What is a Xun?
Xun is a very ancient musical instrument, originally of clay. Is an end-blown wood Xun, a Xun in the strictest sense? Is a clay Ocarina strictly speaking a kind of Xun?
Xun is often presented as the “oldest” instrument, but several others could just as easily have that distinction, if ” first” really matters. Xun is old, old. Xun is primarily about Earth, to me, and as a potter, it becomes intriguing to make music with Earth.
What distinguishes a Xun from an Ocarina, to my way of thinking, is that it is an end-blown flute rather than one with a ducted airstream. A Recorder or Pennywhistle has built into it an ‘airway’ that directs the breath over the edge of a hole that “whistles”. Some refer to this edge as the ‘fipple”.
What’s going on with your breath that it makes a sound? It is the perturbation of the air as it passes over an edge, in an up-and-down manner at a frequency that causes sound. The air moves in waves made by this motion, and it causes sympathetic vibrations through the atmosphere to your ear canal. This is what you hear. It happens in your brain, due to tiny hairs in the ear that vibrate in resonance with the moving air and spark the nerve cells into action, to send a series of signals to it.
- An Ocarina is a ducted flute with a fixed blowing edge, and a channel to direct the air.
This vibration of air also flows into any resonant cavity in close enough proximity so that more sounds are produced. I am speaking specifically in reference to the cavity of the attached column of air that is connected to the “whistle”. It could also be a nearby vessel that can develop harmonic vibrations to a lesser extent. All of these factors will have subtle effects on what exactly is heard. In the case of a flute, it is an open-ended air column. In the case of Xun, this is a closed resonant cavity. Either case, the musician who breathes into the air column might want to produce a variety of different tones. This is done by piercing the air column at various points. It causes different harmonics to generate in the resonating cavity or air column.
Theorists have often pointed out that he openings in a flute that change the tone are placed at mathematical intervals to lengthen or shorten the column of air, so that specific tones can be predicted mathematically. This is only a partial truth. Demonstrably, the size of the hole has as much to do with the tone as is the placement of it. I point out frequently, that either a Xun or Ocarina with holes placed in columns along the length of the resonating vessel can be tuned primarily by the size of the holes that one covers alternately to modulate the tone. A specific set of tones depend more on how much of the air is allowed to escape!
- A Xun, seen to the right, has an opening that requires you to provide the correct embouchure.
- A Flute, Recorder or Ocarina has a fixed system to ensure the preferred sounds are generated
On an open-ended column of air, the first note with all other holes plugged by the fingertips, is determined by the mass of air it contains and secondarily by the length. The vibration of the air column is modulated by more than one factor. So that if a hole is added to allow air to vibrate differently, it is more than one factor that determines the tone. If you place the given hole in the column at random, the tone will rise, and if the hole is expanded, that second tone is added to the primary tone and can be so adjusted. Keep in mind, also, that the entire container, ie. the ‘flute’, is also vibrating the air around it. It adds more than can be easily quantified without some very advanced monitoring equipment beyond the brain.
Another end blown flute that should be mentioned here is the
- Transverse Flute, many examples of which are used in orchestras, but many simpler wooden varieties exist in many traditional cultures as well. In this example the opening is on the side of the column and also requires the musician to provide the correct embouchure with their lips.
In a closed air column, (such as either an Ocarina or Xun) the first tone generated is related to the size of the vessel, not entirely unlike the open air column of a flute. Both the air and the vessel vibrate together at the resonant frequency. (An irregular shape has some effect on this resonance, too) Add a small hole other than the vibrating orifice itself, and it will raise the tone if it is placed anywhere on the vessel. Ideally, you will place it where a finger can cover it. Expand that opening or add another and there will now be 3 tones available. If one hole is larger than the other, 4 tones become available as one or other of the holes are open. Add as many holes as you can cover with your fingers (or stop up with wax or something) and enlarge them until a full range of useful tones can be generated.
The End Blown flute has an advantage over whistles with “ducted’ air. The position and shape of the musician’s lips provides the direction of the airflow. This does make the instrument a little more difficult to learn, but it provides a flexibility to tone and resonance unavailable in Ocarina, Recorders or Pennywhistles.
What is the difference?
Here you can see the opening with a sharp edge. the embouchure of the Xun has an exaggerated flattened area for the air to pass over. This may be referred to as the “fipple” which is essentially the same as the Ocarina, except that the shape of the musician’s mouth directs the air instead of a built-in device such as seen below.
Above, you will see an opening with a little cover next to it to direct the air against the edge. It is held in place with a cord or lace so it can be slid closer or further away from it. The air is supplied from the end of the tube and redirected from another hole on the other side of a joint in the cane. This is essentially the way Native American and other tribal musicians build most of their flutes and this makes them quite simple to play. On contemporary NA flutes, a carving of a totemic animal figure is added as part of this “cover” or “block”. While it may inspire the player of the instrument, the effect on the sound itself is indirect.
Here you will see the cover slid back to reveal the little track that is burned into the surface to allow the air to transfer to the hole where the air begins to vibrate. Some will refer to this as the “sound hole” to distinguish it from the holes made to modulate the tone.
The amount of air available is carefully adjusted by the size, length and position of this track in relation to the sound hole. The placement of the little “cover” can affect the sound it creates in subtle adjustments. These delicate adjustments of airflow are provided by the shape of the lips and placement against the edge of the opening of a Xun. It is very nearly the same in many respect as for any end-blown flute.
Once these adjustments are in place, the sound produced is mostly locked in. This makes it both easier to play and also limits some of the expression. Blow a little harder or soft, punctuate the little blasts of air with the tongue or a sharp breath adds a lot. But in the case of pure end-blown flutes with the adjustments of embouchure entirely provided by the musician’s lips is an vast area to explore in the richness of tone available.
The angle, the tightness of the lips, and the direction of the air can produce tonal depth and even raise the tuning as much as the next note. Angle of the lips, the opening or tightness of your lips certainly sharpen or flatten the tone.
For the Xun, made of clay, there are a range of tonal characteristics not found within any other container. I know someone who produces Xun as well as Ocarina from wood (search for Michael Bretti). His instruments sound wonderful, and he plays them very well! But clay has its own voice with an added dimension that can’t be found any other way. Listening might be the only way to really describe what is there.
The beauty of a soft clay like Earthenware is, while vitrified and no longer susceptible to eroding in water, is still soft enough to be carved and the holes adjusted. It is like soft stone. Another characteristic is that the sound is very earthy, and not like glass. There are wonderfully low and high natural tones and overtones.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1854528371/xun-ancient-musical-wind-instrument-in
