Dizi

Choose the key before you choose the bamboo. The key sets the length of the tube and with it the spacing of the finger holes, so a C or a D dizi is long and open and asks a great deal of a small hand, while the short small-A and small B-flat flutes sit higher and bring the holes closer together. Once the key is settled, bitter bamboo runs from entry grade all the way to master grade, while purple bamboo, mottled bamboo and makino bamboo are made in entry, intermediate and high grades, and the same key does not feel the same under the fingers in each of them, which is why it pays to play several at our Taipei shop. Ten-hole and eleven-hole flutes are made to order; telephone 02-2341-8000 to talk through the specification.