So I’m walking through for a cup of cocoa when who is in the living room but a 14 year old Sheng genius visiting from China! He showed us all what he has been learning for only two years. Blogworthy? I thought so!
I have never seen this Sheng instrument! Epic! It’s like a flute organ! I bet the steampunk people from the forum will go nuts about this instrument.
Steampunk! Holy Jumping Jesus! That was Amazing!
Sheng from China! Holy Goatsmilk!!!
Reminds me of how many CRAZY instruments there actually are out there in the world!
Speaking of which. . .
Kyle, was it my imagination or did you once express interest in building a K’ni ? I have been freaked out about the K’ni for years.
I mean seriously wtf?
What in the heck is it? A Mouth controlled Vegetable bamboo fiddle?
How the heck did someone come up with that?
WHAT THE HECK?!?!??!?! O.o
that is one of the oddest things i’ve ever seen…sounds like a harmonica almost and an electric piano…
his playing is superb.
totally, well, strange to look at…i’d love to have one on display just to get people to guess what it was…
cool playing! oh yes that K’ni gotta be one of the strangest things out there . . . 
I saw a guy play the sheng as part of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. During the encore he played this crazy solo that basically sounded like a gospel organ player going crazy with the spirit. It was amazing. This isn’t exactly what I’m talking about, but to give you a sense of how awesome that concert was:
By the way, how come we haven’t gotten a shamisen player in the Silk Road Ensemble yet? Someone get on that.
Oh, hey, actually, it was kinda like this right here:
Oh, hey, actually, it was kinda like this right here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=J1CrVs4ROHY#t=337s
Ok, I’m adding harmonica, so its a harmonica/flute/organ.
Man! That’s a memory! Yeah, I was super into the K’ni a few years ago, based on one (and only) youtube video. I almost made one too. 
How the heck did someone come up with that?
I’m not sure if they had lutes (as in stringed instruments with hollow bodies), but perhaps if two instruments were made with two sizes of gourds as a sound chamber, someone noticed how sound/tone/timbre changes depending on the size, and connected that the mouth is a chamber as well.
One thing about the pre-electricity age, there was sure a lot more time to experiment.
By the way, there is also a Japanese version of this instrument called the shou. It’s used mostly (exclusively?) in gagaku, so it exists in something of a time warp. The play style is pretty different, and as far as I can tell, it’s mostly used to color the atmosphere of a piece as opposed to carrying a melodic line. Here’s a video on it (unfortunately Japanese only):
Oh hey, I found an English video on gagaku for anyone who’s interested:
Thanks for posting these Gagaku vids Jamie!
wow, they really knew how to make thrilling edu-videos in dem olden days
Holy Smokes! It’s…it’s …SHMOOLIK KALABASA!!!
How’s it going E?
Ohhh,the old sheng. Looks a bit complicated to play.
Hey kyle,did you brother learn to play it.
That is all sorts of amazing!
It’s incredible to see so much sound come from an instrument! It seems to take a lot of really interesting dynamic control from the lips; almost like beat-boxing or something.
Really interesting! I’ve never seen one before. Hard to believe he’s so talented only after two years. Some people are just born to rock I suppose, hehe.
I’ve gotta say, the K’in is astoundingly crazy. I never expected to hear such a sound in something that isn’t amplified or electronic in origin.
Jamie and anyone else who’s interested - here’s the shou (with hichiriki and ryteki) in something a little more “upbeat” than its usual Gagaku music. 
Linda, all I could think of while watching that video was, “This sounds like something right out of Inuyasha.”
Oh, YouTube binges, what you do to me…
So many shengs, shos So different