Name: Hulusi > Bilingdao or Hulu-xiao.

Type: Free-reed > Aerophone.

Region: China > Far East Asia.

Length of Instrument: 38 cm.

Acquisition Date: Circa Year 2007.

Acquisition Source: Randy Raine Reusch.

Description: The hulusi is a free-reed arerophone that is played amongst Dai and Yi minorities in the Yunnan province of China. The hulusi is in the same family of instruments as the bawu and other relatives. The Dai people have their own name for the hulusi they call it “bilingdao”. In the Dai culture men would play the hulusi to express love and courtship songs towards a particular woman. Other minorities play the hulusi during breaks from work in the rice fields. The hulusi is appreciated for its haunting timbre and warm tone. Due to the soft tone of the hulusi it is rarely used in ensembles. In 1958 a hulusi having a range of fourteen notes was invented. In the 1970s a version of the hulusi with two pipes tuned a fourth apart was invented. Single pipe hulusi do exist however they are quite rare. Most hulusi are made with two or three pipes. Often the drone pipes are stopped with pieces of wax or cloth to alter their pitch. Some more sophisticated hulusi even have a slide-whistle like mechanism that can tune the hulusi to a desired pitch. Alto, tenor and bass versions of the hulusi are now available.

Anatomy of the Hulusi: The hulusi is constructed from three tubes of bamboo, a gourd, a fitting made from a piece of plastic to secure the bamboo tubes in place, a lathed piece of wood for the mouth piece. Two reed are cut from very thin pieces of brass The hulusi is painted with ornate artwork and perhaps the name of its maker. The colours are black, gold, red and white. In its current form the hulusi has a total of three pipes, two tone pipes and seven finger holes are carved into the centre pipe. The hulusi tuned in a c-major pentatonic scale. First the gourd is selected and holes are carved for the mouth piece, and playing pipes are to be inserted. A plastic cover or sheath is affixed over the playing pipes for structural support and then is inserted into the gourd. Brass reeds are fixed to each pipe, both the playing and drone pipes. The case for the hulusi is constructed from wood, leatherette, brass cabinet hinges and aluminum hasps that keep the case closed during transport.