Dizi in F?

[alminacicek]

Hello everyone, i just bought a dizi in f key, having no idea how to play a flute (i only played the guitar before) and anywhere i look the fingerings seem to be for a different key flute. I would appreciate any help, i am clueless but i really want to play

[zarnaik]

Hi.

You can find a fingering chart here (~3mb): wks1412.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/dizi-and-xiao-fingering-chart20141.jpg
You didn't mention the amount of holes, so I can't say for sure which one is for you. But I imagine that the chart speaks for itself.

As for learning to play, is there someone near you that could teach you?
If not, I suggest you get started using some online resources. Search youtube with "learn dizi" or something similar.
Here's a video on getting your first note: www.youtube.com/watch?v=edOQ30F55y4

Note that the dizi requires a membrane called "dimo" to cover the second hole, the "mokong". If it is not covered you will not be able to produce a good sound.
You glue the dimo on using a tiny bit of water and erjiao.
Here is a video showing the process: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6YmkHAnZyM
If you don't have any dimo paper, you can temporarily use regular scotch tape. This will make the flute sound more like a western flute.

Feel free to ask more questions if need be.

Good luck in your endeavors 

[davidmdahl]

The Carrot music fingering chart is somewhat confusing, overwhelming, and misleading. A F dizi is almost certainly the high bangdi size, which is most likely to have six finger holes. The Chinese naming standard for dizi is that the key note is the pitch with the left hand finger holes covered. So, the F dizi plays an F with the just the three left-hand finger holes covered. This is different from the Western naming convention, that would label the same dizi a C flute.

I will look for a clearer fingering chart. In the meantime Alminacicek, please clarify if you will be using Chinese notation (jianpu) or Western staff notation, or just play by ear. That will help to advise you. If you are going to play Chinese tunes, then learning jianpu might be worth your while. If you just want to play whatever tune you like, then you can use an six-hole fingering chart and not worry about which key you are playing in.

Best wishes,

David

[alminacicek]

Hey thank you for the responses! And yes, it is a 6 holed dizi. I would like to learn jianpi, i never understood the western staff notation anyway, that seems way simpler and yes, i would love to play chinese tunes! That was the reason i bought the dizi. But i cant understand, what the numbers in jianpu mean, since everything on those sites are mandarin. Do you know any online sources i could learn? Thank you anyways

[davidmdahl]

There is a pretty good article on jianpu on Wikipedia. That should get you started. If you understand a Western scale, as in F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, the jianpu method uses numbers in place of the letters. So, in the key of F, F=1, G=2, A=3, and so forth. The beauty of this for dizi, is that you don't have to worry about playing in different keys on the same dizi, although it is possible in some cases. If you play a tune in the key of F, F=1, and you will cover the left hand holes for that note. If you play a tune in G, you will need a G dizi, and the notation will indicate that G=1, and you will cover the left hand holes for that note.

I hope that this is clear. It makes playing in different keys very simple. The only gotcha is that you need a dizi for each key that you need to play. Of course, if you only play by yourself, you can play any tune on the dizi of your choice regardless of the indicated key. It is only important to match the key when playing with others, or with a track (karaoke).

Best wishes,

David

[davidmdahl]

I like this fingering chart:

Dizi D fingering chart

The chart is for playing in the key of D, but this one should work for any key if you ignore the first column and just refer to the second column of numbers. If it helps, you could print out the chart, and write over the letter names in the first column with the correct letters for the F key. Let me know if you want help with that.

Best wishes,

David

[alminacicek]

Yes, that was exactly ehat i was looking for! I dont really need the keys, since i only intend to play with jianpu notation. Thank you a lot tough! I would like to ask another thing, how do i play the sharps on this song? file:///C:/Users/Almina/Downloads/Dango%20Daizoku.pdf

[davidmdahl]

I am afraid that link in your post is for a file on your computer, so we can't see the notation. If you can provide a link to the location you downloaded it from, we will be able to advise you.

The six hole dizi is somewhat limited in playing notes outside of the "built-in" keys. You can easily play a F dizi in F, C, and the relative minors of those keys. For notes that fall outside of those keys, you can sometimes find cross-fingerings, half-hole the notes, or adjust the pitch with your lips and the angle of blowing. I would not suggest attempting tunes that cannot be played with the fingering indicated on the chart in my earlier post, until you are comfortable with that. There is a lot of Chinese traditional and folk music that is easily played on the dizi. Some more recent popular tunes will likely be more of a challenge.

Best wishes,

David

[alminacicek]

Hello and sorry for the late feedback, i was sick and was unable to prectice dizi at all, but i need your help again now if you would not mind. Could you help me with the fingering chart please? How do we change it to fit my f dizi? Ah, and i hope his link to the song works:

jianpu-music.blogspot.com.tr/2011/03/dango-daizoku-chata-clannad.html

[dokamei]

I think that this fingering chart could work: zhidao.baidu.com/question/493495183.html . 低 means low，中 means middle， and 高 means high. 

[davidmdahl]

The jianpu score for Dango Daizoku referred to in your post is a setting for erhu, playing in the key of D. In theory, you could simply play in the key of F on your F dizi. However, there are lots of sharps in the score that are manageable on erhu, but will be a challenge on a six hole dizi. It may be that a different setting of the tune will work okay on dizi, but I am not where I can figure that out. In the meantime, I suggest looking for a dizi version of the score, or choose a different tune.

Experienced dizi players can play somewhat chromatically by half-holing (partially covering a finger hole) or using a dizi with more than the typical six holes. The half-holing is easier on a dizi with relatively large holes, but these are often hard to manage by a beginner.

The six hole dizi plays easily in two major keys and two minor keys. A F dizi can play F and C Major, and "a" and "d" minor. Other accidentals are usually harder to get.

I suggest playing some simpler tunes that are set for dizi. A beginning dizi book should be a good source.

Best wishes,

David