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Wednesday, 7 January 2009, 23:28

We learnt to play basic tunes on the erhu today, such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, Mary had a Little Lamb. Then the challenge came when we were to play 凤阳花鼓 on the erhu. It was difficult having to change from the different reeds, and getting the correct pitch of the notes (at least for me:P). Anyway, here's the score:

Mr Ye also shared with us some knowledge on the Dizi, when we had our second Dizi lesson after lunch.

*Different music played by the Dizi in different regions:

*Reed membrane of Dizi- made from cattail plant

*Why is bamboo chosen to make a Dizi?

Bamboo has a hollow structure and is therefore very tough. No other material is as special as the tube-like structure of the bamboo.

*The distinguished sound made by erhu is made possible by a membrane that seals the hole between the blowing hole and the finger holes. This membrane is extremely thin and is made from the inner skin of bamboo cells.

*Dizi is still prone to splitting despite being strong and rigid, especially with extreme temperature changes.

*2 ends of the Dizi is made from buffolo horns/ ivory.

*To produce quality sounding Dizis, holes are to be drilled at the top and bottom ends of the bamboo before it is cut to leave an opening for worms to crawl through as the bamboo dies. These worms would feed on uneven fibres within the insides of the bamboo, therefore improving the quality of sound when it is made into a Dizi. A black layer is evident on the inner walls within these Dizis as waste products of the worms are left behind. However the success rate of this method in producing quality Dizis is only about 25%.

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Music, AWESOME