Amcan Imports - How to Play Xiao

How to Play Xiao

A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Vertical End-blown Flute

The Chinese Xiao flute is famous for its soft, gentle sound. These
flutes are usually pitched lower than
their relatives the transverse
or cross-blown flutes, also known as di or dizi. The traditional
six-hole xiao
plays a major scale, usually in the western key of F or G Major, with
the fifth pitch (sol) as its lowest
tone. The scale of the lowest
octave on a flute in G is:

To play the xiao, stand or sit upright. Hold the flute away from the
body vertically, in a relaxed posture
with elbows out from the sides.
The left thumb covers the back sound hole, index and middle fingers on

the upper two front sound holes. The right thumb supports the flute,
so the lower three front sound
holes can be covered by three fingers
of the right hand. The little finger may be used on the lowest hole

if the reach is too far for the ring finger. The flute should feel
comfortable to hold. Left and right hands
may be reversed if that
feels more natural or comfortable.

Touch the top of the flute below the lower lip. Form the smallest
possible circular opening with your lips
and inhale deeply. Relax.
Blow gently, aiming a thin stream of air directly at the edge of the
sound notch
opposite where the tube touches your lower lip. Make sure
the lowest three sound holes are
unobstructed. The thumb and top two
sound holes should be securely covered, but don't pinch or apply

pressure.

To make a first sound, you may need to experiment with the direction
of blowing. Try moving the air
stream down deeper into the flute, or
out away from it more. Move slowly, small changes make a big

difference. With a little experimentation, you'll find a spot where
the flute makes a clear pretty tone.
Listen carefully to the sound
you are making and try to focus it. Do not blow harder until the note

sounds pure.

Opening and closing sound holes in sequence produces different
pitches. Concentrate on producing
neighbor pitches with similar
loudness and clarity. Producing pitches in the upper octave requires
the air
stream to be more focused and aimed slightly higher toward the
top of the notch. Do not try to get the
higher notes by just blowing
harder.

Xiao Fingering Charts

The fingering charts show standard fingerings for the major scale
tones over the two lower octaves for
both 6-hole and 8-hole style flutes.
Please note the altissimo register should
not be attempted until the
lower and upper octaves can be sounded with
consistent volume and tone color.

6-hole xiao

  Lower Octave   Upper Octave   Altissimo Octave

L Thumb                                    
 
L1
L2
                                         
R1
R2

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Amcan Imports - How to Play Xiao

R3
 
5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

8-hole xiao

  Lower Octave   Upper Octave   Altissimo Octave

L Thumb                                    
 
L1
L2
L3
                                         
R1
R2
R3
R4
 
5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

Refer to these fingerings to play simple songs, like
the ones shown
here.

Contents of this page Copyright © 2004 Dick Valentine

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