Dimo is the thin reed membrane over the extra hole between the embouchure and finger holes. Its fine wrinkles couple with the air column and create the bright buzz that makes a dizi sound like a dizi. Treat it as a responsive acoustic part, not decoration.
01 Prepare the membrane and rim
Wash and dry your hands. Cut a piece larger than the membrane hole. Use a small amount of purpose-made, water-soluble dizi adhesive — traditionally baiji or e-jiao — around the rim only. Keep glue, water, and fingers off the membrane centre. Do not use permanent household glue.
02 Align fibres and make fine crosswise wrinkles
Run the membrane's natural fibres parallel to the flute body, then form fine wrinkles across the body. The sheet should be neither glass-flat and over-tight nor visibly sagging. Press only around the glued rim while positioning it.
03 Settle, play-test, and retune
Let the adhesive settle, then play long tones. Too much tension can suppress the buzz; a loose membrane can flatten pitch and sound harsh. Adjust at the rim, then tune again. Temperature and humidity change both membrane response and intonation.
04 Replace rather than rescue a failed membrane
Replace dimo that is torn, brittle, yellowed, or no longer responds. A clean reset is safer and more repeatable than household substitutes such as permanent glue, egg white, or garlic juice.
Sources: the University of Georgia dizi dissertation, SUTD acoustic thesis, and 2025 JASA membrane study.
Related reading
Questions
Is dimo rice paper?
No. Dimo is a thin reed membrane made for the dizi.
Should dimo be perfectly flat?
No. Fine wrinkles across the flute axis help create the characteristic response; avoid both glass-flat tension and visible sagging.