The

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest flutes currently known were found in Europe, Asia too has a long history with the instrument that has continued into the present day. In China, a playable bone flute was discovered, about 9000 years old. Historians have found the bamboo flute has a long history as well, especially China and India. Flutes made history in records and artworks starting in the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. The oldest written sources reveal the Chinese were using the kuan (a reed instrument) and hsio (or xiao, an

end-blown flute thumb , Notched flute, showing U-shaped notch in the instrument’s rim. The end-blown flute (also called an edge-blown flute or rim-blown flute) is a woodwind instrument played by directing an airstream against the sharp edge of the upper en ...

, 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 A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played.Powell, A. (2001). Transverse flute. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 6 Feb. 2024 The player blows across the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to ...

, 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 A bansuri is an ancient side-blown bamboo flute originating from the Indian Subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal-like material, used in many Indian and Nepali Lok songs. A ''bansuri'' is traditionally made from a ...

, was sacred to

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, and he is depicted in

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

art with the instrument. In India, the cross flute appeared in reliefs from the 1st century a.d. at

Sanchi Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...

and

Amaravati Amaravati ( , Telugu language, Telugu: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Guntur district on the right bank of the Krishna River, southwest of Vijayawada. The city derives its name from the nearby his ...

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 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 ...

End blown flute mouthpieces

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

s (also called cross flutes),

s (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.

References

{{Reflist Flutes Bamboo flutes