The best-known piece of Suona is One Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix, which is especially popular in Shandong, Anhui, Henan and Hebei provinces. Aftera spirited introduction, the orchestra settles down to a fixed accompaniment mode. With this background, the Suona section plays a vigorous, piping tune in imitation of the chirping of birds in flight. The closeness of the mimicry expresses the people's love for nature and the intense scrutiny of ordinary life by folk artists, as well as their virtuosity in performance. Such beautiful and auspicious tunes help to account for the popularity of this instrument.
The Suona horn is the most widespread and popular folk musical instrument in China. It is commonly called a trumpet. In shape, the Suona horn is conical, with eight holes (seven forward and one at the back). The body is made of wood. At one end there is a thin brass tube with a reed attachment, and at the other end, flares like a trumpet.