Music for the dizi
The dizi plays folk songs, opera, gentle ensembles and dazzling solos. Here's where to start listening.
Folk songs
Many traditional Chinese folk songs sound lovely on the dizi, like "Jasmine Flower" (Mo Li Hua), known all over the world. They often use five-note scales, which fall naturally under a dizi player's fingers.
Silk and bamboo
In southern China, small groups play Jiangnan sizhu, "silk and bamboo" music: string instruments (once strung with silk) with bamboo flutes. The music flows and weaves, each player decorating the same melody in their own way. Listen for the dizi floating above the strings.
Great players
In the twentieth century, players such as Feng Zicun and Liu Guanyue made the dizi a solo instrument, with pieces full of birdsong, quick trills and village scenes. Recordings of the masters and of today's young players are easy to find, and a good way to hear what the dizi can do.
How to listen
Listen for the membrane's buzz, especially on loud notes, and for the slides and quick ornaments between notes. Then play a slow folk tune on your own dizi and let it ring.