Question:
Harp strings on a violin?
Reel skape
8 years ago
Hello,

Will Harp strings create the same friction as violin strings against the bow?

I actually practice with my Diy Chinese Harp because I don't have a Violin.

The sound rings pretty good. I am a beginner also.
Three answers:
Slava1436
8 years ago
I don't see why not - I'm not about to try it. The friction is probably not the same, you might get variability in grip similar to differences between a violin and a double bass. Bass strings, longer and fatter, will often need more force and stickier rosin. On all strings try and bow at a point about 1/7th of the distance between one end and the other (or between the place that the string is stopped and the end).



I'm not sure what you're planning to attempt - wandering up to a concert harp and leaving rosin over it isn't going to endear yourself to its owner. Trying to string a harp string onto an erhu is probably going to break something. More info would be nice, but good luck.
bka
8 years ago
ah, are you asking if a violin bow will work on your guzheng/harp strings?

YES.

you can bow all sorts of things. you can bow a music stand, you can bow a cardboard box. so any string instrument can be made to vibrate with a bow (as long as its constructed in a way that lets you get a bow to the string).

however, since there are so many strings and the arc between them is slight on your instrument, you may have a hard time isolating individual strings. on a violin, we bow close to the bridge where the arc is strongest, but as each string on your instrument has its own bridge in a different location... that seems awkward, so i don't imagine you will be playing anything terribly acrobatic or virtuosic this way. but it should be just fine for long tones.



but you will get rosin all over the instrument (body and strings), so make sure to wipe it off before it builds up into a sticky mess.



if you watch vids of violinists, you will notice they don't usually pluck in the same part of the string that they bow.

1. don't wanna get their fingers sticky.

2. the physics you encounter are different when you release a plucked string vs when you keep bowing a string. (thats why slava said "1/7th" for bowing but you can pluck lots of different places)



but none of this has anything to do with playing violin.

its not making you a beginning violinist, its making you an experimental guzheng player.
lainiebsky
8 years ago
The friction is produced primarily by the bow, not the strings themselves.



You can't learn to play violin without a violin.


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