How to Play Dizi, the Chinese Bamboo Flute: The Basic Skills

Very informative

This book may be small, clocking in at only 42 pages, but don't let that be a deterant from buying it if you want to learn how to play the Dizi. It packs a lot of useful information for a beginner, such as proper posture, breathing, and fingering for playing, as well as teaching the basics of reading Jianpu, the Chinese music notation method used for Dizi pieces. It also teaches you how to choose a Dizi if you're buying from a store (I recommend the NICOSHINE ones if buying here on Amazon), and also how to clean your Dizi. In the back, it gives a small number of pieces for a beginner to practice to get their skills up. They are a mix between Chinese songs, and Western Classical music, with Mozart, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky all having famous pieces included.Ultimately, I am very satisfied with this little book, and eagerly await the "advanced skills" book that will come out. Hopefully by the time it does, I'll be at a high enough proficiency that I'll be able to use it right away!It is worth noting that there are a few formatting oddities that come from this being independently published, such as a couple of widowed lines that are immediately followed by pictures, making them hard to notice so it seems like the sentence ends abruptly in the middle. Also, the first page of the Preface starts is on the right hand side, as opposed to the left, as is traditional in publishing. But these are VERY minor quibbles that don't detract from the value of the product at all, and I heartily recommend this book!

Despite being a Western and Asian flute (mainly shinobue) player, I had a tough time absorbing some of the ideas put forth in this small book. But it did answer MOST of the questions I had, like the fingerings for the D-key and other keyed dizis. I had been exposed to the notation system (jianpu) but it took several readings to understand the solfeggi regarding the different keys (shinobue notation is similar but relates to open finger holes and also neatly coincides with standard solfege). This book is about the only title on the dizi in English that I am aware of but I haven't been able to locate book 2, as book 1 (this title) is a very recent work (2017) and may not yet exist. I appreciate that the author wrote something on this instrument in English and that the book is pretty comprehensive in scope (selecting a dizi, its care, notation, fingering charts, sample jianpu scores, and the like). The photos are better than expected and the binding should hold up well over time. Recommended for someone searching for info. Definitely very helpful, and something I refer to repeatedly.

The basically discusses the different types of dizi. It does not explain the musical learning too well for beginners. Perhaps a more advaced musical notation reader can gain more from this book. It is not based on the american standards which they claim is not learning in this book rather from chinese and french musical notations. As a beginner I was hoping for a more simple instruction book. I will just watch youtube. I can not give a bad vote because im just learning this music. Perhaps for a more advanced player with musical notation learning. The book in all is well written etc.

I know the author wants to keep it traditional and use the numbered music notation but it is confusing me. I won't use it otherwise so I feel why learn it?I would like to recommend to put numbered music and musical notes.I have his 2nd book which was ordered at the same time which is equally confusing.The dizi can be at first challenging to play I didn't want to add more confusion to a beautiful instrument that I will get frustrated with. Music you are supposed to be relaxed and enjoy. I ended up throwing this book around out of frustration! It's a bit tattered now and still usable but I get mad looking at it.Once you get the fingering down and use a chromatic tuner you can see what notes match the fingering. Helped me know if my dizi was made right and if my chart and breathing was right. So, book no good and I will go on my own and found a good fingering chart online for free. I can understand and it works.

I have played several different instruments over the years, but strictly for my own enjoyment and not to perform for others. The hardest thing is to find decent introductory material about the instrument. This book is very informative, and it's just what i was looking for to learn about the dizi. If you have ever played a stringed instrument using tablature notation, you should be able to follow the instruction in this book pretty easily. It doesn't include many songs,but has a lot of useful information about the instrument. Can't beat the price.

The images all through the book are very helpful in learning how to play this flute. The descriptions and detailed information are clear and easy to understand. As a beginner, I am definitely keeping this book for future reference and I am very happy to have found this book.

the book is great and simple i loved it

I've never played any instrument. The dizi has 6 holes but the music in this book has upto 8 notes and doesn't explain how to make them or many other notes.It has helped a little, but I'm basically guessing, playing anything "I create" as it's impossible to follow the included music sheets unless you already read music so this is not for a novice.I will finish the book and keep for future reference/ try again when I have more knowledgeBut I doubt I will purchase the rest of the series.By chance I found a video that explains the holes must be clear, any rough edges etc can effect the function.Bingo - my dizi had a very small amount of material not removed during production and this basically made it unplayable. However I am still unsure if the holes needs further work (this book does not discuss this very important matter). So for now my Dizi playing is reduced to the level of a child playing a toy😞

Such an easy to follow book (if you already have some music knowledge). Good starting music pieces too. Made it very easy to start playing however I had to cross referance some things on the internet to ensure I knew what it was telling me.

I bought a bamboo flute as a Christmas present for my brother in-law, this was a great accompany to it, it teaches the basics clearly including peeping the flute.very good if you want to learn the bamboo flute as a new instrument.

Received with thanks

been trying to teach myself after picking a dizi at a craft fair as a joke being in the uk, this and the first edition of this book are the best ive found that are in english