There are two melodies in this set, and a third unfinished one. Erhu Melody #1 is simply a tune, largely pentatonic, which I wrote to explore the instrument's sonority. It is pleasant, if not immortal. Erhu Melody #2 is more adventurous. It was written during a visit to a section of the Great Wall, called Mutianyu, while I sat in a guardhouse. I tried to capture the vastness of this place and the feeling a soldier might have had while stationed here. The countryside is stunning and the Wall stretching across hilltops as far as the eye can see is beyond description. The music explores the upper register of this instrument which was so unfamiliar to me. A good player in Suzhou once played it for me, and I thought it was quite dramatic. Some other erhu players who were nearby listening complained that it had no melody (meaning that it wasn't pentatonic) and that it was a pity it could not be played. They said this as I was thrilling to what I had just heard. I had no answer for them - music is a very subjective thing. The unfinished Erhu Melody #3 is subtitled "Suzhou Taxi", and if you ever visit China and observe the driving habits of the Chinese, and especially taxis, you will agree that my wild chromatic gyrations are mild in comparison! I suppose I must finish #3, for now there is a #4: "Hillside Overlooking Lhasa - Beneath the Prayer Flags", following my brief visit to Tibet in April, 2005.