Daruan

The daruan is the low voice of the ruan family: it sounds below the zhongruan, the body is a size larger, and in an ensemble it usually holds the bottom line. Solo writing for the ruan belongs to the zhongruan and the daruan; the xiaoruan is not a solo instrument. A player coming from the zhongruan has to relearn distance more than fingering, because the logic is the same but the gaps between frets are wider and the right hand must find a new place to strike. The entry-level instrument here is rosewood; sit down with it at our Taipei shop and find out whether you can hold it comfortably before you think about anything else.