Summarize the following:
Traditional dizis are made of bamboo, while historically, dizis and other flutes have been made from bone, jade or other stone, or pottery. Be sure to take into account being able to acquire and prepare the materials. Choose a piece of material that is about ¾” to 1” in diameter. Bamboo is the ideal material for a homemade dizi, as it is easy to acquire and easy to manufacture into a dizi. It is also lighter and will likely be easier to play, which is useful if you are a beginning player. Bamboo can come from a regular bamboo plant with any extraneous leaves removed, or you can repurpose another bamboo object, such as an old bamboo fishing rod. There are different strains of bamboo that can be used; purple bamboo is typically used in the northern regions of China, while white bamboo is typically used in southern China. The size of the flute will determine the musical key in which it plays. Flutes are typically available in the following keys (from longest to shortest): F, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F and F#. A good length is approximately 18-20” long. Longer flutes may have an additional finger hole (the larger dizi has this), and they play lower octaves. Small flutes with higher octaves are smaller than 16”, while longer flutes are ideally 24-26” long. Choose ringed ends, capped ends, or no ends for the dizi. These will determine how long-lasting your flute is, as well as how susceptible to cracking or molding it may become. The materials for the capped or ringed ends, called ferrules, can be made of brass, bone, plastic or wood.  Ringed ends: Some flutes have a brass ring around the end. This helps the flute (especially those made of bamboo or other wood) from cracking. Moisture can get underneath the ring, however, and cause molding. These can also be installed on a flute that did not previously have a ring in order to stop a crack from getting bigger. Capped ends: These ends are often made from plastic, cow bone or horn. Flutes with capped ends typically make brighter tones. Moisture can get underneath the cap, however, and cause molding. No ends: You do not need to have any rings or caps on the end of your flute. Instead, you can paint the ends to add decoration, or you can leave them bare. However, bamboo flutes especially may be susceptible to cracking more easily than flutes with ringed or capped ends. Find the correct size of plastic or metal ring or cap to fit this diameter at a hardware store. If you are not using any ends, you can also opt to wrap string around the dizi to prevent cracking.
Select the type of material for the dizi’s body. Choose the size of your flute. Determine the style of ends for the dizi. Carefully measure the outside diameter of your flute body.