Bamboo flute, a traditional Chinese musical instrument. The flute is a popular wind instrument in China. Because it is made of natural bamboo, it is also called the "bamboo flute". Bamboo flutes spread over a wide area and come in many varieties. There are also various classification methods

Chinese flutes have strong Chinese national characteristics and their pronunciation is emotional and graceful. The dragon's chant was called "the sound of cleansing" by the ancients, so the original name of the flute was "Di". Japan still retains the "Di flute", which later evolved into the flute it is today. The flute is an important melodic instrument in the Chinese folk band. It is mostly used as a soloist or in ensembles.

The classification methods can be roughly divided into the following categories: 1. Classification according to the type of music played; 2. Classification according to the tone of the bamboo flute; 3. Classification of the material of the bamboo flute.

1. According to the type of music performed, it can be divided into:

1. Qudi: named after accompaniment of Kunqu Opera, it is also called class flute, city flute or tie-line (i.e. silk-wrapped flute) ) flute, because it is abundant in Suzhou, it is also known as "Su Flute". This kind of flute is mostly in the key of D or C or even B flat. The tube body is thick and long. It may be a legacy of the great horizontal flute. The tone is rich and soft, fresh and mellow. Widely popular throughout southern China, it is most suitable for solo or ensemble playing. It is one of the distinctive and important instruments in local music such as Jiangnan Sizhu, Sunan Chuipa, Chaozhou Flute Set, Gong and Drum, and opera music such as Kunqu Opera.

2. It is named after its accompaniment to Bangzi opera. This kind of flute is usually divided into: bangdi in F key, bangdi in G key, and bangdi in A key. The pipe body is thinner and shorter than the curved flute, and may be a legacy of the small horizontal flute. The sound is high-pitched and bright. It is a kind of flute used for playing high notes. It is mainly popular in the north. It is mostly used as accompaniment for northern singing performances, Pingju opera and Bangzi opera (Qinqiang Opera, Hebei Bangzi, Pu Opera, etc.). It can also be used for solo solos, with a rich and rich sound. The local flavor and local color.

3. Mouth flute - the smallest member of the Chinese bamboo flute family, which can be traced back to the Wuyang bone flute of Jiahu in Henan and the bone whistle of Hemudu in Zhejiang 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. This kind of bone flute, Bone whistles are mostly made from animal bones. Compared with the ancient bone flutes and bone whistles, most of the familiar mouth flutes today are made of mahogany, plastic, bamboo and other materials, and their timbre, volume, appearance and shape are quite different from them. In early 1971, Mr. Yu Xunfa, a famous bamboo flute player, invented the mouth flute. He used short bamboo tubes cut off from flute making to make a two-hole flute, which could play an octave (d1~d2). Two years later, he officially performed on the stage. The first performance was an adaptation of the Romanian folk song "Skylark". Later, in order to increase the sound range of the two-hole flute, Yu Xunfa added three finger holes, thus successfully developing the five-hole flute. In 1974, Bai Chengren's solo piece "Morning in Miaoling" specially composed for the five-hole flute became popular all over the country and introduced the flute to many audiences. Today's flutes can be described as diverse, including two-hole flutes, five-hole flutes, seven-hole flutes, scale flutes, and Ding flutes.

2. According to the tuning of bamboo flutes, they can be divided into:

Each flute has a fixed tune, and each set has 6, 7 or 12 flutes. It is suitable for playing music in different tones and is most suitable for solo or band performance. It brings convenience to the player, who can keep the fingering and only use the flute corresponding to the music to play. The fixed-tone flute is equipped with a copper socket between the blow hole and the sound hole of the flute body to adjust the distance between the blow hole and the sound hole. This improved tuning flute can control the pitch by adjusting the tube length under different climate conditions. The fixed-tone flute will play a positive role in unifying the names of Chinese bamboo flutes, because it is no longer divided into curved flute and bangdi, but is named after the pitch of the third hole. This is not only in line with traditional folk playing habits, but also solves the problem of The flute solves the problem of tuning up, and brings great convenience to notation and performance. It is completely suitable for traditional six-hole flutes and various reformed flutes.

The bamboo flutes produced on the market today all have a capital letter on the third hole, which is the setting tone of the bamboo flute.

3. According to the material of bamboo flute, it can be divided into:

1. The first choice must be bamboo, but there are many different types of bamboo, and the flutes produced must also be different.

The materials for making bamboo flutes include bitter bamboo, white bamboo, purple bamboo, water bamboo, Xiangfei bamboo, Qizhu, grouper, light bamboo, hyacinthia, plum bamboo, etc. Each material has its own characteristics.

Bitter bamboo, usually yellow bitter bamboo, is abundant in Zhongtai Tongling Bridge in Hangzhou. The soil is moist and sunny. Many famous flute makers in Suzhou and Hangzhou choose it. It has clear sound, thick bamboo material, good rebound and high sensitivity. Very suitable for making bangdi and alto flute.

Purple bamboo, the bamboo wall is relatively thin, and the black purple bamboo has a very floating sound, which is not suitable for making flutes; the maroon color is commonly seen, and the sound is euphemistic and pleasant, not as clear as the bitter bamboo. The most suitable purple bamboos are eel bamboo with a skin color like eel and sesame bamboo with dense black spots. This is the most ideal purple bamboo. Its sound is quiet, comfortable and pleasant to the ear, and it is very suitable for making alto flutes. However, the appearance of Zizhu is not regular enough, so it is quite difficult to make.

White bamboo has thicker walls than purple bamboo, but its sound is rich and steady, which is very suitable for making flutes. It also has long sections, good quality, and a relatively uniform inner diameter. It is easy to control the size of the flute, so relatively speaking It is not very difficult to make.

Water bamboo is a special bamboo material produced in the Yuping area of ??Guizhou. Bamboo has long joints, thick flesh, and is basically the same throughout the root. It is only as thick as a human thumb and is very distinctive. The sound can be easily concentrated on the inner wall of the bamboo, making it a good choice for making bangdi.

Xiangfei bamboo is a specialty of Junshan, Yueyang, Hunan. The bamboo wall is thick, the density is high, and the sound is rich and gentle. It has the gentleness of purple bamboo, but the sound is more melodious and melodious, tending to be deep. It is very suitable for making bass flutes. The expressive power of the flute is fully revealed, especially when the gas hits the inner wall, making the sound richer and melodious, not too floaty but not too heavy. But it is very difficult to make.

Qizhu, a specialty of Hubei Province, is very hard, comparable to Xiangfei bamboo, but its sound is indeed beautiful. The sound can be clear depending on the diameter, but it has a slightly metallic feel. 5-year-old bamboo is the best material and has beautiful sound, which is very suitable for tune flutes and alto flutes.

The sound of grouper is clear and crisp, the vibration is very good, the inner wall rebounds, and the sensitivity is very good. However, the bamboo wall is hard and it is easy to burst when grilled, so it is not easy to make, but it is indeed bang. The best choice for flute.

2. Nowadays, there are also bamboo flutes made of some fine woods, such as mahogany, rosewood, etc. However, bamboo flutes of this type are generally heavy.

Mahogany, a new species developed, has a slightly dull sound, lacking some bamboo charm, and is similar to an unblown flute. It has a heavy metallic sound, lacks some expressiveness, and is quite difficult to make, and The prices are high. (Note: Mahogany flute requires basic skills to play. A good mahogany flute can also highlight the characteristics of the music.)

3. I believe many people have heard of the jade flute. For example: "Whose jade flute is dark?" "The flying sound spreads into the spring breeze and fills Luo City"; "The jade flute sings in the distant courtyard, and some girl leans on the building to listen to it"; "Xuanzong's noble concubine plays the jade flute, and plays the fairy music Ziyun Hui"; "The female dancers from Dunhuang hold the jade flute, Fly into the sky on the clouds." Wait. In these allusions, the jade flute is just a description of the flute, or does the jade flute really exist?

It is believed that the ancients used jade to make flutes, but it was probably impossible to complete it due to the limitations of the production tools at that time. Or it could be made, but because it was too troublesome, it only became a plaything for the royal nobles. things.

But there is also a "jade flute" that I have actually seen. Its material is not jade, but jade. It can also be played, but the tone is relatively stiff (maybe the workmanship is not that good) and the hand is heavy.

4. Nowadays, many people also use metal materials to make flutes. This idea is not new. Western flutes are made of metal, so why can’t our country’s flutes be made of metal? Of course you can, but those who are familiar with these two instruments will know that the structures of the two are very different, and the principles of sound production are also different.

I have seen several kinds of metal flutes. There are all kinds of metals, but they all have the same shortcomings.

One is expensive, and you can buy a very good bamboo flute for the same price. Both metal flutes are bitingly cold in winter, making the fingers stiff and need to be warmed first. It is inevitable that saliva will flow out when playing the three wind instruments. Bamboo and wooden flutes will absorb these, but metal will not only not absorb it, but will also produce some water vapor. If you perform on stage with a metal flute, it must be very indecent for the entire audience to see your flute drooling and dripping to the ground.