Play the Erhu in GarageBand for iPad

The erhu is a traditional Chinese instrument with a short body and a long neck. The strings are tuned in fifths. The bow is never lifted from the strings, but passes between them, producing a continuous, voice-like sound. Playing styles include glissando, grace notes, trills, vibrato, and a characteristic horse effect, which uses upper glissando harmonics and deep vibrato.

Open the Erhu

Tap the Browser button , swipe to World, then tap the Erhu button.

Use the chord strips

Tap the Chords/Notes button to switch to Chords view.
To play glissando, swipe a chord strip up and down. You can also tap to play individual notes.

You can add your own custom chords to play.

Play a pattern

Tap the Chords/Notes button to switch to Chords view.
Drag the Autoplay slider to one of the numbered positions.
Tap a chord strip. Tapping a different chord strip plays the same pattern with the notes of that chord.
Tap the chord strip again to stop the pattern playing.

Play individual notes

Tap the Chords/Notes button to switch to Notes view.
Do any of the following:
- Play notes: Tap the strings on the fingerboard. Move your finger horizontally to glissando between notes. Move your finger vertically to play notes louder or softer.
- Add a grace note: Touch and hold the Grace Note button as you play.
- Play trills: Touch and hold the Trill button as you play. You can control the speed of the trill by moving your finger away from or towards the button.
- Use the horse effect: Touch and hold the Horse Effect button as you play.
- Play notes of a particular scale: Tap the Scale button , then tap the scale you want to play.