Mabu is a single-reed air-sounding instrument unique to the Yi people. In Yi language, "horse" means bamboo, and "cloth" means reed pipe, which means a bamboo air-sounding instrument with a reed pipe inserted.

When playing mabu, the tube body is placed upright, the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger of the left hand press the three holes, and the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger of the right hand press the three holes. The mouth contains the upper reed, and it is played by the method of circulating ventilation.

Among the Yi people in Liangshan, many mabu lovers can make mabu of various pitches, and there are skilled craftsmen who make mabu in each village. Mabu is produced by using the vibration of the reed to excite the air column in the tube to vibrate. Each sound hole can only play one sound, and it cannot be overblown. The clever Yi people came up with a very ingenious and meaningful method. They did not use the diatonic scale in the arrangement of the holes, but adopted the arrangement method of the pentatonic scale, thus effectively solving the limitation of the Mabu's vocal range. Five-hole Mabuyin is listed as: c1, d1, e1, g1, a1, c2. The six-hole Mabuyin is listed as e, g, a, c1, d1, e1, g1. The seven-hole Mabuyin is listed as: g, a, c1, d1, e1, g1, a1, c2 or e1, g1, a1, c2, d2, e2, g2, a2.

Some of the more skilled performers in the folk also shorten the effective vibration part of the reed by pressing the teeth with its teeth, making it a few more notes higher, and further expanding the range to twelve or fourteen degrees, thus satisfying the general performance requirements. needs.