Wenyi Song – wsongak@cse.ust.hk
Twitter: @sherrys72539831
Department of Department of Computer Science and Engineering
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong SAR
Andrew Brian Horner
horner@cse.ust.hk
Department of Department of Computer Science and Engineering
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong SAR
Popular version of 1aMU3 – Emotional characteristics of the erhu and violin: a comparative study of emotional intensity in musical excerpts
Presented at the 187th ASA Meeting
Read the abstract at https://eppro01.ativ.me//web/index.php?page=IntHtml&project=ASAFALL24&id=3767558
–The research described in this Acoustics Lay Language Paper may not have yet been peer reviewed–
Music speaks to us across cultures, but can the instruments we choose shape our emotions in different ways?
This study compares the emotional responses evoked by two similar yet culturally distinct string instruments: the Chinese erhu and the Western violin. Both are bowed string instruments, but they have distinct sounds and cultural roles that could lead listeners to experience different emotions. Our research focuses on whether these instruments, along with variations in performance and listener familiarity, influence emotional intensity in unique ways.
Western violin performance example: violinist Ray Chan playing ‘Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64’
Chinese erhu performance example: erhu player Guo Gan playing the Chinese piece ‘Horse Racing’ (feat. Pianist Lang Lang)
To explore these questions, we conducted three online listening experiments. Participants were asked to listen to a series of short musical pieces performed on both the erhu and violin. They then rated each piece using two emotional measures: specific emotion categories (such as happy, sad, calm, and agitated) and emotional positivity and intensity.
Our results show clear emotional differences between the instruments. The violin often evokes positive, energetic emotions, which may be due to its bright tone and dynamic range. By contrast, the erhu tends to evoke sadness, possibly because of its softer timbre and its traditional association with melancholy in Chinese music.
Interestingly, familiarity with the instrument played a significant role in listeners’ emotional responses. Those who were more familiar with the violin rated the pieces as more emotionally intense, suggesting that cultural background and previous exposure shape how we emotionally connect with music. However, our analysis also found that different performances of the same piece generally did not change emotional ratings, emphasizing that the instrument itself is a major factor in shaping our emotional experience.
These findings open new paths for understanding how cultural context and personal experiences influence our emotional reactions to music. The distinct emotional qualities of the erhu and violin reveal how musical instruments can evoke different emotional responses, even when playing the same piece.