It has been a long time since posting here, but just recently I’ve fallen in love with learning/playing this Chinese Xiao flute. I am constantly amazed about the tonal possibilities it offers, and about its modal possibilities. Once getting a decent enough embouchure, and getting used to using eight finger holes instead of six, it feels like a low whistle on steroids! Well, a flute, but for me actually easier to blow, being vertical. And this Chinese bamboo Xiao marked in F with a low C lowest note was quite cheap, but seems decent in quality. Anyway, exploring various modal possibilities I’ve made a web page about my findings, and hope this may be useful to other (Western) Xiao players.
Link: https://music.bracker.uk/pub/html/Workshop/The-Xiao-Flute-Fingering-Chart-And-Musical-Modes.html
Great work, Hans! I’ve bookmarked your page. Because I make xiao I periodically get questions about its range, what can be done on it, etc., and it’s helpful to be able to point new players to a resource.
Thank you Geoffrey! Your instruments look lovely! I will be adding a bit more to the page in time, like a chart for third octave fingering, once I am comfortable with playing so high. Let me know if you spot mistakes or think I need to add something. But I have no intention to write something like a Xiao tutor, I am just a beginner on this instrument.
That’s really cool Hans!
The Xiao fingering is familiar with the bottom hand and strange in the top hand, due to me playing Kaval ages ago.
you are right, the patterns for the bottom hand are very much like on a Kaval, the top hand has very different patterns, and not in any way I have come across on another wind instrument. But they are quite logical, and I am getting used to this, and starting to transfer tunes I know on low whistle/flute with growing ease. Kaval and Xiao are both end-blown flutes, but I find the Xiao much easier to play. And it has a strong full bottom octave, plus the pinky finger hole is offset and makes for easier fingering. In fact on a G/D Xiao I got now I can play with the finger pads, no piper’s grip needed. But the main blowing difference is that the Kaval is more difficult to blow, because the pipe is totally open, whereas with the Xiao the opening is restricted by the bamboo node, which is only opened partially, and which allows an easier embouchure. The Shakuhachi has been developed from the Xiao, with the node removed at the mouth end, and a very different notch cut,which makes it so much harder to generate a good tone.
I know nomenclature can be somewhat arbitrary, but I’ve heard Kaval, Ney, and the California Native American flutes called “rim blown flutes” and the Quena and Shakuhachi called “notch flutes”.
The Xiao is cool because it has a round blow-hole and stopped end like a transverse flute, but with the blow-hole moved to the top corner. It seems to me to be sort of halfway between a transverse flute and a notch flute.
Being an ex-transverse flute player, getting tone on the Xiao seems a lot more intuitive.
The advantage of knowing how to get a decent tone on Kaval is that you can take the head-joint off a wood transverse flute and still play it, or play a flute from the bottom end (fun party tricks).