Highest quality Xiao?

[tbone]

Hello,

Nice forum. I tried for Many years to control meri-keri nearly to the point of hari-kari on 5 hole shakuhachi. I gave up. Years later while watching videos on youtube I saw a long narrow vertical flute with 8 holes and a different blowing edge. Xiao!
I have listened to many videos and noticed the northern and southern differences. Winson Liao builds wonderful "southern" instruments and plays them as well as he builds them. I love the sound of the "northern" like Chen Yue plays but I know it is processed in the studio.  

I have a background in brass and woodwind instruments and I made many bamboo flutes in my Hippie years. All my flutes were out of tune in the second octave. I appears that Winson Liao is building a tapered bore instrument which improves intonation and the northern Xiao's fix intonation by extending the body with extra holes at the end.
Can the Winson Liao Southern type sound as mellow as a northern Xiao if played softly? I doubt that a northern style could ever get the rich sound that Winson Liao can get when he pushes the sound!

I am considering a dong xue hua Xiao to see if I can adapt to the 8 hole fingering system and maybe graduate to a Winson Liao.
What model Dong Xue Hua Xiao has the best intonation and construction? Does Dong Xue Hua make a solid wood Xiao?

Thank You,

bruce 

[Blue]

Let's back up a few steps before answering your question.
1) Are you left handed or right handed? 8 holes are mostly (but not always) constructed for right-handed people.

2) What type of blowing edge / notch are you used to? Tang-style (shakuhachi-style), U on the outside/ V on the inside, V on the outside/ U in the inside, U both outside/inside, or V both outside/inside. Usually U on the outside / V on the inside is an easier notch to blow.

Northern xiao are typically U both outside/inside and have a narrower diameter, which could make them slightly more of a challenge to play than a southern root-edge nanxiao which typically has U on the outside / V on the inside. That being said, it would probably be better to try a dong xue hua xiao first because Winson Liao's xiaos are way too expensive.

I don't recall dong xue hua making solid wood xiaos, but I could be wrong.

You could also try a quena first even if its notch / blowing edge is constructed slightly more like a shakuhachi.

[tbone]

!. Right handed.
2. After the Shakuhachi I am most likely done with tang. Watching Winson Liao's video showing the different shapes and I would go with the standard U shape for the Dong Xue Hua Xiao.

I've played music professionally (trombone) and I like nice instruments. I have played Boehm C and alto flutes and have had three shakuhachi. I have never played an 8 hole flute before. The fingering might take a little getting used to.
It does makes sense to get a Dong Xue Hua Xiao first and then consider the Winson Liao. I would love to have a Ebony or Compressed G and F body with a U and Transverse head joint from Winson Liao. That may cost over a $100 dollars! (joking)

Two videos that confused me were:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAukiDM5uA

and
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l344Gzvkywc

On everything else I've heard I prefer Winson Liao's intense and expressive sound but comparing these videos of this song, Chen Yue's sound fits the song better. I know that her sound was processed in the studio and Winson Liao had a sound track that was not in tune with his flute.

The videos of his side blow head joint on the Xiao sounds closer to the sound of the northern Xiao when he uses less air. The best of both worlds?:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViLzVsnGYFE

Did Chen Yue write Trail of Angels?

Thank You Blue,
bruce

[Blue]

You'll be fine with the fingering for the 8-hole, but do look for a fingering chart as it doesn't exactly follow that of a quena/quenacho or a regular flute. (See www.goamcan.com/imports/How-to-play-xiao.html and www.world-flutes.com/Xiao-Fingering-Charts.html).

You might have to fork at least US$500 to purchase a Winson Liao flute.

A wooden-based southern Xiao sounds closer to the northern xiao because the wooden southern xiao has a more regular, straighter bore than a bamboo southern xiao. That factor can improve the resonance of the southern xiao.

If you carefully looking at the youtube video description, it reads “"Chinese Twilight" by Klaus Schønning.” Youtube does have algorithms detecting if a particular presentation is really a copy of another person's work.

[billdsmall]

-tbone/bruce,

I used to play a 2.4 shakuhachi, and your comment: meri-kari to the point of hari-kari is hilarious! Anyway, check out the wooden xiaos of Vance Pennington at world-flutes.com. Very high quality, northern-style xiaos, Vance lives in Oregon. Least expensive xiao is $300, I own 2 of these, one G and one F. Also, Geoffrey Ellis, I think his website is ellisflutes.com, makes beautiful looking xiaos that I've never played.

Bill

[meoweth]

actually winson liao makes flutes starting at around $300. I would go for a tang (shakuhachi) mouthpiece version of that one. I like that more than the U-mouthpiece, and if you are experienced with the shakuhachi, all the more reason.