I put some recordings of various flutes and whistles at the above link. They include:
1. Jade dizi (flute)
2. Homemade PVC flute
3. Brass tin whistle
4. Low D cane whistle
5. Tarka (South American) wooden whistle/fipple flute
I just started with the transverse flute two weeks ago, so don't expect anything other than an opportunity to hear how these various instruments sound. (I started with a tin whistle somewhat more than a year ago, then put it away in favor of a ukulele over the past several months. Listen to these recordings, and you'll understand why... )
This is just for fun. If you're looking for something unique and not horribly expensive (like a sterling Boehm system flute) for your stocking, you can get some idea of what one of these simple system flutes sounds like...or not. Entirely up to you. Hope you don't suffer too much from the experience!
The Chinese are making two flavors of Dizi (D'Tze) flutes these days. The jade flutes I received were tuned to odd scales (not C major or D major) but have a very unique and pleasing sound. They can be hard to play due to the amount of air required if you are a beginner.
I purchased two bamboo Dizi's. They're black, were sold as "professional grade", and have western C major and D major scales. This means they ascend from the scale's name note upward. Most Chinese Dizi place that note on the fourth hole up from the bottom, which can make playing chromatically a little difficult if you are used to western flutes. The bamboo tends to have a rather piercing sound, so consider this, particularly if you plan to use the membrane paper. The C major requires less air pressure than the D major in the case of the set I purchased.
Make sure you look into which scale you are getting before you buy a Chinese dizi and whether it is a Chinese or a western scale relative to how the notes ascend from the "all fingers on" position. There are also some VERY HIGH shipping costs if you purchase from China. 3Jade was relatively reasonable in terms of shipping and price on E-bay. (Even if they did give me negative feedback because I noted that the fingering was that of a Chinese dizi and not a western flute in my feedback.)
The jade flutes have a softer sound. Aside from the odd scales (F# major and F) the jade dizi's are rather nice. I like the dragon and phoenix dizi (on E-bay) better than the lantian, which seemed to have a scale that was not quite right even relative to itself. (That's why I started to modify it to D major using some needle files, and essentially ruined it due to the resulting top hole size.)
Yeah, no problem. Just play it like a D major scale whistle, and it will work out fine regardless of the Dizi traditional scale or the western scale. (Either that, or I'm tone deaf...)
They include:
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