The flute is a wind instrument, a woodwind instrument without reeds. The sound is produced by the air passing through the opening of the instrument. So how to play the flute? Here are the basics of the flute that I have compiled for you. I hope this article on how to play the flute can help you. How to play the flute
1. Keep your mouth moist before playing. Playing is difficult when it is dry. The tone produced will not be good and astringent, and it will affect the performance of lips, tongue, and gas skills. It is also not suitable to be oversaturated. Hunger plays the flute. Affects the performance of breath control.
2. There must be a certain degree of moisture in the flute to make the sound mellow and clear. When I didn’t know anything before, in order to make the sound of the flute more beautiful, I would rinse the flute with water, put a film on it, and blow it out. The sound is obviously much better than without flushing. Therefore, you should fully play the flute before playing to increase the moisture inside the flute. The sound will be better.
3. When attaching the flute film, the adhesive should not be thick but should be light. A little stickiness is good, so it does not affect the playing and is easy to adjust.
4. To prevent water vapor from getting wet to the flute film in winter, you can apply some white wax on the thick wall around the hole of the flute film. If it is uneven, use a small metal rod to heat it in boiling water and spread it evenly. Don't get any protruding wax spots in the flute barrel.
5. The pronunciation point of the flute is at the blow hole. When playing, it is advisable to point the blow hole near the microphone. Be careful not to let the air flow toward the microphone and make a breath impact sound.
6. In order to reduce disturbance to others when practicing the flute, you can use self-adhesive or thick tape as a flute film to reduce the pronunciation of the flute.
7. Usually, you can cut a small amount of flute film, wrap it with original paper strips and put it in the mouthpiece on the side of the flute's blow hole for easy use.
8. Make a do-it-yourself plastic box. There are many flavors of mints sold in supermarkets now. They are packed in small metal boxes. I can repurpose them as plastic boxes. use.
9. Flute tube cleaning and maintenance stick. I went to a stainless steel store and bought two thick stainless steel wires of 50 cm and 80 cm long. I tied a soft flannel or sponge on the head to make a large or small flute tube. Cleaning tools. (You can also use thick copper wire and aluminum wire)
10. I made my own music score. I used A3 size paper and used a computer to rearrange and print the solo score on one side of paper. I then molded it and practiced it. convenient. You can also use high-grade paper from old wall calendars, which is more durable. The history of the flute
The flute is one of the most distinctive wind instruments in China. In May 1986, 16 vertical bone flutes (made from bird limb bones) were unearthed from an early Neolithic age site in the east of Jiahu Village, Wuyang County, Henan Province. They were determined to be more than 8,000 years old. It is played vertically, and the sound holes range from five to eight holes. Among them, the seven-note hole flute is the most common. It has roughly the same scale as the Chinese tradition we are familiar with. The bone flute has equal division symbols engraved next to the sound holes. Some sound holes have Small holes were also added, and the tone is exactly the same as that of China. It can still be used to play the current folk music "Little Baicai".
During the Yellow Emperor's period, about 4,000 years ago, a large amount of bamboo grew in the Yellow River Basin, and bamboo was chosen as the material to make flutes. "Historical Records" records that the Yellow Emperor sent Ling Lun to cut down bamboo in Kunlun and chop it. To make a flute and to play a phoenix? Using bamboo as the raw material is a great progress in flute making. Firstly, bamboo has better vibration than bone and the pronunciation is crisper; secondly, bamboo is easy to process. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were already seven-hole bamboo flutes, and two-headed flutes were invented. Cai Yong, Xun Xu, and Emperor Wu of Liang all made twelve-rhythm flutes, that is, one flute and one tune.
The flute was called "篴" in ancient times. In the Han Dynasty, Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" recorded: "Flute, seven holes, bamboo bamboo raft".
In 1978, two bamboo flutes were unearthed from the tomb of Zeng Houyi in Suixian County, Hubei Province, and two bamboo flutes were unearthed from the Han Tomb No. 3 in Changma Wangdui, Hunan Province. The unearthed bamboo flutes are consistent with those recorded in ancient books. The Han Chi is identical in shape except for a slight difference in length. The unearthed flute is identical to the record and has the word Chi written on the bamboo tube in the tomb. It is obviously an ancient bamboo flute. The ancient Chi is very similar to the flute. , there have always been people who do not distinguish between the chi and the flute, saying they are the same instrument, but in fact there are differences. It can be seen from the unearthed chimes and flutes: Chi, with 6 holes, closed mouth, can play five tones plus one changing tone, and the whole body is painted (xiū) lacquer; flute, with 7 holes, open, can play seven tones plus two changing tones, not Paint. During the Warring States Period, the chi was one of the main melodic instruments played during sacrifices to gods or banquets, and the flute was also very popular. The flute in the south at that time was also mentioned in "Fu on the Flute" by Song Yu, a student of Qu Yuan, which was very similar to the flute today. The basic structure of the flute
The bamboo flute is made of a bamboo tube. The inside is hollowed out into sections and the outside is cylindrical. There are 1 blowing hole, 1 membrane hole, 6 1 sound hole, 2 basic sound holes and 2 auxiliary sound holes. The body of the flute is made of a bamboo tube, with sections removed and hollowed out to form an inner chamber. Flute stopper: a stopper made of soft wood, installed at a certain depth in the upper end of the mouthpiece. Blowing hole: It is the first hole on the left end of the flute body. The flute can produce sound by pouring air into the flute tube through the blow hole, causing the flute membrane and the bamboo reed in the bamboo tube to vibrate. Membrane hole: It is the second hole on the left end of the flute body. Mainly used for pasting flute film. The flute membrane plays a role in changing the timbre here. You can still play a flute without membrane holes, but you won't get the unique sound you get with a membrane. Flute membrane: Generally made of reed membrane, a small square is taken after rubbing and graining. After the air flow vibrates the flute membrane, it can produce a crisp and bright sound.
There are six sound holes: (according to the finger holes). Opening and closing these sound holes respectively can produce different high and low sounds.
The fundamental sound hole can be used for tuning and plays a role in delineating the lowest bass range of the flute.
The two auxiliary sound holes at the lower end of the basic sound hole can be used to adjust the treble, beautify the tone, increase the volume, and can also be used to tie floating ears.
The seabed, also known as the flute head, is a section of the flute body from the inner edge of the flute plug to the center of the blow hole. It prevents the airflow from flowing upward, allowing the mouth wind to flow downward and concentrate the pronunciation.
Silk strings are used to wrap around the outside of the flute body. There are 21 to 24 strings in total, which protect the flute body from breakage.
Floating fringe: an ornament tied to the sound hole, usually made of ribbons.
Inlay: Usually the left end (or both ends) of the flute body is inlaid with ox bones, horns, jade or ivory, which is called the inlay.
Bamboo flute varieties and specifications
Bamboo flutes spread over a wide area and in many varieties. The most commonly used flutes are the bent flute, the bang flute and the fixed-tone flute. There are also Yuping flute, seven-hole flute, piccolo, shun flute and so on.
Qudi: It is named after the accompaniment of Kunqu Opera. It is also called class flute, city flute or tie-line (i.e. silk-wrapped) flute. Because it is abundant in Suzhou, it is also known as "Su Di". This kind of flute is mostly in the key of C or D, with a thick and long tube body. It may be a legacy of the great horizontal flute. The tone is rich and soft, fresh and mellow. It is widely popular in all parts of southern my country and is most suitable for solo or ensemble playing. It is one of the distinctive and important musical instruments in local music such as Jiangnan Sizhu, Sunan Chuangda, Chaozhou Flute Set, Gong and Drum, and opera music such as Kunqu Opera.
Bangdi: named after its accompaniment to Bangzi opera. This kind of flute is usually called: 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 singing performances, Pingju opera and Bangzi opera (Qinqiang Opera, Hebei Bangzi Opera, Pu Opera, etc.) in the north. It can also be used for solo playing, with rich richness. The local flavor and local color.
Fixed-tone flutes: Each flute has a fixed tune, and each set has 6, 7 or 12 pieces. 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 my country's bamboo flutes, because it is no longer divided into a bent flute and a bang flute, 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 The flute solves the problem of tuning up, and brings great convenience to notation and performance. It is fully applicable to the traditional six-hole flute and various reformed flutes.
Yuping Flute: Produced in Yuping Dong Autonomous County, Guizhou. Made from local small water bamboo. The body of the flute is oval in shape, and its surface is engraved with images of landscapes, flowers, plants, birds, animals, insects, fish, or poetry, with exquisite craftsmanship. The pair of male and female flutes is more famous. The male flute has a slightly thicker tube with "Tenglong" engraved on it; the female flute has a slightly thinner tube with bright pronunciation and "Colorful Wind" engraved on it. This kind of dragon and phoenix playing flute is quite unique in its craftsmanship. In addition to the jade screen flute, the jade screen flute is also famous. "Jade Ping Xiao Flute", often called "Ping Xiao Jade Flute", is distributed all over the country and has been exported to many countries and regions such as the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. However, due to the limited number of product-making masters, the products have not been mass-produced, and none of them has dealt a heavy blow to flute lovers.
With the development of domestic e-commerce, Yuping Xiaodi has successfully become a strategic partner of Jugou Technology. As a result, Yuping Xiaodi is sold on well-known domestic platforms such as Amazon, Jugou Mall, and JD.com, which solves the embarrassing situation of purchasing Xiaodi in the past.
Piccolo: Also called student flute, the flute has a short body and generally has no fundamental sound hole. There are two types: membrane holes and no membrane holes, which are used for practice or ensemble.
Bass flute: Nowadays, with the improvement of musical instruments and the diversified development of music. The types of flutes are becoming more and more abundant. For example: bass flute, bent bass flute, etc. The pitch of the third hole is lower than b1, which is called a "bass flute", such as: major A, major G, major F, major, major C, etc.