Video: Playing the Lusheng

DongTeam.org has a new video for you...well, more accurately, we have another video from YouTube to share with you. We did not film these ourselves, of course, but they are excellent resources to find out a little more about the Dong people without needing to visit them yourself.

This video is of a Dong man playing the lusheng (pronounced 'loo-shung'), an instrument used by many of the minorities of Southwest China. It is made out of bamboo; thus, its alternate name, bamboo pipes. Small metal reeds are at the head of each pipe and provide the vibration which makes the sound, and air can either be blown or sucked to create sound (as you will see in this video...he never stops for a breath). It is made with varying number of pipes, anywhere between one and more than two dozen.