Chinese fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s come in various types. They include
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Chinese fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s come in various types. They include
- Dizi
The dizi , is a Chinese transverse flute. It is also sometimes known as the di or hengdi , and has varieties including the qudi and bangdi ....
(and its varieties such as the bangdi; all transverse flutes, usually made of bamboo)
- Xiao
The xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of dark brown bamboo . It is also sometimes called dòngxiāo , dòng meaning "hole." An ancient name for the xiāo is shùdí The xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of dark brown bamboo (called...
(end-blownThe end-blown flute or rim-blown flute is a keyless woodwind instrument played by directing an airstream against the sharp edge of the upper end of a tube. Unlike a recorder or tin whistle, there isn't a ducted flue voicing, mistakenly called a fipple by some. Most rim-blown flutes are "oblique"...
vertical bamboo flute)
- Gudi
The Jiahu gudi is the oldest known musical instrument from China, dating back to around 6000 B.C.E. Gudi literally means "bone flute."- History :...
, an ancient vertical flute made from the bones of large birds
- Paixiao
The paixiao is an ancient Chinese wind instrument, a form of pan pipes. It is no longer used, having died out in ancient times, although in the 20th century it was reconstructed...
(pan pipes)
- Koudi
The koudi is a very small Chinese flute made from bamboo. It was invented in 1971 by the late dizi master Yu Xunfa . The smaller Koudi , which is only 5-6 cm, has only the holes on the sides, where the thumbs can control the full range of pitch by incrementally opening the holes...
(a very tiny bamboo flute)
- Xun
The xun is a Chinese vessel flute made of clay or ceramic, similar to an ocarina but without a fipple. It is one of the oldest Chinese instruments. The xun is made in several sizes and is in the shape of an egg...
(clay ocarina)
The
bawuThe bawu is a Chinese wind instrument. Although shaped like a flute, it is actually a free reed instrument, with a single metal reed. It is played in a transverse manner...
,
hulusiThe hulusi or cucurbit flute is a free reed wind instrument from China. It is held vertically and has three bamboo pipes which pass through a gourd wind chest; the center pipe has finger holes and the outer two are typically drone pipes...
, and
guanThe guan is a Chinese double reed wind instrument. The northern Chinese version is called guanzi or bili and the Cantonese version is called houguan . It is classified as a bamboo instrument in the Ba Yin system...
are sometimes mis-identified as flutes, but they are reed instruments.
Chinese flutes are generally made from
bambooThe bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some are giant bamboos, the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world...
and belong to the
bamboo classification of Chinese music, although they can be (and have been) made of other materials such as
jadeJade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
.
External links
- Ron Korb's Asian Flute Gallery (features descriptions and photos of the dizi
The dizi , is a Chinese transverse flute. It is also sometimes known as the di or hengdi , and has varieties including the qudi and bangdi ....
, xunThe xun is a Chinese vessel flute made of clay or ceramic, similar to an ocarina but without a fipple. It is one of the oldest Chinese instruments. The xun is made in several sizes and is in the shape of an egg...
, and other Chinese wind instruments