mel
Intermediate
Posts: 34 
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Post by mel on Mar 5, 2017 19:06:09 GMT
a) Get online dizi lessons over Skype b) Get local lessons from a western flute teacher c) A bit of both? I've looked in every Chinese music centre in San Francisco/Oakland and they only seem to have teachers for guzheng, pipa and erhu. There's some over in San Jose (2.5h away so I could only go maybe once a month) but they didn't reply to my email (maybe they prefer someone local who can attend more often). Youtube video lessons have served me well so far but I'm reaching the end of the series and of course it's always good to get your bad playing habits checked out  |
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Post by az0116 on Mar 7, 2017 6:03:24 GMT
Hey mel,
Can't help you directly, but just wanted to say I'm in the Bay Area also (weekends South Bay, weekdays in SF), and am also waiting for a reply from Aimusic (the SJ one I assume you are talking about). Maybe we can search for lessons together =D With the number of Asians in the Bay there has to be a freelancer floating around somewhere...
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Post by davidmdahl on Mar 8, 2017 18:03:17 GMT
I don't know about Oakland, but there are some Chinese music stores in SF. You might inquire there for teachers. There's Clarion music in Chinatown, and Chinese Arts & Music Center on Balboa. I think that there is another store, but I don't remember the name.
Best wishes,
David
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mel
Intermediate
Posts: 34
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Post by mel on Mar 9, 2017 3:40:20 GMT
I've been to Clarion and to Exploring Music. The Google reviews on those are slightly out of date, as neither have anything to do with dizis anymore  (Clarion isn't even a music shop anymore, just a centre for both Western and Chinese music.) The Balboa one was closed when I went even though it was within opening hours. Strange. At one of the places they said dizi isn't that popular compared to erhu or guzheng. Wonder why that is. |
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mel
Intermediate
Posts: 34
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Post by mel on Mar 9, 2017 3:44:14 GMT
Hey mel, Can't help you directly, but just wanted to say I'm in the Bay Area also (weekends South Bay, weekdays in SF), and am also waiting for a reply from Aimusic (the SJ one I assume you are talking about). Maybe we can search for lessons together =D With the number of Asians in the Bay there has to be a freelancer floating around somewhere... Let me know if you hear anything! Yes it was Aimusic I emailed and also a place in Oakland. I asked both if they know anyone outside of their school - if there's anyone who knows it should be them! |
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Post by az0116 on Mar 12, 2017 7:19:36 GMT
Hey Mel, I heard back from AiMusic and they said they do have Sunday one-on-one, as they don't have group classes for adults, and to just directly register on their site to start the process. Did you hear back from the Oakland one (what's it called)?
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Post by meoweth on Mar 12, 2017 19:25:45 GMT
Are we talking about dizi here? Dizi are very similar to keyless irish flutes, so an irish flute teacher could easily teach you how to play a dizi. Try chiff and fipple forums to find a teacher near you.
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mel
Intermediate
Posts: 34
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Post by mel on Mar 14, 2017 1:34:37 GMT
Hey Mel, I heard back from AiMusic and they said they do have Sunday one-on-one, as they don't have group classes for adults, and to just directly register on their site to start the process. Did you hear back from the Oakland one (what's it called)? Hmm, I might try that if it allows you to sign up for a monthly lesson. For now I booked a Skype lesson with Eason - I figure if they've made a business out of it, it can't be that bad! The Oakland one is chinesemusiclessons.com/. No reply so far! |
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mel
Intermediate
Posts: 34
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Post by mel on Mar 14, 2017 1:52:23 GMT
Are we talking about dizi here? Dizi are very similar to keyless irish flutes, so an irish flute teacher could easily teach you how to play a dizi. Try chiff and fipple forums to find a teacher near you. Interesting. I do play some irish tunes on my dizi anyway and there's a teacher around here irish-flute-bay-area.com/lessons-irish-flute-pennywhistle/ I'll consider that if the Skype lessons don't work out |
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Post by meoweth on Mar 15, 2017 7:30:33 GMT
In the same vein, any qualified silver flute teacher (assuming they are open minded to other instruments) should easily be able to play an irish keyess flute, and thus able to play a dizi. I would be shocked if there was a good silver flute player out there that couldnt play a dizi. On the other hand, I have seen professional dizi and xiao players who could not play a shakuhachi or tang-cut instrument.
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Post by davidmdahl on Mar 15, 2017 19:48:56 GMT
A flute teacher for Irish or western music may be useful for the basics of holding and blowing a dizi. I have recommended this option on occasion when a dizi teacher was not available. However, such a teacher who does not know how to play Chinese music will not be able to teach Chinese music. Past the basics common to flutes in general, there is a lot of style and ornamentation unique to Chinese music, and much of it is not written in the score. The jianpu notation is likely to be a mystery to anyone but a Chinese musician.
Best wishes,
David
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mel
Intermediate
Posts: 34
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Post by mel on Mar 26, 2017 23:16:52 GMT
Update! I got a reply from the Oakland place. Got a number for a dizi teacher. He didn't seem to speak much English but introduced me to another teacher who does, so I've booked a lesson for next Saturday (he's near Oakland Airport, so the San Jose conservatory should be more convenient for you, az0116) Meanwhile, since I'd already paid for the Skype lesson, I gave that a try. It's definitely a viable option! The teacher covered a lot in 45 mins and there were only a few video issues. For now I'll go with the local option but it's a good plan B. |
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Post by yuhongmei123 on Jul 16, 2017 13:44:44 GMT
Update! I got a reply from the Oakland place. Got a number for a dizi teacher. He didn't seem to speak much English but introduced me to another teacher who does, so I've booked a lesson for next Saturday (he's near Oakland Airport, so the San Jose conservatory should be more convenient for you, az0116) Meanwhile, since I'd already paid for the Skype lesson, I gave that a try. It's definitely a viable option! The teacher covered a lot in 45 mins and there were only a few video issues. For now I'll go with the local option but it's a good plan B. I'm so happy for you! Have fun learning the dizi |
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Post by dawei on Jul 16, 2017 21:21:54 GMT
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(Clarion isn't even a music shop anymore, just a centre for both Western and Chinese music.) The Balboa one was closed when I went even though it was within opening hours. Strange.
