Small Ruan

Fingering carries across the ruan family, so a zhongruan player needs about an afternoon on a xiaoruan; what changes is the string length and the register. The role is the part worth being clear about. The xiaoruan is not a solo instrument — the solo repertoire belongs to the zhongruan and the daruan — and it earns its keep inside an orchestra or a silk-and-bamboo group, holding the bright top line above the rest of the ruan section. Buy one when the score or the conductor asks for one, and play the rosewood xiaoruan in our Taipei shop before you decide.