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A sincere and heart felt thank you from Erik, for those customers helping with his project with children who were once at a garbage dump more in.... We Ship Worldwide Flute Bags Native American Style: The Easy Flutes include: The Kiowa Love Flute Style Exotic Scales include: Minor flutes, Arabian, Egyptian, Meditation, Chinese, Native American Style, Double flutes. Oriental Flutes include: Japanese - Shakuhachi Bamboo Saxes include: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone Pan Pipes include: Major, Specials include: Other Products / Accessories include: How to Dvd, CD's, Flutemaking Dvd, Flute Cases, Flute Bags, Sax bags, Reeds/ Reed Cases, Bamboo Pen Holders In the Flutemaker's Village we include: Songs for the Bamboo Sax In The Village you will find some neat articles: *Bamboo Trivia How to repair your cracked flute |
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Questions for the Flutemakers: Question: When I blow the Kiowa Love flute style it seems to go too high at times. Is it me or the flute? This is called false octivation. If the blowing is done from a small mouth hole pucker it tends to do this. Keeping the mouth more open seems to bring the air slower from a deeper place in the body. Think of it like blowing cool air from the body and blowing hot air. As a kid I would blow cool air on my wrist and then with an open throat and mouth blow ever so slowly and hot air would flow out. Try that. Once you master the breathing, you can actually push it with more force and stop right before it overkills. The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.
How to Blow the V shaped end blown flutes? To blow the V shaped end blown flute. The blowing is like the side blown way where you must blow from a relaxed grin (forming a line in the lips) not a pucker (which would be a hole).
Puckering will only make you dizzy, sound airy and frustrate you. Some people repeat the words “Tooty too” others say the word “Pure”. The idea of spitting out a small item from the tip of the tounge like an eyelash is helpful. If you see yourself forming a pucker move into a grin by relaxing the cheek and then smile. So grin, press upwards, tilt and spit watermelon seeds. Once you get it find the sweet spot. Where it sounds the best in purity and volume with out a windy voice and where it feels
Cleaning and oiling your Pennywhistle In general when I play and my whistle head gets too moist to sound good, I blow hard into the air splitter channel to clear it. The head joint can be cleaned with alcohol and a napkin or soap and water. I hardly ever do this. But you might want to if you or someone else was sick and played it. When I want to see my flute shine outside or have its rich color return, I oil it with mineral oil which I buy in a pharmacy. I have even put a drop of oil on the abs resin mouthpiece to shine it up. Then dry it. If you want to oil it inside, make sure you don’t have a stick with a cloth that is too big because it will get stuck inside since the bore is only ½ inch wide. Is your Pennywhistle tunable? I use the ABS Susato head joint. Very happy with its quality sound.Don’t know how to describe the vibrato. Its just blowing with some push to me. We tune them in between around 71- 73 degrees. This way it is in tune both in AC and out doors. We warm the whistle up a bit with the 98 degrees of the breath. What really flattens a flute or whistle is playing in very cold weather. And what really sharpens a whistle is having it sitting in hot summer sun and playing with someone tuned in A440. The heat of the sun will have those molecules flying and the sound will be way up.
Blowing a Bamboo Sax better Answer: Playing a bamboo sax is a physical adventure. But your brain shouldn’t be seeping out of your ears. Most of the time when we see a sax player playing on tv or in a movie he is standing and moving. He’s not sitting under a tree in a breeze. There was a saying called “Developing your chops” I now think it refers to the right pressure one needs to apply on a reed. If the reed is too high, or too low, or too far over to the left or right, on the mouth piece it will cause one to have to blow harder I think. As you look in the back you should see a fine line of the black mouth-piece. Don't go over a #2 reed. That will make it hard to blow. I recommend a tenor 1 1/2 reed. Once you get the sound and let off the wind pressure to idle the reed, let your ear be the conductor, for instance if you are playing Amazing Grace and you hit that High Do but is sounds flat, bite harder on the reed to move the note up. The ear will guide you. Try to get the best sound with the smallest effort. Seems to me you are galloping when you should be at a canter.
Help blowing side blown flute.
Good sound years from now? Question:
I've seen and heard Shakuhachi flutes for $3,000 US, and while I still prefer the sound of yours my concern is the durability of the instrument (particularly the sound quality). In other words ... will it still sound the same years from now? Answer:
What makes sound is the splitting of the air quivering inside a tube. The tube will give tone with its length and width. the holes give it its tuning. I never cut 1st year growth because the bamboo is not suited for flutes. Once we harvest and cure the properly aged bamboo it can last a life time.
Concerning durability:
I made a Brazilian Major flute in 2000. Then I noticed a hairline crack and pulled it off the market. It was really nice so I stuck it in my flute bag and it has been there for 10 years and I never fixed it and use it all the time. And love it!
I have had a few people get their flute and it arrived totally poped open. So I sent them another.
One customer said he found his box days later under a snow pile by his front door where the snow on his roof fell and burried it. The flute was fine.
I still have some flutes from the early 1970's. Some cracked some did not.
Bottom line is, my flutes are guaranteed for life.
If they crack we can repair them, if not we replace them.
I do recommend care.
Like no car hot dash boards in the summer and no playing by a heater having been walking in from the cold.
A flute on the floor is a flute no more.
Regards Erik
I use Mineral oil inside once every few years. But someone in the desert needs to oil perhaps every 5 months.
Oil is fine to also shine it up. Walnut oil is used too. I stay away from Linseed due to the smell.
Regards, Erik
How can I repair my cracked flute? Here is what I do to fix it. All you need is some wood glue and rubber bands, sand paper, kitchen oil. Squeeze glue into cracks. Sometimes we try opening the crack a bit to get the glue in. Can be done with a metal object from inside like a screw-driver perhaps. Or we open the crack a bit with a utility knife blade from the top. Try and not make the crack any longer. Apply glue. Cover the cracked area with rubber bands tightly. Wrapping string firmly will work too. Clean off excessive glue with paper towel, rag or fingers. Next day, take off rubber bands, sand and oil. If you live in the USA and want us to repair it, we can also bind it. If retuning to us for repairs, please include: 1) A note asking for repairs, 2) Your return address clearly in the note. 3) Send wrapped in news paper protected in a box ( US post Office will give you a Priority tube to ship for free) 4) If the crack just happened no money is required we fix and ship for free. If the instruments was crushed in your care we fix for free but we will need $10 to ship back in the US . 5) Send instrument to: |
Erik the Flutemaker.com |