What is the history of the traditional Li instrument, the nose flute? How is it played?

When it comes to the xiao, people invariably think of the xiao that is played with the mouth. However, there is a kind of nose-playing xiao in Hainan, which is known as nose-playing. It is called the nose blowjob. Nose xiao is made of a section of white board, about one centimeter in diameter, about seventy centimeters long, the top of each head has a small round hole, the whole xiao four holes, but can blow seven scales, the sound of a low and beautiful.

According to legend, the nose xiao has been passed down in the Li folk for more than a thousand years of history, is used by the Li compatriots to entertain and consume, especially the Li young men and women to confide in their feelings,, for the song to take the music of the commonly used musical instruments, the Li ethnic men and youth often blowing nose xiao to determine whether the marriage is outstanding, often also exchanged with each other as a nose xiao love tokens. A small nose xiao do not know how many Li young men and women's marriage. There is a love song of the Li ethnic group which says, "Throw a stone to explore the depth of the water, and blow a nosejob to test your heart. The nosejob is a test of your heart".

Legend has it that in ancient times there was a pair of young men and women of the Li ethnic group, the man's name is Laodan, the woman's name is Ana. They built up their love in labor, and when they were about to get married, Ana's beauty and sweet singing voice were discovered by the mine master (landlord). One night, the master of the mine sent people to snatch Ana, want her to be his wife, she did not comply, they were locked into a cave, Laodan through the hardships to find the cave, but can not see each other, so he sang to comfort Ana, the master of the mine to learn of this, and then sent people to catch Laodan, with a knife to cut off his tongue.

Laodan still went to the cave to look for Ana, but Ana could no longer hear Laodan's song. So Laodan cut bamboo to make a nosejob and blew his faithful love for her ...... Since then, the nosejob has been passed down in the Li folklore. Whenever the Li people play the nosejob, they will think of the steadfast love between Laodan and Ana. Therefore, the nose flute is also known as the Laodan flute.

When playing, the pipe is placed vertically, the left thumb presses the upper hole, and the right thumb and forefinger press the lower and bottom holes respectively. The top hole is placed diagonally on the right nostril, and the air column inside the pipe is excited by the exhalation from the nostrils and the sound is pronounced. Sometimes you can also use your hand to block the left nostril to play. In addition to the blowhole, there are three tone holes at the bottom of the pipe***, which can produce the following six tones: g, a, c1, d1, e1, g1. The volume is small. It can also be played by mouth with slightly higher volume.

The tone of the nose flute is clear, low, and melodious, with a bass sound like that of a cave flute, but softer, and a weak treble sound, using rich overtones to produce a three-octave range and vibrato and glissando. Sometimes due to the breath is more difficult to control, the sound of the music appears seemingly, intermittent phenomenon, listening to more fairy music flavor. At the end of the night when blowing the nose flute, the whole village can be heard. Nose pipe is often used in solo, play, and on stage, become a prop for dance.