The ''xindi'' (; literally "new flute") is a Chinese

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

. A 20th-century derivative of the ancient '' dizi'' (bamboo transverse flute), the ''xindi'' is western influenced, fully

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, ...

, and usually lacks the dizi's distinctive ''

di mo The ''dimo'' () is a special membrane applied to the transverse Chinese flute called '' dizi'' (or ''di''), giving the instrument its characteristic buzzing timbre. ''Dimo'', made from the tissue-thin membrane from the interior of a specific va ...

'', or buzzing membrane. The xindi is also known as the 11-hole di ( 十一孔笛). Its design is western influenced and based on the principal of

equal temperament An equal temperament is a musical temperament or tuning system, which approximates just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into equal steps. This means the ratio of the frequencies of any adjacent pair of notes is the same, wh ...

. It first appeared in the early 1930s. It was designed and produced by Ding Silin (丁西林1893-1974).

Characteristics and range

The biggest difference between the xindi and the traditional Chinese di is that there are an additional five finger-holes compared to the six found on the di. Additionally, it has three more finger-holes than the Xiāo ( 簫) - an eight-hole flute which, itself, has extra finger-holes compared to the di, for the right little finger and left thumb. The additional finger-holes on the xindi are for the right-hand thumb, the little finger of the left hand, and the left

index finger The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the mid ...

, which has to alternate between two finger-holes. The traditional flute exhibits imperfections during

modulation In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...

due to difficulties in controlling the intonation of the

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

. Thus, the purpose of the additional holes is to help correct these imperfections. Through its 11-hole design, the xindi can play every semitone in the

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

perfectly, and modulation is made easier and smoother due to its ability to be played in different

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

. The player only needs to use their fingers to move down the holes to change key easily, whereas with the traditional Chinese flute the instrument itself must be changed. The biggest difference between the xindi and the traditional dizi is the xindi’s lack of a '' dimo'' ( 笛膜, lit. "''di'' membrane"), which creates the characteristic

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...

. This is why the xindi is unlike 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 widely ...

(曲笛) or

bangdi 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 widely u ...

(梆笛), which have a brighter and crisper timbre. Its tone is between that of a traditional Chinese flute and that of a

Western concert flute The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in Ameri ...

, giving it a much mellower sound. Contrary to the two differences to the traditional dizi, the length and range of the xindi is similar to that of a G key Dà dí (大笛). Its range is also similar to the G range, which is common with the flute. The common range is from a lower tone D to a higher tone E, a total of 15 notes. Occasionally it can play in the treble range, however the sound is not desirable.

Role of the xindi in music

In the modern day

Chinese orchestra The term Chinese orchestra is most commonly used to refer to the modern Chinese orchestra that is found in China and various overseas Chinese communities. This modern Chinese orchestra first developed out of Jiangnan sizhu ensemble in the 1920s i ...

, the xindi plays an important role in the mid and lower tonal ranges, alongside other di instruments. It has the same function as the Cháng dí (长笛) in the Chinese Symphony Orchestra. The xindi features in more than half of all traditional Chinese ensemble music. Sometimes, the xindi is replaced by other instruments of similar range such as the dadi, xiao or changdi. This is due to its reduced popularity because of its complicated fingering and an insufficient range. Sometimes the qudi is used to simulate a xindi’s sound instead of a xindi itself; this is achieved by placing a plastic film over the Mó kǒng (膜孔). Although the xindi features significantly in ensemble performance, its use for solo performance is very rare. Due to its complicated fingering and limited range changes, it is often considered a slightly inferior performance instrument in comparison to the dadi or flute. It is mainly valued for its ability to play in semitones, which means it can be used for western style music more easily. However, it is not considered to be the optimal choice because the western flute has a broader range and a tone which complements the other orchestral instruments better. All these reasons contribute to why its use for solo performance is so restricted and rare.

Characteristics and range

Role of the xindi in music

Further reading