Anyone feeling dizi?

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:32 am

A customer asked me if I would drill an extra hole between the embouchure hole and the first finger hole in my low D Irish flute in pvc in order for him to play it as a dizi. I said that I would give it a try.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizi
http://www.fournotes.com/asia/china/dizi.php

Here is a video of a dizi being played by a beautiful woman.
video

Here is another video showing how the membrane is apllied and how the dizi sounds afterwards.
video

Lastly, in this one minute mp3 Tod Barry of Temple City, CA plays my 3-piece, 7-hole low D dizi. Tod writes, "I've attached a sample of a traditional Chinese tune on your flute using the the "Dimo" membrane - it works quite nicely, the volume is increased and the tone can be adjusted by the membrane tightness - this one is recorded with a light amount of buzz that changes the timbre of the notes a bit (there are no added recording effects)"
Chinese melody playted on the dizi

Jack Bradshaw · Post by **Jack Bradshaw** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:47 am

Don't know if the Dizi will catch on, but its about time you got some beautiful women in your advertizing ! Bet you could round up some right here !

Bart Wijnen · Post by **Bart Wijnen** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:47 pm

Very interesting information about the Dizi! I happen to have one here (a gift from my mother, long time ago, not very special and not tunable) but it's nice.

The membrane got ruined and I found out that 'duck-tape' doesn't give the same effect.

Anybody any ideas where I can find a decent membrane?

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:47 pm

Jack's got it right. After all, if it weren't for the knockout receptionists Dale put on the home page, how many of us would even be here today?

Post by **Nanohedron** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:32 pm

Bart Wijnen wrote:Very interesting information about the Dizi! I happen to have one here (a gift from my mother, long time ago, not very special and not tunable) but it's nice.

The membrane got ruined and I found out that 'duck-tape' doesn't give the same effect.

Anybody any ideas where I can find a decent membrane?

Dunno if this is standard any more, but I seem to recall that traditionally the membrane was made from the papery lining inside bamboo tubes, and was glued in place with fresh-crushed garlic juice, which is sticky.

It would seem to me that the old-style membrane might be affected by breath moisture, but I don't know for sure.

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:51 pm

Heavy cellophane? Waxed paper? Both work on a comb-kazoo.

toddyboy50 · Post by **toddyboy50** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:53 pm

Hi... Doug made the Dizi for me - it's difficult to find them in keys as low as D and I thought the Tipple would make a good candidate... well it came out even better than I expected. You can adjust the membrane and your embouchure to make the tone anywhere between a standard Tipple to very dizi-like, that is with a buzzing overtone that is typical of Chinese dizi flute music. A cool thing, for some, is that this setup increases the volume (which is already strong) by perhaps another 50%, making it very projecting, even outdoors. The soud clip is recorded clean without effects, a little bit of overtone, and might give you an idea of what I mean.

This really increased the versatility of the flute for me.... I can still use it normally or get a variety of different overtones. Doug makes a great flute and this is a nice option if you're also interested in other kinds of music. The membranes, btw, are available on ebay from Eason Enterprises, among others... Tod

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:28 pm

Would having a flexible flap of firmer plastic that could be closed down over the membrane make this into a "convertible" flute?

Might give you the best of both worlds in one flute.

Bart Wijnen · Post by **Bart Wijnen** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:12 pm

Thanks for the help about membranes>

toddyboy50 · Post by **toddyboy50** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:45 pm

Would having a flexible flap of firmer plastic that could be closed down over the membrane make this into a "convertible" flute?

Might give you the best of both worlds in one flute.

Actually, you can get virtually this same effect just be applying the membrane tightly - you can greatly control the amount of "buzz" with your embouchure...

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:15 am

Here is another source for Dizi membrane material:
Clarion Music
I ordered the dizi membrane @ $3.00 including shipping. I am not sure what I will glue the membrane to the flute with. The traditional stick glue is available on ebay, but the supplier is in Singapore. Nano was right in that garlic juice has been used as a glue for the membrane. It seems to me that I could make a light glue with a drop of white glue and several drops of water mixed together. I am going to try that.

Matt_Paris · Post by **Matt_Paris** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:38 am

The dizi membrane is called "dimo". I find mine in Paris' Chinatown, in a very dark, dirty and mysterious shop, from an old man who knew Tchang Kai Chek (well he looks like that)... But actually it's easy to find on eBay, search for "dimo" : http://search.ebay.com/7416915633.

For the glue, I use gum arabic (is that the correct english name of it?): makes it easy to fine tune the membrane.

MarkusH · Post by **MarkusH** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:47 am

Now, I'm kind of curious. Is the fingering on the dizi actually the same as on the Irish flute?

toddyboy50 · Post by **toddyboy50** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:51 am

The best glues I've found for this, besides the traditional Chinese one made from mule hide, are Titebond Liquid Hide and good old Elmer's. I have never tried gum arabic, but it has the added advantages of being edible and warding off all manner of evil spirits. Garlic juice, of course, has it's own special properties

You probably want something water soluable to reduce mess and make it easier to adjust the dimo, but strong enough to maintain the membrane tension. A well set up dimo can last up to six months, and there is some art to getting it just right - Tod

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:23 pm

MarkusH wrote:Now, I'm kind of curious. Is the fingering on the dizi actually the same as on the Irish flute?

I occurs to me that you could use the membrane-covered hole on a flute with various fingerings. The low D dizi that we have been discussing on this thread has 6 finger holes and is tuned in the standard diatonic tuning for an Irish flute or whistle.

Thanks for the recommendation of using hide glue. The modern liquid hide glue that comes in a bottle is a lot easier to use than the granules that you have to heat up in a glue pot. That stuff is really stinky and sticky, and only the violin-building purists still mess with it. I enjoyed writing that last sentence.