Musical invention improves sound quality without the traditional price tag

A new technology developed by a professor from Sichuan Conservatory of Music could slash the cost of fine-quality traditional instruments.

Inventor of the composite resonance technology, Chen Ze, a professor from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, was inspired by the jinghu a two-stringed bowed instrument.

"The structure of a jinghu, which is made out of a thin bamboo pipe on the top of a large bamboo tube, creates double resonance chambers that make the sound of the instrument better than many western instruments like the violin," Chen said.

The technology can improve the acoustic qualities of many string instruments, especially traditional Chinese musical instruments like the erhu.

"When I played the modified Erhu on a mountainside in the Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, my friend on the other side of the mountain could hear," he said.

The patented technology has been applied to a batch production of erhus, guitars, ukuleles by Suzhou Fuhe Heavenly Melody Musical Instruments. The company has set up an online store haoqin8.com to sell musical instruments using the technology and devices to modify traditional instruments.

"Traditionally the sound quality of the erhu is determined by the type of wood. But installed with a resonance device, the sound quality of ordinary wood-made erhus is compareable with that of rosewood-made ones," company president Bao Kangwei said.

"Our goal is to make high-quality traditional instruments affordable for everyone," he said.

The company held a press conference in Beijing on Friday to launch its online store, which will give away one million sets of resonance devices from Nov 19.

Contact the writer at chengyingqi@chinadaily.com.cn