Showeroro Xun - Review

by Howard Fosdick © FolkFluteWorld.com

Here's a bargain for you. A genuine ceramic Chinese xun that plays beautifully and in tune for only $15 USD. Wow! This is a $50 to $80 instrument offered at a drastically lower price. I hope it's still available for this price when you read this.

This post reviews the 10-hole xun made by Showeroro and sold through Amazon. The photo shows how it looks.

I wanted to review this instrument because it's a quality product available at an unusually low price. This xun has a sweet, mellow low tone and is perfect for the beginning xun player.

To learn about the xun, you may wish to read my article The Ultimate Guide to the Xun. It fully explores the xun, its history, its nature, and how to play it. In this post, rather than repeat information from that article, I'll provide links to it where relevant.

Opening the Box

The xun comes securely shipped in a sturdy, reusable cardboard box, tucked tight in its own specially shaped styrofoam enclosure. Even given that it's shipped all the way from China, the chance of shipping damage would appear to be extremely low.

The instrument comes with a nice carrying bag with strap. Also included is a fingering chart. The chart is in Chinese. But that's really not a problem, as it's based on diagrams rather than written language.

What It Is

The xun -- pronounced "shoon" -- is a 7,000 year old instrument from neolithic China. It's still played today as an important part of Chinese culture. The xun has a beautiful, low, mellow voice. To hear how xun sound, click on one of these Youtube links:

There are several sizes of xun available. Most popular are those in the Chinese keys of F and G. This one is in F.

Note that Chinese convention defines an instrument's key as three notes above the note one plays with all holes closed. Thus, the lowest note of this instrument in western notation is C. So in western terms, this xun is in the key of C. That is middle C on the piano, or C4.

This is the same lowest note as the tenor recorder and the C-major bass ocarina. That tells you that this xun is a low-voiced instrument. That's what underlies its mellow sound and its aural appeal.

(Read more about xun keys here.)

How to Play - Fingering

This xun has 10 fingering holes: 8 in the front, and 2 thumb holes on the back. It plays a range of 12 whole notes, plus all sharps and flats in between.

Take a look at the simplified version of the fingering chart.

This chart shows that fingering the xun's scale is unlike any other instrument. It is not especially difficult, but you must memorize it to play the instrument.

Unlike almost all other woodwinds, for this instrument you lift the fingers of your left hand first to start playing up the scale.

Secondly, you don't just lift consecutive fingers, one after the other, to play up the scale. Instead, you must split-finger some notes (play them without adjacent fingers all open or closed).

You can see how this makes the xun a little harder to get started with than an instrument that fingers linearly, such as the tin whistle or ocarina, for example.

(Read more about xun fingering here.)

How to Play - The Fipple

Traditionally, xun have a round blow hole, just like a milk bottle. You blow across the bottle top and split your breath on its edge to create sound waves.

Xun having a round, symmetrical blow holes are challenging to play. They require a lot of effort to learn how to control your mouth and breath to play different notes across the scale. You must adjust your embouchure to the pitch of each note you play.

Instead of a round blow hole, the Showeroro xun has a fipple, just like an ocarina. This automatically directs your breath to create sound. It's much easier to play than a traditional xun.

This makes the Showeroro a superior beginner xun -- you don't have to worry about your embouchure to start playing the instrument. The fipple design completely eliminates this barrier.

(Read more about the 3 different kinds of xun blow holes here.)

Of Note

There are a couple discrepancies to note.

First, look carefully at the Amazon product description, and you'll notice that there are two different front designs posted.

As shown in the photos, one has a flower on it, while the other is plain. I received the very attractive flower design. Perhaps the listing will be made consistent by the time you read this review.

Second, the xun I received is in the Chinese key of F, just like the Amazon description says. But on the bottom of the xun, the key is marked as E. This is an error. My xun is in F.

So if your xun is marked as E on the bottom, you might test it because it may actually be in F key. F key is way more common for xun.

Third, this xun comes with a fipple. It's much easier to play than a traditional xun. But be aware that not everyone considers this a xun. Purists might call it an ocarina -- defined as a vessel flute having a fipple.

Whatever one calls it, this product is a great beginner instrument because of this design.

Evaluation

This instrument features a deep, soft, lovely tone. Most people agree that this is a primary attraction to any quality xun.

The Showeroro is physically beautiful with its flower design and strawfire appearance. The xun is heavy as one would expect with a low-voiced ceramic instrument. But it's not so heavy that it impedes playing or becomes tiresome to hold.

As mentioned before, the xun's fipple design makes it way easier to play than a traditional xun with a symmetrical, round blow hole. For beginners, this is a huge advantage. You'll be able to play all the notes right off, rather than spending many days learning the correct embouchure for each.

Finally, the price of this xun makes it an incredibly bargain. One would expect to pay several times this price for an instrument of this quality. I hope the price is still the same by the time you read this post.

The only downsides to this product are those common to all xun. The fingering differs from all other woodwinds; you just have to memorize it.

And the range, as with all xun, is limited to 12 whole notes. This is a couple notes lesser than a recorder or tin whistle, for example. You can certainly play any tune on a xun, but you might have to play it in a key supported by the instrument to ensure that all notes fall within its limited range.

Recommendation

The Showeroro 10 hole ceramic xun in F is an outstanding bargain. It's the perfect beginner xun. I highly recommend it.

Summary:

• Style: 10 hole xun
• Maker: Showeroro
• U.S. seller: Amazon
• Pitch: Chinese F (Western C major at C4)
• Range: 12 whole notes plus all chromatics
• Material: Ceramic
• Blow Hole: Fipple
• Fingering System: Xi An left hand
• Measurements: 6.29 x 3.74 x 3.74 inches
• Weight: 1.35 pounds
• Item Number: GF370QIM58P123N00064EZF1H
• Price: $15 USD at the time of writing