China flute has a long history, which is said to date back to the Neolithic Age more than 8,000 years ago. I sorted out the method of making flutes for your reference.

The first step in making a flute: choose bamboo.

There are many materials that can be used to make flutes. Broadly speaking, as long as it is a pipe with a certain caliber. Such as metal pipes, wooden pipes, jade pipes, bone pipes and plastic pipes. But the most commonly used is bamboo.

There are many bamboos suitable for making flutes and flutes, such as bitter bamboos, purple bamboos, light bamboos, water hyacinth bamboos, Fei Xiang bamboos and Mei Luo bamboos. Among them, bitter bamboo and purple bamboo are the most common.

Bitter bamboo is also called umbrella handle bamboo and green snake branch. Bamboo shoots are bitter and cannot be eaten. Mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places in the Yangtze River Basin. In the mountainous areas around Anji and Yuhang in Zhejiang, it is also called bamboo flute, which is an ideal bamboo for making flutes.

Purple bamboo is also called black bamboo, ink bamboo and Guanyin bamboo. Distributed in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places. In Anhui and Jiangxi, when farmers go to wedding banquets, they often have the custom of giving Zizhu as a gift.

Choosing high-quality old bamboo that meets the production requirements is one of the keys to making flutes. Generally, three to five-year-old bamboos are selected. Judging the tenderness of bamboo can generally be observed from the appearance. Tender bamboo, short exposure time, bluish green skin, dull bamboo body, rough knuckles, rough knuckles. Especially for young bamboos, shed bamboo poles can also be found at the roots. Old bamboo, with long light time, yellow skin or even red skin, bright bamboo body and fine knots. In addition, the color of bamboo leaves can also identify old and tender bamboo. The leaves of tender bamboo are green. The leaves of old bamboo are dark green, even yellow.

Bamboo is cut down every winter. Commonly known as cutting wax bamboo. At this time, the moisture content of bamboo is low and it is not easy to be eaten by insects. According to the production requirements, old bamboos with a diameter of 2 to 3 cm, moderate pitch and round and uniform bamboo body are selected. After cutting, it will be cut along the bamboo nodes, the root nodes are too thick and the pitch is too short, and the tip nodes are too thin and have ditch branches. A bamboo can be used to make a flute with only five knots. Experienced people often choose one or two materials that are just long enough to open the blowhole and need to connect the flute head. Other road sections, although the pitch is long, often feel bad after drying. After bamboo is dried, its diameter will generally decrease by 1 to 2mm. Therefore, if the outer diameter of Qu Di in D key is about 25mm, then we should choose 26mm bamboo.

Purple bamboo is generally an old bamboo with black luster or hoarfrost and moss. There is a kind of bamboo called Monopterus albus, whose skin color is like Monopterus albus, and there is a kind of bamboo called Dendrocalamus latiflorus, whose skin color is yellow with black spots, all of which are the top grades of purple bamboo. The author once found a kind of panlong purple bamboo, which is very rare. It is a green vine wrapped around purple bamboo, which forms a circle of natural purple after long-term illumination. It is really beautiful. After it was made into a flute, it was taken away by a friend. Phyllostachys pubescens is cut off from root to branch with ditches, leaving a section of about 120 cm.

Fresh bamboo cut down is also called live bamboo. Can't be used for production immediately. Store for at least one year and dry naturally. Pay attention to rain, sun, wind and mildew when storing. Traditionally, bamboo materials are divided into three types: bass flute materials with three holes of F, G, A and bB, Qu Di flute materials with three holes of F, G and A, and small flute materials with three holes of F, G and A, etc. Xiao is divided into materials with the same name and different thicknesses.

It is very important to choose suitable and good materials before making. The so-called good material refers to a material with a large specific gravity and a good feel, and then its thickness, thickness, length and roundness all meet the requirements. If it is purple bamboo, consider the color, pattern, pitch and so on. It is a very pleasant thing for producers to choose the ideal good bamboo. Even if you are sweating, it doesn't matter, because the birth of a good flute begins with good materials.

The second step of making flute: blank making.

After selecting the materials, the next step is to make blanks. Blanking is divided into baking pry, hinge tail joint, cleaning cavity, planing, polishing, tail joint and so on.

The first is baking bamboo and prying bamboo. This is a highly technical job. In addition to special tools, there must be long practice. The purpose of baking is not only to facilitate processing and straightening, but also to dry the water slurry in bamboo and make the bamboo more solid. Mastering the temperature is not only related to the color appearance, but also to the sound quality of the flute made in the future.

In the process of straightening, experienced masters can also pry the bamboo garden. Repeat the prying process at least twice. Some bamboos are stubborn. After being straightened for a few days, they bent again. Workers call it "awakening", and they need to be processed again until they are "rewarded". Interestingly, "stubborn" bamboos are often good bamboos, which are more likely to be pried during straightening.

In the production process, where there is a double bend in the area, carefully bake the area under the alcohol lamp at any time and pry it straight. After straightening, use cold water to "cold knot" to avoid bending again easily.

It is very appropriate to pry bamboo with the metaphor of "adding mistakes to mistakes" Experienced workers often pry bamboo slightly over their heads, so that when they bend again in the future, it becomes straight. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the efficacy of bamboo. When the bamboo with holes is bent again, it will not be pried open to avoid cracks.

For straightened bamboo, white bamboo (bitter bamboo) should be cut off at the head, and the length should be appropriate. If the length is not enough, it must be connected to the tail. The tail section is generally reserved, hinged with a knife and filed flat. Scrape the bamboo skin, polish it smoothly, and remove the garbage in the chamber.

Recently, there has been a practice of preserving bamboo skin. Because the bamboo skin is hard, not easy to crack, and the bamboo pattern is beautiful and ornamental, the flute has an ancient and natural charm after being made.

Purple bamboo itself is quite beautiful, and there is no need to peel it, but the internal bamboo joints should be leveled and polished. Cut off the extra parts. If you make a flute, leave a joint cover at one end of the mouthpiece. Shou Jiu Duan, commonly known as Xiao Jiu Duan. There is a folk saying, eight fists and nine knots. Some of the nine sections of Zizhu are too long, so it is no problem to cut off one section and divide it into eight sections. To make a purple bamboo flute, six knots are usually reserved.

The third step of making flute: tuning.

After the blank-making process is completed, it will enter the process of setting and marking.

The first is to define the position of air holes. The position of tuyere must be determined by adjustment, although the adjustment has been initially decided when selecting materials. However, after baking, peeling and polishing, the situation will change, and the original color may feel inappropriate and need to be reconsidered.

Decide what is the most suitable tone for a material, one. Whether the inner diameter and thickness are suitable should be considered. Two. Consider whether the length is enough. Each sound has its own suitable conditions. Although there will be differences due to different requirements, the differences will not be great. If it is suitable for G key, it will not be ideal to make F key or A key. Inexperienced people often worry because of the wrong adjustment, the wrong position of the mouthpiece and the waste of a good material.

Besides adjustment factors, the flatness and roundness of bamboo should also be considered. Generally, the mouthpiece of the flute is opened in the flat part, while the flute is opened in the side part, so there is a saying that "the flute on the side is flat". The left hand and the right hand hold different flutes, and so on. Although these factors are subtle, poor blowing angle will also affect performance.

If it is purple bamboo, we should also consider the unevenness of bamboo joints, the arrangement of sound holes and bamboo joints, and even factors such as color and pattern. On the premise of meeting the reasonable position of the tuyere, try to arrange the protruding side of the bamboo joint on the back of the opening, and try to arrange the beautiful side of the color and pattern on the opening. Nodes and holes should be properly arranged, and holes, especially membrane holes, should be avoided as far as possible, and should not be arranged on nodes.

In short, the tuning of the flute and the positioning of the mouthpiece are very detailed and need to be weighed in many ways. Opening the wrong mouthpiece position is like "taking the wrong medicine", so even a senior producer will think twice before setting and drawing the mouthpiece position, and will not easily start. It is no exaggeration to say that mouthpiece positioning is like setting a flute for life.

When locating the mouthpiece of the flute, we should actually consider the pitch length and tail length of the flute. The tail of the flute is generally about one-fifth of the pitch. Too long or too short will affect the sound quality.

The inner diameter of groove is a very concerned problem in production. Regarding the formula for calculating the inner diameter, Mr. Liu, a senior in the musical instrument field, proposed the method of dividing the power of 18 by two, and combined with Mr. Tu Shizhen, a well-funded theorist, changed the inner diameter of Mr. Liu's D-key flute to 1. After 7CM, according to the usual proportion, the inner diameter of each sound is basically appropriate.

When digging a hole, the air hole can be temporarily smaller, leaving room for later adjustment. The size and shape of the mouthpiece should change according to the needs of pitch, timbre and volume, and should not be rigid.

The position of the plug should be that the flute can accurately emit overtones, and improper plug and position will affect the sound quality of the flute. The inner diameter of the groove should be measured accurately, and it can be corrected by observing the roundness of the inner diameter, which provides reference for pitch positioning.

The pitch length of each flute can be obtained by "three-point gain and loss method" or the common ratio of 2 12, which is similar to the actual production situation.

The inner diameter of the groove can refer to the inner diameter of the groove that is five degrees upward. If it is a flute, the inner diameter can be smaller, which is in harmony with the sound of guqin. Xiao's pitch length can refer to the flute with the same degree. If you want to get the pitch length of Xiao accurately, you can also use the "secondary tuning method" to get it. The second tuning method is summarized by me on the basis of predecessors, and the accuracy is almost 100%. I passed it on to Dong Xuehua and Huang Weidong.

In actual production, the pitch of the groove can also be obtained by "secondary tuning method", and multiple groups of grooves and grooves with various diameters can be made to adapt to different temperatures. According to the situation of bamboo, it is very practical to locate the pitch by comparing different appearances. Zhao Songting's calculation and application of flute frequency is very helpful to the making of flute.

After determining the pitch position, draw two "front sound holes" at the end of the flute according to experience. Xiao's two consonant holes are about 2 cm below the sound hole. Although these holes have no audio requirements, they are closely related to treble. If it is difficult to play high notes, it is often necessary to adjust the size and spacing of two holes or the length of the tail.

The size of the sound hole of the flute and the flute is proportional to the straight line length from the center of the mouthpiece to the pitch.

Modern music giants, Mr. Yang and Mr. Zheng He have conducted in-depth research on the flute and the melody of the flute, and summarized many effective theories. Mr. Yang has done hundreds of experiments himself. In 1947' s On the Sound of the Flute and other papers about the flute, he made a deep exploration of the meaning of the flute and the flute, especially the flute law. After 1970s, he wrote two articles, Argument on the Rule of Law and Examination of Three Laws, which were the summary of his life's research on China's music law. It has important guiding significance for the production of flutes and flutes.

There are also tools such as "scribing board" to locate holes in production. According to the principle of proportion, the scribing board adopts the method of "lifting" to delimit the hole position according to different situations during operation. It is said that Ding Fuyuan and Zhang Chanming were the earliest flute makers in Shanghai. Later, the national musical instrument factories in Shanghai and Suzhou also used this tool in the production of flutes, and many flutes and flute factories in Tongling Bridge also used this tool. Production practice has proved that this is a very practical and efficient tool. As for who invented it, there is no textual research.

The fourth step of making a flute: make a hole to correct the sound.

After the position of each sound hole of the flute is determined, the next step is drilling. Choose a triangle diamond or a quincunx diamond with the right size. Although there are excavators now, it is very important to master the superb excavator technology. There are two kinds of knife methods for digging holes, which are popular in Suzhou and Shanghai and in recent years. The method of holding a knife is used to make a flute, and other methods of making a flute are to pinch a knife. Two knife methods, different digging methods and different knife shapes. Suzhou, Shanghai and Tongling Bridge belong to the same school of flute making and have a clear system of learning from others. This school is the most influential and powerful flute manufacturer in modern China. Famous flute players in modern times, such as Zhou Youyou, Xu, Chang Dunming, Zou, Zhou Xiaonan, Jia, Wang Yiliang, Zhou, Shen Jueqing, Yang Liangen, Zhao, and so on, all came from this school.

Digging should be synchronized with calibration, and digging should be carried out purposefully according to the situation of the hole. Only in this way can the pitch and sound quality be effectively adjusted. After the sound hole is dug, the overall sound of the flute should be carefully debugged.

The use of "tape recorder" greatly facilitates the tuning. But don't blow, check the instrument, it's not easy to tune. Generally speaking, a tape recorder can be used to debug the pitch. The overall pitch of the flute depends on correct playing and sensitive ears to identify it. Therefore, playing and listening are very important.

The fifth step of making flute: painting.

After digging and adjusting, you can enter the stage of painting. Purple bamboo flute is relatively simple, as long as the redundant bamboo part is cut off, the inner room is painted, the bone ornaments are inlaid, the appearance is polished, the poem is engraved, the name is changed, the signature is signed and the packaging is completed.

White bamboo flutes also need splicing, bottoming, taping and painting. Almost all bass flutes such as Qu Di need splicing, commonly known as "splicing". Yes, when making blanks, you need to connect the tails.

The outside diameter, color, pattern and roundness of bamboo should be similar to the connected flute. The tail connection should consider the inner diameter and thickness. Whether it is the joint or the tail, it should be arranged at the place where the line is tied. This way, after the line is tied and the painting is finished, you can't see the mosaic place. Thick materials can be used for joints, and the thickness difference between the top and the tail should not be too big, otherwise the big head and the small tail will not look good. The whole flute is centered on the membrane hole and can be balanced. In short, it meets the requirements of firmness, balance and beauty.

Stick the blanks together with super glue. When gluing, stick the flute head and flute body straight, not crooked. In winter, we should also master the time relationship between temperature and glue drying. When the glue dries, the joints can be polished and leveled, and then the interior and exterior primers can be painted.

Considering the sound quality, besides being smooth, the inner bore should have certain hardness and "damping". There is a kind called "iron core bamboo", which has a hard cavity and good pronunciation and is very popular. The coatings used in the inner room generally include shellac, nitrolacquer and raw lacquer. Paint the inner cavity, plug surface, gap and all sound hole walls. Before that, you can also drop "502" glue on all the cave walls, which is very effective in preventing cracks. After the inner cavity and sound hole are painted, the vibration of the flute and flute is obviously improved, and the gas strength is so strong that the fingers feel numb, which is called "very smooth" by the performer.

Primer the appearance of flute, usually natural color, black, etc. Primers are generally made of shellac or mixed dyes. After the primer is dried and finely ground, it is coated with "nitrocellulose lacquer" or "685" varnish. Before priming, the flute body must be polished, leaving no traces of processing. I once saw a flute painted by Chen Jianping, which is as bright as transparent cellophane. After the inside and outside of the flute were painted, bamboo isolated the air, which protected the flute and improved its timbre.

Mosaic is a traditional craft. A flute inlaid with bright jade bone ornaments and horn ornaments is more ornamental. Bone ornaments are made of coarse bovine claw bones, which must be degreased and bleached when processed. Horn ornaments are made of horn carts. And jade ornaments made of jade. Mr. Shao Zhipei of Qingtian, Zhejiang made dragon flute, phoenix flute, jade box and flute with the famous Qingtian jade. And the jade series of national musical instruments, such as string-pulling, plucking and percussion, have aroused great repercussions at home and abroad.

Flute and flute are tied in different ways. Nylon thread is usually used to tie the thread. Nitroberton paint is mostly used in painting. In the past, custom-made silk thread was used to wash raw lacquer. The longer the time goes by, the brighter and brighter the paint surface is, and it is not easy to fall off. Because it is difficult to operate, it is not used now. The pen for painting is a special kind of "writing brush". Now, just use an oil painting pen. Rinse the paint at the winding place not less than three times, and the paint is slightly wider than the line, so it is better not to show the bottom. Before rinsing, you can drop some "502" glue on the line to make the line not easy to fall off.

The painted flute is engraved with poems and key signature, signed, then pasted with the flute membrane, and played carefully to identify the pitch, timbre, volume and range of the flute. Conduct overall debugging. After putting it in a beautiful package, it's finished. ?