The flute is generally made of bamboo, but there are also jade flutes made of jade and copper flutes made of copper. The types of flutes are divided into:

hole flute

The diameter is about 2.2 centimeters, and there are five sound holes in the front and one or six sound holes in the back. There is an improved dongxiao, with seven holes in the front and 18 holes in the back, the volume is relatively large, and the modulation is more convenient).

flute

The diameter is slightly thinner than that of the dongxiao, with seven sound holes in the front and one or eight sound holes in the back, and the volume is smaller than that of the dongxiao. Generally, the qinxiao will have a copper section in the middle, which is a two-section or three-section Xiao, the purpose is to better adjust the tune to achieve the same tone with the guqin when it needs to be tuned. Convenience.

jade screen flute

The diameter is about 1.05 cm, which is thinner than the qinxiao. It has five sound holes in the front and one or six sound holes in the back. It is often made of yellow bamboo produced in Yuping, Guizhou. This kind of flute has a lower volume. For self-entertainment or as a handicraft.

Purple bamboo flute

The tube body is thick, the number of sections is not limited, and the tone is deep and bright, and it is mostly used for solo or ensemble.

nine-section flute

There are nine knots on the tube body and various patterns or characters are carved, and some are also embedded with a cow bone ring at the lower end. The black lacquer on the outside of the tube is also called the black lacquer nine-section flute. These two kinds of nine-section Xiao, with honest pronunciation and beautiful timbre, are suitable for local opera or light music, and sometimes used for solo or ensemble.

modern eight-hole flute

There is a kind of eight-hole xiao, the diameter of the pipe adopts the size of the hole xiao, and the sound hole has eight sound holes like the qin xiao, which is called the eight-hole xiao. . The advantages of this kind of eight-hole flute are: the volume is large and the tuning is convenient. Most commonly used in art schools.