Playing
Due to its advanced overblowing technique the northern guanzi's range is about two and one-half octaves, while the Cantonese houguan (like the bamboo guan used in ancient China) does not overblow, giving it a range of just over one octave. The keyed "jiajian guan" with the addition of clarinet-like register and extension keys have nearly a 4 octave range, although the upper range is not commonly used. The guan has been used in a variety of musical contexts over the centuries, often as a solo instrument used to evoke a mood of sadness. This is largely due to the instrument's playing technique, which involves the use of expressive vibratos and wide pitch bends.
The guan is quite difficult to play, largely due to the difficulty of controlling the embouchure; a Chinese saying states that "the sheng (mouth organ) takes 100 days to learn, but the guan takes 1,000 days to learn."
Read more about this topic: Guan (instrument)
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