Scholar Rock Posted February 15, 2005 at 05:01 PM Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 at 05:01 PM I would like to find someone who will give intensive erhu lessons (2-3 hours a day) for two to three weeks in Kunming. Can anybody offer me suggestions as to how to go about contacting such an instructor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockboggs Posted February 24, 2005 at 03:34 AM Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 at 03:34 AM I recently arrived in Kunming and found a teacher by asking around at musical instrument shops. The shop that helped me is on the third floor of the culture and art building at the intersection of jingxing jie and tongdao jie(the street with the bird and flower market). My teacher doesn't speak English but having some musical background makes that less of a problem. If you need a teacher who can speak English you could try some of the music stores on Renming Zhong lu, on the stretch between shan litang and wenmiao zhijie. Just check that any teacher they reccomend can speak English. The Yunnan University Center for Chinese Studies also might be able to give you some leads. I've been learning for two weeks, having played guitar previously. Don't know what your musical background is, but regardless, I think it takes hours of practice to form the correct muscle memory and wouldn't expect that to happen in 2-3 weeks unlessing you're logging 4-8 hours of practice a day. Having a teacher at hand for 2-3 hours a day might help you get instant feedback and correction, but I would probably adopt the strategy of trying to get your teacher to show you the following so that after the 2-3 weeks you can go away and perfect them, some of these are stating the obvious, but...: tuning bowing technique scales, including playing further up the Erhu in higher registers legato vibrato Your teacher should also be able to help you choose an instrument to buy. Expect to pay up to Y3000 for something decent. If you aren't going to be in China beyond the 2-3 weeks, remember to stock up on extra strings, rosin, bridges and maybe a spare bow. Let me know how you go getting the instrument back through customs, the Python skin might be a problem. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scholar Rock Posted February 24, 2005 at 05:09 PM Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 at 05:09 PM Thank you for the very useful information and excellent suggestions. I bought the erhu in Beijing for a friend. Since we live in a rural part of southern Oregon, she hasn't been able to locate an instructer and therefore is considering the lessons in Kunming. I'm trying to help her make the arrangements, but she doesn't know when she will travel. I suggested Spring, which is quite beautiful in Kunming. She doesn't want to pay a small fortune for a hotel room, so I'm still trying to figure out an inexpensive place for her to live. If you know of a place that arranges housing for foreigners, I'd sure appreciate your letting me know. In response to your question about customs: I had absolutely no problem with customs. They didn't seem to care. The most challenging part of getting it home was finding a safe place for it on the airplane, although having it in a hard case helped. Enjoy your stay and I hope your lessons progress favorably. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmdahl Posted March 7, 2005 at 05:08 AM Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 at 05:08 AM I live in Portland, Oregon and recently began erhu lessons with a teacher not far from my home. Perhaps your friend might be interested in a few lessons closer to home. Portland is not quite as exotic as Asia, but the travel expenses from southern Oregon are bound to be less. Best wishes, David Dahl Portland, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scholar Rock Posted March 11, 2005 at 07:16 PM Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 at 07:16 PM Thank you for your suggestion. Portland, although not Kunming, is a lovely city. Are you, by any chance, related to Sue Calkins, presently of Grants Pass and previously of Selma? Her maiden name is Dahl and she has mentioned in the past that she has a cousin in Portland involved in classical music. Sue is an old family friend. In any event, I think my friend might be interested in erhu lessons in Portland. My name is Tom Carlisle and my friend's name is Barbara Parchim. Sue knows both of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srpokel Posted March 30, 2005 at 02:26 AM Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 at 02:26 AM I also live in Southern Oregon - in the city of Ashland. I recently bought an Erhu and am looking for someone to take lessions from. Can anyone provide any leads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taobenli Posted March 30, 2005 at 02:28 AM Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 at 02:28 AM Hello- Reviving this thread...I'm applying for a very interesting travel fellowship, and my proposal is to learn to play the erhu and then travel around Asia playing and experiencing music. First I just assumed that Beijing would be the best place to start, but I'm wondering if there are other places that would be the best to learn. I have been to Kunming and think it's a nice city. Any other suggestions? I do realize that I can't learn to play the erhu like a pro in a few weeks before moving on to some other country, but I just want to get a start and then practice on my own/try to jam with people. I played the viola for several years so I'm hoping it won't be too impossible to learn. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scholar Rock Posted March 30, 2005 at 08:18 PM Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 at 08:18 PM Hmmm. This is interesting. People in Ashland, Illinois Valley, and Seattle seeking instruction on the erhu. Mr. Dahl (see above) mentioned to me in a private email that there may be a weekend workshop in Seattle this fall. He also mentioned that he had an instructor in Portland willing to consider new students. If this interests anyone, I suggest they contact Mr. Dahl in a personal email. I've asked him to let me know when and if there will be a Seattle workshop. Actually, I'm acting as a go-between for a friend who wants lessons. I'll let her know about the forum. I've also found the name of a teacher and his translator nephew in Kunming. If interested, send me a private email with "erhu lessons" as the subject. If anyone knows of an erhu instructor in southern Oregon, I would love to find out about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmdahl Posted March 30, 2005 at 08:51 PM Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 at 08:51 PM As "Scholar Rock" wrote, I am trying to organize a weekend erhu workshop for this fall in the Seattle area. It may be no more than wishful thinking unless we can get a group of eight to ten participants in order to spread the costs. Myself and two others are attempting to set something up with erhu pro Warren Chang of Seattle. If we don't get a critical mass, we will probably at least organize a gathering of erhu students which may be fun even if we don't have a master teacher. I invite anyone interested to contact me via private message. Thank you. Best wishes, David Dahl Portland, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srpokel Posted April 1, 2005 at 04:55 AM Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 at 04:55 AM I am interesting in commuting to Portland for Erhu lessons, if you could provide some more information I would be most thankful. Corey Chavez Ashland, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spansar Posted October 20, 2005 at 07:05 PM Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 at 07:05 PM (for some reason i'm not allowed to pm) David did you already have that erhu workshop? Is it still a go? I'm interested, and relatively nearby (Seaside, OR.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sempter Posted November 14, 2005 at 06:12 AM Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 at 06:12 AM David I cant email or PM you. I live in Gresham east of Portland. And am very interested in learning the Erhu close to home. That would be grand if you could point me to some kind of Erhu teacher =D. My email is junk_seller09@yahoo.com. Thanks a bunch. Maybe we'll play together some day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmdahl Posted November 19, 2005 at 10:05 PM Report Share Posted November 19, 2005 at 10:05 PM For any in Oregon who are interested in the erhu, I invite you to contact me via PM on this form, or my email address davidmdahl@hotmail.com. This is not my primary address, so please be patient. I will try to check it at least once per week. If you put erhu in the subject line, it will be easier to spot your message among all the spam. Best wishes, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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