How NOT To Play A Hulusi | LOOTd Unboxing

The Hulusi is a traditional Chinese instrument known for it's very pure, very mellow clarinet-like sound. But how does it sound when given to a man with zero experience with wind instruments?

Spoilers, pretty bad.

(Possibly bad) Hulusi

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[LOOTd]

Which instrument should we check out next?

[ezramontero]

I'm literally crying. Such beautiful music. I can really feel the emotion behind the notes, giving a window into the soul of the musician. Absolutely superb.

[Arathrum]

hahahah i have precisely that hulusi and went through the exact same process. i too questioned its quality due to the price tag. but it's really the most unintuitive instrument out of everything i've learned to play so far, which totals at around 11. so yes it is definitely weird. usually it's not that hard to get a feel for an instrument because the feedback (good and bad) makes sense, even though you don't know what you're doing. like hitting the edge of a drum, holding down a fret on a string you're not picking, not applying enough pressure on your bow, or pressing four adjacent keys on the piano. THIS thing however seems to have a mind of its own. you can bend notes with both your fingers and your breath. you can also make tones while sucking or breathing inward. if you hum while blowing, you can create very digital sounding resonant harmonies (like a comb filter). if you don't blow hard enough, you will not get any other pitch than that dreadful monotonous cry of incompetence. no matter how much you dance around the first 4-5 holes. however, if you blow too hard, it literally 'honks' back at you like an oldskool vehicle horn. but also, due to this high backpressure, you can actually apply circular breathing, which is the essential technique to master the didgeridoo. this is the platypus of instruments. if you're unsure about ordering this thing, remember that you'll always have a great time with it. either you fail hilariously and had fun experimenting with the most confusing instrument in the world. or you might be a natural, in which case you'll be able to play hauntingly beautiful melodies. and brag to your friends about it.

[britshell]

You should change the Channel's name to "Luted" to be more in line with your musical content

[Ajoura]

One of the major problems of a (cheap) hulusi is that you don't have much control over the air chamber, just like for a vertical bawu, which is basically a hulusi without drone pipes.
Go to Aliexpress, grab a cheap transverse bawu and play as much as you want with your mouth as a fully controllable air chamber.

[thewateratnight]

Kay! So... The two pipes on the sides are the drones. They give you two different tones that go along with the melody you're playing. You have to blow hard enough to get the right tones, and you can't really blow too hard, honestly. If you blow too softly, it just honks, because there isn't enough air resonating through the gourd and down into the pipe itself. Uncork the drones on either side and you get something that I lovingly call a "Chinese Bagpipe" sort of sound. It's haunting and has a decidedly ancient sound even though it was invented in the late fifties, haha.

[lucinxar]

Hey I have an idea for your videos, you should find a video of someone playing it well then find the sheet music or tabs for that piece and try to play along with it while editing it side by side for a comparison of someone really good with a pure beginner

[TMLMusic_]

It’s actually easy. You just have to understand the Hulusi to play it well.

[MegapiemanPHD]

Wind instruments are perfect for you since you're full of hot air :P

[RyoAshikara]

I have one but it’s smaller but from the same company. It can play perfectly well. Your blowing too much air...

[Abbatielloi]

Thank you! I wanted to learn to play a new instrument! Gona start this!

[damonz.]

That’s nether plastic or wood, that’s a dried vegetable

[saxonliw]

Your fingering is wrong. You should be opening the holes at the bottom end first if you're going to play a scale. When you open the holes at the top, the pipe is already shortened and the holes at the bottoms will not affect the pitch much anymore.

[Gryfder]

Just a note, use more breath! ^~^
I bought this from Sichun years ago but it wasn't functional, I just back from Yunnan recently where I bought my Hulusi and where I learnt it properly, it could be said that it's a Chinese bagpipe because if you blow properly you'll feel your exhalation being contained
And it's 葫芦丝 (if you wanna listen from the pronunciation) "hu lu sze"

[strikingtiger-filipinomart]

The funny thing is that I just got my instrument from eBay and got it delivered today to me in the mail. The rysam loose pieces that I had to glue with a Epoxy gel. It's interesting but mine is the exact same one as yours without the Box because I only paid $11USD including shipping. I've had much better luck with Irish Tin flutes That sounded way better then this hunk of garbage! It might look good on the wall is a decorative piece but other in that I think it's a big piece of Crap! Of course I'm only speaking to the cheap models from eBay

[kierannedies]

I think this channel should have more subscribers . They are underrated . They spend so much money on this channel they deserve it . Love your channel ❤️❤️

[yootyeet]

Dude, plz don't forget to mention me in your futur videos when you have 1million subs, cuz this channel is gonna blow up.

[bladebair]

Me binging LOOTd’s old videos:

Comes across this Legendary noise 2:47

[iitzcobyy]

you played it wrong...its not like regular wooden flute

[VesuvioVistani]

I have one. I came here to learn to play it. I had the same experience as you. I eventually got sounds out of it, but i had to like, force them out of it. I thought it would be a relatively easy instrument that you just have to breathe into. Nope. You are getting a CPR lesson.