What you are actually learning
The membrane is the whole thing. Cut from reed, glued with 阿膠 and tensioned by hand before you play, it turns a plain bamboo tube into an instrument that cuts through an entire orchestra. Preparing it well is a skill in itself, and one of the first things a teacher will show you — badly applied, the instrument sounds dead.
Dizi come in keys rather than sizes, so a player owns several. Alongside it we teach the 簫 — end-blown, no membrane, much quieter and much more inward — and many students end up playing both.
Who it suits
The most portable and least expensive instrument here, which makes it a practical first instrument for a child and an easy one for an adult with limited space. It suits anyone who has played a wind instrument before, and anyone who wants something they can take with them.
Children and adults
Children from around seven, once the fingers cover the holes reliably. Adults at any age; wind experience of any kind transfers well.
Lesson format
One-to-one. Small groups are possible for children learning together — ask us.
How the learning is structured
Applying the membrane, embouchure, and a steady tone before any melody. Then simple folk tunes in one key.
Articulation — 吐音, 花舌, 滑音 — and moving between instruments in different keys.
Concert repertoire, circular breathing, and grade or ensemble audition preparation. 簫 as a second instrument for those who want it.
Who teaches it here
See all teachers →
Instruments in the shop
The lessons and the shop are the same building, which means you can try an instrument before you buy one and bring it back to the person who sold it to you if anything is wrong. We are glad to advise without a sale.
Questions people ask
Do I need several dizi?
Eventually. One is enough to begin, and your teacher will tell you which key to start in. Adding instruments happens gradually, not on day one.
What is the difference between dizi and xiao?
The dizi is held across, has the buzzing membrane and carries far. The xiao is blown across the end, has no membrane, and is quiet and introspective. We teach both, and several of our teachers play both.
Is the membrane difficult?
Fiddly at first, then routine. It is a two-minute job once you have been shown, and we sell the membrane and glue in the shop.
Arrange a trial lesson
Tell us your experience so far, who the lessons are for and roughly when you can come. We will suggest a teacher and a time.
Central Taipei, walking distance from Dongmen and Zhongxiao Xinsheng stations. Teaching, the shop and the workshop are all in the same place.
