|
Post by picapaper on Nov 20, 2012 21:02:29 GMT
Hi I'm new to this forum. For Christmas i planned to buy myself a Dizi. My question is where do I buy a reliable Dizi? And should I buy a cheap one(I heard somewhere that the cheaper the Dizi is the more likely it is to crack).
And lastly, it is easy for a guitar oriented boy to learn the dizi ?
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Nov 20, 2012 21:46:19 GMT
Hi Pica and welcome,
There are plenty of dizis on the internet. How much you spend will depend on obviously how much you have and how seriously you will take it. For a long time my favourite dizi was a D costing £2.99 inc delivery. Yes it did crack when I left it on a hot window sill
If you can play the guitar then why not try the zhongruan?
|
|
|
Post by lbowen on Nov 21, 2012 3:32:24 GMT
Or sanxian? That might be more suited to someone who likes banjo though!
|
|
|
Post by picapaper on Nov 21, 2012 5:58:50 GMT
Well I wanted a Dizi since I just liked the sound of it. Can you guys recommend some Dizis on the net which is good for a beginner?
|
|
|
Post by Flolei on Nov 21, 2012 7:24:29 GMT
Hello,
Wlecome. Ed is right, it really depends on how much you are ready to spend and where you live. In my opinion it's good to have from the beginning a quite good instrument (as if it's much more difficult to play a bad one).
Best wishes,
Flolei
|
|
|
Post by Blue on Nov 21, 2012 14:26:52 GMT
A guitar oriented person should have no problem with the fingering. The main expected challenges include being able to efficiently blow into the dizi and blowing into the higher octave. Just curious, but have you ever multi-tasked in playing the harmonica and the guitar at the same time? Start with an alto-D dizi as this is a comfortable midrange. You could consider dizis sold by Carrotmusic for starters because at the very least they are more proactive in responding (even if some of their responses contain too much template language). Maybe consider this performance dizi: www.carrotmusic.com/servlet/the-16/Dizi-Shinobue-Shakuhachi-Flute/DetailIf you have a friend or musician who can play the dizi and if you are fortunate to have a brick and mortar dizi shop nearby, it would be best to try the dizis directly in person to check the dizi's responsiveness. Even if you use scotch tape instead of dimo to cover the mokong and make the dizi less responsive by default, better quality dizis will still be more responsive than poorer quality ones. Additionally, if you are picky about the tune accuracy (knowing that many people tune their guitars), you can use an electronic tuner to guide you on which dizis is correctly in tune. Sometimes in the pile of cheap dizi you can find pleasant surprises. But if you don't have a physical shop nearby, just buy something less than US$70. Hope this partially helps and more directly answer your questions.
|
|
|
Post by Flolei on Nov 21, 2012 16:12:44 GMT
Yes, I agree with Allen. And the dizi which is shown on the picture is very good (I have one and it's far the one in D I prefer).
|
|
|
Post by picapaper on Nov 21, 2012 17:13:09 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Flolei on Nov 21, 2012 18:21:12 GMT
There's no vertical dizi. The flute on the pictures are xiaos. Dizi is an horizontal with a membrane, xiao a vertical notched flute without membrane. You can here the same melody played with the both instruments on this two videos: - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFm_8cG7Bo- www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCFAsES6eNsEbay can be a good place to buy a dizi, but direct Carrotmusic's website is reliable. If there's a problem, you have the Paypal security.
|
|
|
Post by picapaper on Nov 21, 2012 18:40:33 GMT
|
|
|
Post by davidmdahl on Nov 21, 2012 18:41:39 GMT
Welcome to the forum, pipapaper. Ebay is a good place to buy a lot of things, assuming you are experienced with whatever you are buying. There are both good vendors and bad vendors, and likewise good quality items, and bad.
Some of the better vendors of Chinese instruments also sell on Ebay, besides their own websites, including Eason Music. If you know what you want and have confidence in the vendor, then take your pick. If the feedback and product description gives you confidence, the Ebay route can be fine. Consider that anything you purchase over the Internet rather than trying out in person may either be fine or a disappointment. When the vendor is from overseas, returns are usually not practical.
I suggest finding a teacher to at least get you started. They may even help you find an adequate dizi. If you can't find a dizi teacher, a teacher of other sorts of flutes may be able to help you. The posture, breathing and blowing at least is very similar from one flute to the next.
I like xiao music a lot. I do find the xiao to be more of a challenge to hold and blow than a dizi. The finger stretch can be hard if you don't have large hands. It is a different experience to play xiao, but I think it better to start with dizi. I would not want to discourage you from xiao though if that is where your heart is.
Best wishes,
David
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Nov 21, 2012 23:59:13 GMT
Hi Pica
I have Carrot's performance D dizi. Although it has the Carrot name on it, it is actually made by Xie Bing. I also have the next step up, a Xie Bing, bought from Easons. There isn't a great deal of difference between the two; Carrot's one has fake horn ends and Xie Bing from Eason has real horn ends. The difference in sound is very, very marginal.
If your ladyfriend has got to a more advanced level then I would go for a Dong Xie Hua from Easons. I also have a wooden dizi which though high in tone I like very much. Perhaps a wooden dizi would be less likely to crack in your neck of the woods.
|
|
|
Post by ziman on Nov 22, 2012 8:05:19 GMT
Hi Pica,
On the topic of cracking, the way to lessen the chances of it happening is:
1. After you play your dizi, always wipe out the moisture inside the flute (For this purpose, you can either use the flute cleaning cloth and rod that Western concert flute players use, or use a good soft absorbent cloth, take a long string, tie a small weight to one end and the cloth to the other end, and pass the cloth through the flute by first passing the weighted end of the string through the flute, then pulling the cloth through gently. I usually do the latter, having learned the trick from shakuhachi players.)
2. Store your dizi in some sort of airtight container. A sealed plastic bag works well. This is to stabilize the humidity level the dizi is exposed to when it is not being played.
3. Keep your dizi away from extremes of heat or cold (i.e. don't place it close to heaters/radiators, don't play it outdoors during winter, don't leave it on the car dashboard for hours during summer.)
Cracking is not 100% preventable, however, in most cases it is less catastrophic than you might imagine. Most dizi come with bindings on them-- the bindings are there to prevent any cracks from expanding too much. They usually work well.
Also, I don't think high-quality dizi are always less susceptible to cracking. Wensong (a xiao master also referred to on this forum as Donsiau) once told me that the higher the bamboo quality, the greater the risk of cracking, because good bamboos for xiao and dizi are typically hard and dense, making them less able to contract and expand with humidity and temperature changes. However, cracks are usually very repairable, hence one need not worry too much about it.
|
|
|
Post by picapaper on Nov 22, 2012 20:17:43 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Flolei on Nov 22, 2012 21:07:20 GMT
I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. It's really a great instrument.
|
|
jock
Intermediate
Posts: 44
|
Post by jock on Feb 25, 2013 8:27:23 GMT
hi, flolei, I think buychina.com is a great plateform for you shopping online.
|
|
|
Post by Flolei on Feb 25, 2013 9:21:10 GMT
No Paypal security, no help to contact sellers and ask them questions, no more with Buychina.
Jock, I understand that you're enthousiastic and that you would like to participate to this website which is looking for western agents. Personnaly I had no really bad experience with it, but I think I was lucky anyway. Just ask edcat7 what he thinks about it!
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Feb 26, 2013 0:44:06 GMT
I've had good and less good experiences from many vendors.
If one has a poor experience from a reputable vendor, then one simply shrugs and say C'est la vie.
If however, one has a poor experience from an unknown vendor, we immediately assume the worst and say he's intrinsically bad.
There are perhaps one or two vendors, who after having had repeated purchases, disappointed me all the time. Hopefully they will go the same way as the dodo.
The loss of £60, or a day and a half wages, really are the least of my worries at the moment.
|
|
donb1975
Novice
I play the hulusi, the dizi, and am beginning to learn the xiao.
Posts: 16
|
Post by donb1975 on Feb 26, 2013 1:06:24 GMT
I'm a new member, but I thought I'd weigh in.
I like Buychina.com, too. I have had several bad experiences with eBay and Amazon ~ but never with Buychina, or it's "sister" site Taobao (My fiance in China has bought several beautiful instruments for me from Taobao, and I've never been disappointed.)
I also like Carrot, and Interact China, and shoppingchinanow.com has so far been pleasant to deal with.
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Feb 26, 2013 2:25:34 GMT
Won't Jock be pleased.
|
|
|
Post by Flolei on Feb 26, 2013 8:16:42 GMT
Donb1975,
I don't criticise Taobao at all. On Taobao you find all - good and bas things. I like to search on it and to find good instruments.
I only compare different Taobao agents, who allows us Westerners to get instruments from China.
Until now I used 3 different ones: Buychina, Yoybuy and Taobaofocus. All work with Taobao, they buy for you goods from Taobao and send them to you; they take a little commission for this work, which is much lower than commission on Ebay. I think that the 3rd one (Taobaofocus) is the most honnest and secure. They verify carefully your order and allows payment with Paypal.
That's all. I have no interest to write that, I only want to share experience with other.
Have a nice day,
Flolei
|
|
|
Post by Flolei on Feb 26, 2013 8:24:57 GMT
PS. Just to say that if I'll buy a new bamboo dizi, I'll however choose to put aside some money and buy a DXH from Eason. In this case shopping directly from China cannot replace Song's help and experience.
|
|
donb1975
Novice
I play the hulusi, the dizi, and am beginning to learn the xiao.
Posts: 16
|
Post by donb1975 on Feb 28, 2013 0:30:24 GMT
Flolei ~ I certainly wasn't trying to start anything, nor did I mean to imply that you were critical of taobao! I was just relating my own experiences. I do find Buychina to be troubling in the respects you mentioned ~ no paypal, and the difficult customer service ~ but, so far, I've been pleased. I guess for us Westerners, it's sometimes a shot in the dark! As a (mainly) hulusi player, I generally go to other sources besides Buychina (Interact China has been my main source ~ but I think Datung Music, in Vegas, will be replacing them!), so I may just have gotten lucky. Thank you for sharing, though ~ it's always good to get second opinions on sources!
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Feb 28, 2013 1:55:08 GMT
Interact China is very good for hulusis. I have a C that I use for practise, though it's a touch loud and buzzy for performances. Actually I may have damaged the reed very,very early on by blowing too hard. I would avoid cloisonne (spelt incorrectly?) hulusis.
I dislike that type of design of drone found on all IC's hulusis.
I can play four hulusi tunes well to the backing track and none of them require use of the drone. There's a tune in D, which i haven't spent too much time on and parts of it are played at tremendous speed, double tougueing with drone on. There is no way with that type of drone you could turn it on and off quick enough.
I'm glad you're pleased with datung arts. My experiences differ from yours. However i understand if Henry buys a whole batch of instruments from China, there will be some less than good ones. Somewhere along the line he has to shift these ones as well.
|
|
donb1975
Novice
I play the hulusi, the dizi, and am beginning to learn the xiao.
Posts: 16
|
Post by donb1975 on Feb 28, 2013 2:10:57 GMT
Edcat7 ~ I agree with you about the drone design. I don't like the switch options available ~ the "easy" plum switches can be difficult to re-plug, and the slide switches are just too awkward to quickly use. And I really don't like differing drone lengths! But as they supplied my first hulusi, one I still use today ~ I feel a certain sense of loyalty to them...
I didn't realise that about Datung. I bought a beautiful xiao from them, and I suppose I assumed that it was representative of the quality that is normally carried. He does have an F hulusi that I think I will take my chances on, though, until my fiance can get me a really good one.
|
|