano case or case, and do not hang it on a damp wall.

The banhu piano pole is mostly made of ebony. In order to prevent it from drying out, you can use cooking oil or walnut oil once or twice every spring. Wait for the oil to penetrate into the wood before using a cloth.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia: Banhu