The bamboo flute is an old musical instrument developed in Asia. Flutes made history in records and artworks starting in the Zhou dynasty. The oldest written sources reveal the Chinese were using the kuan (a reed instrument) and hsio (or xiao, an end-blown flute, often of bamboo) in the 12th-11th centuries b.c., followed by the chi (or ch'ih) in the 9th century b.c. and the yüeh in the 8th century b.c. Of these, the chi is the oldest documented cross flute or transverse flute, and was made from bamboo. The Chinese have a word, zhudi, which literally means "bamboo flute."This text appears to be:
The cross flute (Sanscrit: vāṃśī) was "the outstanding wind instrument of ancient India," according to Curt Sachs. He said that religious artwork depicting "celestial music" instruments was linked to music with an "aristocratic character." The Indian bamboo cross flute, Bansuri, was sacred to Krishna, and he is depicted in Hindu art with the instrument. In India, the cross flute appeared in reliefs from the 1st century a.d. at Sanchi and Amaravati from the 2nd-4th centuries a.d.
In the modern age, bamboo flutes are common in places with ready access to bamboo, including Asia, South and Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa.
See: Chinese flutes
End blown flute mouthpieces Name Description Picture Xiao blowing hole (the hole faces away from the player, against the lower lip, making sure the top lip is not concealing the hole, when the instrument is played. Works on the same basics as blowing air over an empty bottle to create noise.) Shakuhachi Kinko school utaguchi (歌口, blowing edge) and inlay. The shakuhachi player blows as one would blow across the top of an empty bottle (though the shakuhachi has a sharp edge to blow against called utaguchi) and therefore has substantial pitch control. Hotchiku Same technique as shakuhachi. The angle of the utaguchi (歌口, lit. "singing mouth"), or blowing edge, of a hotchiku is closer to perpendicular to the bore axis than that of a modern shakuhachi. Quena To produce sound, the player closes the top end of the pipe with the flesh between the chin and lower lip, and blows a stream of air downward, along the axis of the pipe, over an elliptical notch cut into the end. Khlui Thailand. A block has been put into the end of the flute, an internal fipple that creates a hole to blow through, channeling air through a duct to create sound.
List of bamboo flutes, cane flutes, reed flutes This list is intended to show flutes made of bamboo. It excludes pan flutes or panpipes, and flutes and whistles that don't have finger positions to change notes. It also excludes pipes that use reeds to produce the sound. Bamboo is a grass, and some "cane" or "reed" flutes may get listed here, as long as the plant is being used for a tube that is blown into or across to create noise. Types of flutes include transverse flutes (also called cross flutes), end-blown flutes (ring flutes are included with these) and Nose flutes. Fipple flutes, also called duct flutes, may be added to the list as well, as long as they are bamboo-based instruments. The bamboo variant may be added for instruments that include wood and bamboo versions.
Name in English Name in other language Place / Region Picture Method of sounding Description Atenteben Ghana Bansuri Bangladesh Bansuri India Bām̐surī (Nepali: बाँसुरी) Nepal Bata Nalawa Sri Lanka Chi China Dizi ) China Daegeum Korea Dangjeok or Jeok Korea Notched flute Danso Korea DonaliدونَلیIran Dongdi ChinaFijian nose fluteViti LevuNose fluteThis nasal flute is made from a section of bamboo, pierced with nine holes. The entire surface is decorated with geometric patterns of different shapes, forming several registers in the vertical direction. To play the flute, a hole must be applied against one nostril while the other is blocked by the fingers.FlogheraGreece(clarinet)rim-blownEnd-blown bamboo flute without a fipple, used in Greek folk music. Played by directing a narrow air stream against its sharp, open upper end. It typically has seven finger holes.FriscolettuScola, Allison. "Friscalettu: Sicily's Reed Flute" , Experiencesicily.com website, July 29, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2021.SicilyfippleSeven holes on the front, two in the back Hotchiku 法竹 Japan Gasbahالڨصبة (Egyptian Arabic), Taghanimt (Berber language)Maghreboblique (bevel is cut on the end of the tube)Oblique flutes are played with the musician be holding the flute at an angle to the mouth, blowing across a bevel cut in the end. Similar to Ney. Garau-nai Uzbekistan, TajikistanIndia nose-flute bansuriWest BengalFippleIn 1799, artist Frans Balthazar Solvyns depicted an end-blown flute, called Bansuri (like the side-blown flute), being played nasally. Ji Korea Junggeum Korea Kagurabue (Japanese: 神楽笛)) Japan Khloy Burmese: ပုလွ CambodiaMyanmar (Burma) internalfippleend-blown duct flute. Mouthhole on bottom of pipe's end, soundhole on flute's bottom (opposite side of the pipe from the fingerholes). This flute may have as many as 8 fingerholes, plus up to 2 additional thumbholes; the thumbholes offer additional notes. Khlui ( Thailand internalfippleend-blown duct flute. Mouthhole on top of pipe's end, soundhole on flute's top. Komabue Japanese: 高麗笛 JapanShigeo Kishibe, et al. "Japan." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/43335pg5 Koudi Chinese: 口笛 pinyin: kǒudí China Lalove IndonesiaMalaysian nose fluteSarawak, MalaysiaNose flute Minteki or shinteki minteki: (kanji: 明笛shinteki: (kanji: 清笛)) Japan MoseñoAndes Mountains Murali Nepal Native American flute United States (Native American) Nohkan 能管 Japan Ney Iran Ohe Hano Ihu HawaiiPaiwan nose fluteTaiwanNose fluteInstrument of the Paiwan people of Taiwan.PalendagPhilippinesPalwei (German Wikipedia)Burmese: ပလွေMyanmarPinkilluPeru, Andes Mountains Quena Andes Ryūteki Japan Sáo Sáo trúc Vietnam Shakuhachi Japan新都山流 心安らぐあたたかな音色 尺八 .公益財団法人 都山流尺八学会 . Shinobue or takebueShinobue: kanji: 篠笛 Takebue: (kanji: 竹笛) Japan Sogeum Korea Sompoton Sabah, Malaysia Mouth organ Bamboo mouth organ with gourd of the indigenous Kadazan, Dusun, and Murut peoples of Sabah. Suling Indonesia Suling Papua, New Guinea Tahitian nose fluteTahitiNose flute Bamboo nose flute bound with bands of colored coconut fiber. Collected from Tahiti, the Society Islands during Cook's voyages to the Pacific 1768–1780. Tongso Korea Turali Sabah, Malaysia Nose flute Bamboo nose flute of the indigenous Kadazan and Dusun peoples of Sabah. Venu Sanskrit: India Wa Myanmar Xiao China Xindi China Yak Korea Yokobue Japan Yue China
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