The ''koudi'' (Chinese:
口笛; pinyin: kǒudí; also spelled ''kou di'') is a very small
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
flute made from bamboo. It is the smallest flute in Chinese Flute family. Its original shape is from prehistorical instruments made with animal bone, while Koudi is made with wood, bamboo or PVC, which is very distinct with the original shape. It was invented in 1971 by ''
dizi'' master
Yu Xunfa (
俞逊发, 1946–2006).
Overview
In 1971, the famous 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). Therefore, Koudi became famous in China.
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'').
One of the most famous compositions for the ''koudi'' is"MaoLing de ZaoChen" and ''YunQue'' (,
Romanian
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*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
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:
Ciocârlia, lit. "The Skylark"). The instrument is also used in Chinese orchestral pieces such as ''Fei Tian''.
Basic skills
Basically, a Koudi has two octaves, but it is not easy to get on the correct pitch.
Audio sampleMiaoLing de ZaoChen by Yu Xunfa
Notable players
Notable gaohu players include:
*
Yu Xunfa (
俞逊发) (1946–2006), in China
*Zhan Yongming (
詹永明) (1957- ),in China
See also
*
Dizi
*
Chinese flutes
Chinese flutes come in various types. They include
Transverse Flutes:
* Dizi (and its varieties such as the qudi and bangdi; primary transverse flutes, usually made of bamboo and distinctively has a buzzing membrane)
* Koudi (a small center-bl ...
*
Traditional Chinese musical instruments
Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories known as (). The eight categories are silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and skin; other instruments considered traditional exist that may not fit these group ...
*
Bamboo musical instruments
Bamboos natural hollow form makes it an obvious choice for many musical instruments.
Overview
Bamboo has been used to create a variety of instruments including flutes, mouth organs, saxophones, trumpets, drums, xylophones.
Flutes
There are num ...
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