The difference between cucurbit and bawu is not much, the range is the same, and the fingering is basically the same. It can be said that it is very simple for you to learn the cucurbit silk and want to learn Bau. Of course, there are improved Bauga keys, which are different from cucurbits. Usually it is roughly the same, but due to the different structure, it is different in some aspects. Let's take a look at what is different.

Hulusiba Wu is referred to as "sister instrument", and the fingering and chi are the same. Bau's tone is thick and soft. The soft tone of Hulusi is often used in solos and ensembles.

Bau

Bawu is made of bamboo tube with eight press holes (seven in the front and one in the back), and a tongue-shaped copper reed is installed at the mouthpiece. When playing, the upper end is blown horizontally, and the vibrating reed is sounded. Bau has a lower volume and a narrower range, but has a soft tone, and is often used to accompany dances, solos, etc. Bau is a very ethnic musical instrument. It is often used to play lyrical and broad tones, and it can also play highly skilled cadenza pieces. When playing in ensemble, the sound of Bau is easy to blend with other instruments.

Bau consists of a tube body and a reed. Tube body made of bamboo. The Hani people mostly use green bamboo. Due to the mild and humid local climate, they generally do not crack and deform. After slow drying, the bamboo skin turns white. The Yi people often make thin bamboo tubes. The upper end (or Zuorui) of the tube body is closed by a bamboo joint or a cork, the middle bamboo joint is opened, and the lower end (or right end) of the tube body is open. Due to the different length and thickness of bamboo tubes. Specifications can be divided into treble, alto, bass three. The tuning of the treble and alto Bawu reeds is the most critical. The reed tongue is thicker at the root and thinner in the middle and tip. It should be scraped and mounted on the Bawu for audition. It is better to have high sensitivity, beautiful timbre, and coordinated pronunciation of each hole. The reed itself has a pitch, and the pitches of the reeds used by different pitched Bau are also different.

Hulusi

Hulusi is a popular musical instrument of the Dai, Yi, Achang and other ethnic groups in Yunnan. This kind of musical instrument uses a half small gourd as a sound box, and three bamboo pipes of different lengths are inserted side by side at the lower end of the bamboo pipe of the gourd. When playing, the thin end of the gourd is blown by the mouth, and the finger presses the sound hole of the middle bamboo pipe. When the melody is played, the left and right bamboo pipes emit a fixed single tone at the same time, forming a harmony with the melody. Hulusi has a soft tone and is often used in solos and ensembles.

The cucurbit silk is composed of a gourd and a main pipe and two auxiliary pipes. It's all hand work. There are reeds in the tube, and the production of the reeds is very technically demanding. It basically determines the tone and life of the cucurbit silk, and the value of the cucurbit silk is also on the reeds. When playing, the airflow is transmitted through the gourd to make the reed vibrate to produce sound. In addition, because the cucurbit flute is equipped with the assistant pipe, there are one or two additional sounds when playing, which is more plump and warm, and the sound is beautiful and elegant! Hulusi is divided into treble gourd, alto gourd and bass gourd. Generally, the big gourd is low, and the small gourd is high. There are a few points to pay attention to when selecting cucurbits: First, the pitch level, especially the bass 5 and 3; second, the treble area should be bright, without noise, and the midrange should be free of sand; third, the supervisor and the auxiliary pipe should be coordinated; finally, the appearance should be free of cracks ,damaged. Generally, the cucurbit silk that has never been played needs some force at the beginning, after a period of time, the sound will become beautiful, and it will be much easier to play!

The difference between the playing postures of cucurbit flute and bawu

When playing the cucurbit flute, in order to make the breath unobstructed and the natural coordination of the body conducive to the performance of the instrument, the performer is generally required to perform in a standing position when playing. Of course, Xiao Shi can also adopt a sitting posture when practicing or playing the cucurbit flute, and the upper body position requirements are the same as the standing posture. However, in order not to affect the movement of the breath during performance, you should choose a seat with a corresponding height, and your feet can be stepped on the ground separately, but you should not cross your feet or cross your legs.

Bawu's playing posture is basically the same as that of cucurbit flute, except that when cucurbit flute is played, it is played vertically, while Bawu uses the upper and lower lips to wrap the "mouth" and blows horizontally. The hands are on the right when playing. In order to make playing convenient, natural and coordinated, when holding the bau with both hands, the right arm can be slightly higher than the left arm, and the head and bau can be slightly inclined to the tail. In addition, when playing Bau in a standing position, the left foot can be slightly forward, and the right foot can be behind.

The difference between cucurbit flute and Bawu accent

The cucurbit silk that is "blown vertically" and the Bawu that is "blown horizontally" are the same in many places. It is no wonder that some people say that "if you can blow the cucurbit silk, you will blow the Bawu". In fact, they also have many differences. The most critical and obvious difference between the two is the position and structure of the entrance of the blowing breath, which leads to different methods of blowing the mouth and voicing.

1. Different structural positions

The structure of the breath entrance of the two is different. The cucurbit silk "protrudes", hence the name "mouth blowing", and the Bawu "does not protrude", hence the name "mouth blowing". The position of the breath entrance of the two is different. The position of the cucurbit flute blowing mouth is at the top, which determines that the cucurbit silk must be blown vertically, and the Bawu mouthpiece is located at the left end, which determines that the Bawu must blow horizontally.

2. Different mouth shapes

Due to the difference in the structure of the "mouth blowing" of cucurbit flute and the "mouth blowing" of Bawu, the mouth shapes of the two are also very different. Therefore, there is a saying in the folk of the Dai people that "blow the gourd with a pout, and blow the Bawu with a grin." The standard playing mouth shape of the two is:

Hulusi: The mouth shape is similar to the pronunciation of the Chinese character "house (pouting)".

Bawu: The mouth shape is similar to the pronunciation of the Chinese character "seven (grin)".

3. Different ways of exhaling

The correct pronunciation and exhalation methods of the two are:

Hulusi: "T" means Pinyin flat sound "tu"; "K" means Hanyu Pinyin flat sound "ku".

Bawu: "T" means Pinyin flat sound "te"; "K" means Hanyu Pinyin flat sound "ke".

After careful taste, you can realize that it is difficult to accurately pronounce "te" and "ke" with "pouting", and it is also difficult to accurately pronounce "tu" and "ku" with "grinning". Therefore, it is unscientific to make no distinction between the two in pronunciation and exhalation methods.

4. Emphasize that the tone of voice is meaningless

From the above analysis, we can also obtain an off-topic gain, that is, when learning to practice cucurbit flute, there is no need to consider some concepts that are only involved in playing the flute, such as tone of voice, mouth strength, and damper. I can tell every enthusiast responsibly, no need to waste your precious time and energy on this.