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SongsSakura Sakura (さくらさくら)
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8 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the tuning brings some of them into reach.

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  1. 6
  2. 6
  3. 7
  4. 6
  5. 6
  6. 7
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 1'
  10. 7
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 6
  14. 4
  15. 6
  16. 6
  17. 7
  18. 6
  19. 6
  20. 7
  21. 6
  22. 7
  23. 1'
  24. 7
  25. 6
  26. 7
  27. 6
  28. 4

Japanese traditional, Edo period; first published in the 1880s. Public domain.

2 strings · D4–A4 open · A5 at the octave · D key · 1 = D · A perfect fifth, the same interval a violin uses between neighbours. Those two notes are the entire tuning; everything above them is your hand.

Tap a string, or slide along a string and the pitch follows your finger, under a bow that never leaves the strings. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — the inner string is the upper key — hold one and the note holds.

ErhuFree · printable · plays in your browser

Sakura Sakura — Erhu Notes

Sakura Sakura (さくらさくら), written out for the erhu as every note with its string and how far up it. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the erhu waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes28, 4 pitches
  • RangeG4–D5
  • Key hereB minor
  • Tempo80 bpm · about 26 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a erhu play Sakura Sakura?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the erhu, in B minor from G4 to D5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Sakura Sakura: erhu notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

Sakura Sakura (さくらさくら) — erhu notes · tonalics.com

The 4 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 4 and you can play the whole tune.

  • GD·5×2
  • BA·2×14
  • C♯A·4×10
  • DA·5×2

What to expect on a erhu

  • It runs from G4 to D5, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 5 semitones unused below and 7 above.
  • 89% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, B4 to G4, at note 14.
  • It is played on 2 strings (D and A), crossing between strings 3 times.
  • 0 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 5 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

A Japanese melody from the Edo period, known as a beginner’s piece for the koto before it was published in the 1880s in a collection for teaching that instrument. It is the tune most often used abroad to stand for Japan.

Japanese traditional, Edo period; first published in the 1880s. Public domain. More about Sakura Sakura →

Sakura Sakura on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

More songs for the erhu

All 35 erhu songs · Christmas songs for erhu · The online erhu on its own

Playing it on a real erhu?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The erhu tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

🎙 Open the Erhu Tuner