Combination xiao and dizi

[tony]

I've heard that there are xiao/dizi combinations-- that is, flute bodies which have two possible head joints which can be plugged into them, one of which has the notch of a xiao, and the other which has the blow hole and sound hole of a dizi.

Does anyone know:

(1) whether these things do actually exist?
(2) whether they're any good?
(3) whether there exist 8-hole versions of them?
(4) where they can be purchased?

My primary instrument is recorder, and I am learning both Baroque flute and the modern western flute. (I studied clarinet when I was a kid.) I would like to try both the xiao and the dizi (I have a shakuhachi, but I haven't played it much because it is the low-pitched variant, and the stretch is painfully wide for my small hands). I want to get instruments which are good enough so that it is possible to get some kind of nice sound out of them, but I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars. I thought that perhaps buying a good combination instrument (if they really do exist) might be a way to save a little money but get something playable. Is this unrealistic?

Thanks for any advice you can give me on buying instruments to learn on.

[Flolei]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

I've seen once such an instrument - a combinaison of xiao and dizi without membrane. The man who made it is in Taiwan and the price of his instruments is very high.

If you like the sound of dizi with membrane, it is better to get two good instrument from other sellers. It will be more authentic and less expensive. For 300 dollars you can get from China a good-sounding xiao and dizi. The performance level dizi you can get from Carrot music, for example, sounds really beautifully although it is not very expensive. For xiao, there's right now a French guy who sells on Ebay a DXH xiao in almost new condition for about 100 EUR (postage fees includes).

Beside this, it depends where you are from. If you live in the USA, I know a very reliable and not expensive retailer of very good instruments.

[tony]

I do live in the US, and would be very grateful for advice on who sells good instruments here. I've been strongly considering one of the 500 level xiao at carrotmusic, but I'm nervous about spending that much for an instrument without an opportunity to play it or even hear it played by someone else. Also, I'm curious about the 9-hole alternative offered at carrotmusic-- do you know anything about its advantages and disadvantages? (I started another thread asking about that.)

Anyway, please tell me about the retailer you mentioned. Thanks for responding.

[Flolei]

The retailer in the US is this one:
www.orientalmusic.org/products.html
I didn't buy from him because I started communicate with him too late, when I already add many Chinese flutes, but people who ordered from him were very satisfied. He have also a very large knowledge about Chinese music in general and Chinese flutes in particular.

I had a bad experience with a xiao from Carrot (it was bad tuned), but dizis from the performance level are very good. I played it on these videos and always choose it for performances.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tobyC-_FBY&list=UU95UroF0YPtUSc-jXusTJAA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=81UvGWpmJk4&list=UU95UroF0YPtUSc-jXusTJAA

There are old videos, so it is not perfect, but you can hear the sound.

For 9-holes xiao, I have no information. I know a French guy who got one and was also searching for fingerings, but I don't know whether he still play it now. It seems to be a quite rare, uncommon instrument in China too, therefore I never got any.

[tony]

太谢谢！ Thanks a lot for the information. I enjoyed your recordings, and forwarded links to them to a friend, a flute teacher who is intending to buy a dizi and had been looking at the carrotmusic models. I also told her about the Bamboo Grove site.