The Malaysian Insight

BEFORE she turned 15, Endang Hyder had already fallen in love – twice.

But unlike many of her peers with fleeting crushes, Endang was single-minded in her pursuit of her two loves – the violin and the erhu.

Endang first heard the violin when she was 10 while she was watching the P Ramlee film, Anakku Sazali. In the film, the iconic actor plays the stringed instrument.

She knew then that she wanted to learn the violin.

“My father sent me to study music in Ipoh, because there were no classes in Kampar,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

After four years of learning the violin, Endang discovered the erhu, and fell in love all over again.

“While I was in Ipoh for my violin class, we were walking around in a shopping centre. And we saw an elderly Chinese man playing a classical song.

“In that second, I was mesmerised, and I really wanted to learn how to play the erhu,” she said.

The erhu, which is sometimes called the Chinese violin, is a two-string musical instrument that is commonly used to accompany Chinese operas.

“I fell in love with the sound of the erhu. It’s so melodious. It’s unique. Its music calms the soul, it’s different from other musical instruments,” said Endang, now 31.

Today, Endang stands out as the rare Malay musician who plays the erhu.

From performing at corporate events to accompanying artistes and even for royal events, Endang has built a following for her unique interest in the instrument, as for her musical talents.

Endang, whose real name is Ell Zain Hyder Zainuddin, grew up with a strong love for music, which got the support and encouragement of her family.

She credited her interest and ability to pick up the erhu on her growing up years in Kampar, Perak.

“Ever since I was young, I’ve been surrounded by people of all races. The housing area I live in in Kampar also has many ethnic Chinese,” said the musician, who holds a Licentiate (LLCM) diploma from the London College of Music.

Sound barrier

One of Endang’s greatest challenges in learning the erhu was communication, as most of the music teachers could not speak fluently in Malay, and she was unable to speak in any Chinese dialects.

“Erhu teachers are usually not that fluent in Malay and English, so that was one of my challenges.

“And when I reached the stage when I had to take exams, the condition was that I needed to understand Cantonese. So my progress was stunted there,” she said.

However, the petite young lady continued to challenge herself by learning new songs as she tried to break out from the confines of a traditional Chinese repertoire. 

“I can now rearrange and play traditional Malay songs, and even English songs,” she said.

Endang is also a deft hand at the piano and of course, the violin, her first love.

The private music teacher says she teaches about 30 students to play the three musical instruments. Videos of her playing the piano, violin, and erhu are on YouTube.

“Everything comes from an interest. I am keen to expand the knowledge that I have,” she said.

“Right now, Im working on composing my own songs.

“This will take more time because you have to give it your all. The important thing is the quality of the songs, and that’s not easy to accomplish.” – November 26, 2017.