The Dizi

A popular instrument in traditional Chinese music, this transverse, bamboo flute is known for its expressive range and is representative of Chinese music with its strong ethnic characteristics. It is used in many genres of Chinese folk music as well as Chinese opera and orchestra. The dizi is notably similar to another Chinese flute called the xiao. The xiao is also made up of bamboo; however, it is played vertically rather than horizontally. Additionally, the xiao does not have the reed membrane structure of the dizi, making its tone color gentler. It’s small and simple structure and clear and resonant sound makes its one of China’s oldest and well-known instruments.

History

The dizi’s history goes back more than 7000 years. It first appeared in Hemudu Clan. It was originally called the “hengchui” meaning “horizontal blow” and later renamed the “hengdi”; “horizontal flute”. It continued to become popular during in the early Qing Dynasties (1644-1911) as it was adopted in many kinds of stage dramas as an accompanying instrument. The dizi was originally designed to be carved out of a single piece of wood, however, this made changing the fundamental tuning difficult. To fix this problem, two pieces of bamboo where used to construct the flute and they were connected by a copper joint allowing for the fundamental pitch to now be adjusted. Furthermore, spacing of the finger holes was changed from being equidistant and producing mixed tone intervals to then producing equal temperament.

Structure

Components of the dizi

The structure of the dizi is quite simple. It is most often made of bamboo, it has one blowhole and six finger holes. Additionally, it has an extra hole between the embouchure and the sixth-finger hole called a “mo kong” and a sound hole at the end of the flute. Characteristically, the dizi may also be seen with poetic writings at certain points along the flute. Between the two pieces of bamboo that make up the body of the flute, there is a piece of copper used to join the separates.

How it Works

The dizi has a wide range of repertoire and many different techniques and contains two and a quarter octaves.The acoustic pressure in the pipe drives the membrane producing non linear, rich harmonics. Inherent to membrane flutes, the dizi has inhomogeneity of its timbre due to the membrane. The “Duffing oscillator model” of the membrane allows for impacts on the dizi timbre, intonation and note range by its change to the tension and wrinkles of the membrane. The Duffing oscillator model is also responsible for some major spectral features of the dizi tones such as the formants, the predominance of odd harmonics and harmonic to subharmonic ratio at high frequencies. These three factors establish the dimensions of the timbre space. They have several psychoacoustic effects such as spatial effects due to abrupt changes in brightness, roughness by subharmonics and a multi-pitch effect from the predominance of upper odd harmonics.

The Membrane

Between the blowing hole and the sound holes, there is a flexible membrane called the dimo that determines the unique tone colors and dynamic range of the dizi. The dizi’s distinctive resonating effect that is both bright and loud results from the function of the dimo. The dimo even adds harmonics giving the dizi a nasal sound. The dimo is made from “tissue-like” shavings from the inner tube of a bamboo and it is glued over the hole with ejiao, alternatively, the membrane may be glued in place with garlic juice or glue sticks. This process produces thin wrinkles in the dimo to produce a buzzy timbre. The reed epidermis further allows for a clearer resonance.

Pitch and Fingering Chart

Fingering guide to playing the dizi instrument

When playing the dizi, initial experimentation of how hard to blow allows the player to find an appropriate spot where the flute makes a clear tone. Moving the air stream further down the flute versus higher up make significant differences to the pitch. Fingering charts are available for players to follow and create different notes.

Circular Breathing

As is common of other wind instruments, circular breathing is utilized in playing the dizi. It consists of breathing in through the nose and simultaneously, out of the mouth (into the blow hole) to allow for a continuous tone. This method works by storing the air that is breathed in, in the cheeks and slowly allowing its release as necessary. In order to bridge the gap between between exhaling the air in the cheeks, extra air is inhaled through the nose and stored in the lungs quickly, before air is exhaled through the mouth.

Modern Uses

The dizi has been one of the most revered instruments of Chinese history. Today, many successful dizi players base their performances on regional folk styles. Some of these players include Feng Zicun, Lu Chunling, Zhao Songting and Ron Korb. It is played to produce relaxing music that is useful for meditation, yoga, sleeping or healing procedures. The dizi is also a suitable instrument in large ensemble orchestras as it is able to be played with strong projection, flexibility and intonation by manipulation of its membrane.

References

https://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/explore/view/article/e/BkKQSMGL1A8/bamboo-flute-chinese-flute-dizi Retrieved March 20, 2020.
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Dizi Retrieved March 20, 2020.
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Intonation%2C-Tone-Range-and-Timbre-of-the-Chinese-of-%E8%94%A1%E6%8C%AF%E5%AE%B6-Auhagen/3ba0d7c160e1d187e808ab47f17e4ba1bc37bf78 Retrieved March 23, 2020.
https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.4785447 Retrieved March 22, 2020.
http://www.goamcan.com/imports/How-to-play-dizi.html Retrieved March 20, 2020.