Xiao, Chinese Bamboo Flute Xiao, 1 Section, for Beginner (8 Holes G Key)

The xiao itself is awesome----the shape, the condition. I bought two, G and F, the G key one is perfect. Just a minor problem--the 3 of the F key one is a little out of tune. I still don't know if it is the problem of me playing it or of the instrument itself. But overall great.箫本身很好，形很美。只有一点小问题--F调的那一枝，3音有点不准。。

I decided one day to learn how to play a non-western instrument. I settled on the xiao, after going back and forth between it and the dizi.Then came the task of selecting a xiao. As I no longer lived in China, this would be a bit of a challenge. I decided to take a chance and order one without trying it out. This one arrived after a few weeks, all the way from Beijing. It was packaged in a hard cardboard tube, and it was wrapped in a cloth bag. It also came with a Chinese knot which I suppose you are to tie onto your xiao, but that just seems a little distracting to me, so I hung it up on the wall instead.The bamboo on my xiao is dark and durable. The holes are evenly spaced and fit my hands nicely (I have average sized hands, so you should be ok in this regard as well, unless you have extra large hands, it may take some adjusting on your part to get the correct fingerings).The xiao took a few hours of practice to get a consistent and steady sound. It's not the fault of the xiao in any way, but just the natural progression of learning something new. It's very lightweight and not at all inconvenient to carry. It's about a meter long or so, and has 8 holes (including the thumb hole in the back).The sound, or at least the sound I am able to produce with it, is clear and rich. I can imagine that as I get better at playing it, it should sound even better. It's a good xiao to begin with, especially if you just want something to do for fun around the house or whatever.

The customer support is unsurpassed--wonderful. Beautiful instrument. I would say a year later, bamboo flutes start to crack even if you are careful where you put them. I was not aware of that. You need to buy super glue by the gallon. Love it, beautiful, great vendor but not really worth the trouble if you ask me.