The ''koudi'' (Chinese:
口笛
The ''koudi'' (Chinese: 口笛; pinyin: kǒudí; also spelled ''kou di'') is a very small Chinese flute made from bamboo. It is the smallest flute in the Chinese flute family. Its original shape derives from prehistorical instruments made wit ...
; pinyin: kǒudí; also spelled ''kou di'') is a very small
Chinese flute made from bamboo. It is the smallest flute in the Chinese flute family. Its original shape derives from prehistorical instruments made with animal bone, but the modern koudi is made with wood, bamboo or PVC. It was invented in 1971 by ''
dizi'' master
Yu Xunfa
Yu Xun-fa (俞遜發) (January 8, 1946 – January 21, 2006), was a Chinese flute player who invented the wind-instrument known as the koudi. Born in Shanghai, he popularized the art of the flute in Chinese culture during the 1970s.
Biography ...
(
俞逊发, 1946–2006).
Overview
In 1971, the Chinese Flute player Yu Xunfa, who was inspired by original prehistorical instrument, made the first Koudi. This instrument contains one octave, and two years later this instrument went to public by playing the recomposed Romanian folk song
Ciocârlia (《云雀》). After that, to expand the range, Xu made the five-hole Koudi, and Bai Chengren (白诚仁) composed ''Morning of A Miao Village''《苗岭的早晨》(MaoLing de ZaoChen).
The instrument comes in two sizes. The smaller size, called ''gaoyin koudi'', which is only 5–6 cm in length, has only the holes on the sides, where the thumbs can control the full range of pitch by incrementally opening the holes. The larger size, referred to as ''zhongyin koudi'', is 8–9 cm long and has an additional 2–4 holes on the front (played with the fingers, these holes give slightly more precision to pitch changes). The ''gaoyin koudi'' is pitched an octave above the ''xiao di'', whereas the ''zhongyin koudi'' is pitched an octave above the ''bang di''. The range of the ''koudi'' is about a ninth or tenth, and it can bend notes over the entire range of the instrument.
A related instrument in Hunnan province called the ''
tuliang'' is also center-blown and open-ended but is much larger (about the size of the ''
qudi
The ''dizi'' (, pronounced ), is a Chinese transverse flute. It is also sometimes known as the ''di'' () or ''héngdi'' (), and has varieties including Qudi (), Bangdi (), and Xindi (). It is a major Chinese musical instrument that is widel ...
'').
Basic skills
Basically, a Koudi has two octaves.
Audio sampleMiaoLing de ZaoChen by Yu Xunfa
Notable players
Notable gaohu players include:
*
Yu Xunfa
Yu Xun-fa (俞遜發) (January 8, 1946 – January 21, 2006), was a Chinese flute player who invented the wind-instrument known as the koudi. Born in Shanghai, he popularized the art of the flute in Chinese culture during the 1970s.
Biography ...
(
俞逊发) (1946–2006), in China
*Zhan Yongming (
詹永明) (1957- ),in China
See also
*
Dizi
*
Chinese flutes
Flutes made in China come in a variety of different types:
Transverse flutes:
*dizi (instrument), Dizi (and its varieties such as the dizi (instrument), qudi and dizi (instrument), bangdi; primary transverse flutes, usually made of bamboo and di ...
*
Traditional Chinese musical instruments
Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories (classified by the material from which the instruments were made) known as (). The eight categories are silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and skin; other instr ...
*
Bamboo musical instruments
Bamboos natural hollow form makes it an obvious choice for many musical instruments. In South and South East Asia, traditional uses of bamboo the instrument include various types of woodwind instruments, such as flutes, and devices like xylopho ...
References
External links
Video
''Koudi'' video: ''Ciocârlia'' by Zhan Yongming
{{Traditional Chinese musical instruments
Chinese musical instruments
Side-blown flutes
1971 musical instruments
Bamboo flutes