Which dizi to buy

[jtetek]

Hello,

six months ago, I purchased dizi in the key of E for $10.
As it is kind of out of tune and I would like something better to play on, I have decided to buy a more expensive dizi.

I am deciding between these three dizis (the links are not working properly -- please copy the adress):
www.redmusicshop.com/Dizi/Pluggable%20aged%20rosewood%20wooden%20Dizi%20flute,Dizi%20Kit
www.redmusicshop.com/Dizi/Professional%20bamboo%20Dizi%20flute,%202%20Sections
www.redmusicshop.com/Dizi/Professional%20Purple%20Bamboo%20Flute%20Dizi%20by%20Xie%20Bing

Which one would you buy? Or should I consider some other dizis?
How different is the sound of bamboo dizi and wooden dizi?

I would also like to ask what key should my dizi be in.
I prefer lower pitches, so I am deciding between C and D. I have average-sized hands (can easily play octave on piano). Will I be able to play dizi tuned in C?


Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Blue]

If you prefer lower pitches, choose a dizi tuned in C. The finger stretch is not bad at all compared to the bass dizis Bb, A, and D.

If you do have the budget, you could consider the concert grade DongXueHua for around USD 119.00. If that's too expensive, try the two section Xie Bing for USD 69 or the professional grade Dongxuehua for USD 65.

To me a wooden dizi sounds too harsh compared to a bamboo one. I would recommend getting a bamboo one.

[davidmdahl]

Jul 28, 2015 14:40:55 GMT Blue said:

If you prefer lower pitches, choose a dizi tuned in C. The finger stretch is not bad at all compared to the bass dizis Bb, A, and D.

If you do have the budget, you could consider the concert grade DongXueHua for around USD 119.00. If that's too expensive, try the two section Xie Bing for USD 69 or the professional grade Dongxuehua for USD 65.

To me a wooden dizi sounds too harsh compared to a bamboo one. I would recommend getting a bamboo one.

Allen, you meant the finger stretch of the C dizi is easier than the low dizis in the keys of Bb, A, and G, right?

I agree that the C dizi is the lowest good choice for a beginner. The D dizi is a better choice if only that more Chinese tunes are in D than in C, and the finger stretch is a little less. If you are playing by yourself, the key does not matter, so the C is a good choice. It is also the key used for Tim Liu's dizi course at www.2measures.com/ , in case you are interested.

I suggest ordering the best dizi you can afford, but all of the options you list should be much better than your $10 dizi. I agree with Blue's suggestions.

Best wishes,

David

[jtetek]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Blue: I will consider buying one of the cheaper dizis you suggested, but they're kind of too expensive.

Is there any way how to really see which dizi would be better? I have no idea which one should I buy. There is one made of purple bamboo and others are made of bitter bamboo. Does it make any difference in sound or endurance?

Are the dizis that Blue suggested of noticeably better quality?

[Blue]

Correct: I meant the finger stretch of the C dizi is easier.

Unfortunately, the only want to see which dizi is better is to try it in person. If you were at their actual music store, you could go through a pile of cheap dizis in which the majority might not be that great, but a few of them end up being gems. Buying a more expensive dizi usually implies better sound quality.

Bitter bamboo is easier to play than purple bamboo especially at the higher notes. Some people feel that the bitter bamboo sounds more nasal than purple bamboo and prefer purple bamboo which sounds more “harder”, however. It is all matter of taste.

DongXueHua and Xie Bing are well known makers usually of better quality.