The timbre of the pen tube is soft and rich, with brighter treble and a thicker nasal tone, similar to the middle range of the Western instrument clarinet, which is full of pastoral flavor. Often used as a soloist or to accompany local folk songs. The performers use the accompanying accompaniment or the long tone to support the tune, so that the folk songs sung by the Bouyei girls, the pen-pipe...

The pen tube is a clarinet air-sounding instrument unique to the Buyi people, named for its slender shape similar to that of a writing brush. Every Spring Festival, March outing or July and a half is the season for the Bouyei people to sing pen songs. In the Bouyei villages on both sides of the Zhangjiang River in Libo County, Qiannan, you can often hear the boys blowing and humming. The pen tu...