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Questions for the Flutemaker:
Please help blow my side blown flute.
How should I properly take care of my bamboo flutes?
Burnt Bamboo smell to strong, What sould I do?
When I blow the Kiowa Love flute style it seems to go too high at times. Is it me or the flute?
How to Blow the V shaped End Blown flutes?
Cleaning and Oiling your Pennywhistle.
Is your Pennywhistle tunable?
Blowing a Bamboo Sax.
Good sound years from now?
How can I repair my cracked flute?
The difference between Concert Tuning and Non Concert
What is concert tuning? What does A440 mean? Why should one get it or not get it?
Help blowing side blown flute.
Question: I still have difficulty playing my side blown flute. I can’t seem to make it blow.
Answer: Its all in relaxing and finding the sweet spot.
Press and roll. Ten with a soft grin spit the watermelon seeds out. Pretend you are saying the wood pure. Or tooty too.
It is easier to hold the flute near the mouthpiece until you get good. Then work on the top fingers. Then all fingers.
Later, the ear is the conductor as your heart and soul sing through the flute.
Response: That works. I made a good strong sound on the first try, all holes open, holding firmly near the mouthpiece. I think I need to work on this side-blown flute one note at a time until I'm consistent, and work down the holes as you suggested. Thanks.
Answer: What is happening when you practice near the mouthpiece is that you are getting good balance. In other words the flute is snuggled in at the correct sweet spot with pressure against the lower soft lip. Once you are holding the flute with both hands that balance is jeopardized by lack of experience. I use my left hand knuckle to wrap around the flute and press the flute against my soft lips. By pushing out a bit with my right hand it leverages the flute to connect with the body at the lip. Also the pads of the fingers pressed firmly down help. Be aware of any exposed hole it will cause leaking.
How should I properly take care of my bamboo flutes? Is there any specific advice you could offer to a novice?
Here are some thoughts to care for your new flute:
Most important thing to think about is, "What is the most dangerous thing that can happen to my flute?"
Don't step on it (A flute on the floor is a flute no more.)
Watch out for closing car doors.
Dogs like to chew on them so don't leave it on your coffee table.
Don't loose it. Don't leave it mindlessly somewhere. It is your new friend.
Don't get it stolen. By leaving it on your car seat with an open window.
Cars get real hot so take your flute into the restaurant for lunch but don't leave it behind.
No hot dashboards, intense heat or cold can crack it.
Oil it once in a while: I use Mineral Oil (bought in pharmacies) to oil it outside whenever I want it to shine. Inside perhaps 4 times a year will not hurt. Perhaps more if you live in a desert. A dowel with a cloth tied to a hole works. Make sure you don't get a big cloth stuck in a small bore.
Love your flute, it will love you back for decades.
My flute tastes very strong like burnt bamboo, what sould I do?
I was given one of your Oriental flutes and it looks and plays beautifully. It also smells great due to the burnt holes. I do wonder though, I also taste (quite strongly) this burn bamboo in my mouth after playing, Is this something that will go away with time or can I treat it someway to make it go away?
IN TIME THE SMELL WANES BUT SOME CUSTOMERS REACT AND WANT IT GONE QUICKER.
TAKE Q-TIPS WITH ALCOHOL OR SOAPY WATER AND RUB INSIDE THE THE EDGES OF ALL THE HOLES. A paper towel or rag will also work.
IF USING SOAP THEN DO A LAST RINCE TO RID ANY SOAP SCENT. THE ALCOHOL WILL DISAPATE FAST AND SMELL GOOD TOO.
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).
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Once the line is formed by grinning softly, place the flute under the lower lip so the V is in front of the line. Do this without any fingers on the flute.
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| Lift with upward pressure on the flute to create a good seal against the chin and begin tilting the flute up and down, swinging the flute |
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like a door connected to the chin area just below the lower lip.
The air must split across the V sharply, some going in, some out.
Look in the mirror to make sure you don’t pucker. |
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
most comfortable. Practice without the fingers.
When you achieve sound this way you are ready to work with the left hand on top.
Closing the holes with the pads of the fingers.
Lifting upwards to get a good connection
Wrap the knuckle of the left hand around the flute it helps to hold it.
Lifting upwards helps to hold it too.
Don’t chase the flute have the flute come to you.
As you progress with the top fingers with sound then finger the bottom too.
Place the flute in sight where it can speak to you.
It will say, “Hey lets try it again for 2 minutes” Don’t hide it out of sight.
Go to the flute when it calls you.
I don’t believe in flutes and hot dashboards in the summer. But long red lights are a good practice place
As well as commercials without the volume.
Or sitting in a nice acoustical place. Which invites you to want to fill it with music. |
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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.
As to gluing: I once took a great whistle from the humid Florida Everglades to the cold Colombian mountains and the wood shrunk and the mouthpiece slipped off. So now we glue them.
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.
Question:
It seems that it takes a mighty wind to get a sound. I mean I blow till I fear my ears are going to pop. I played sax as a kid and don't remember having to blow so hard. I can get a sweet sound out of it, but it is a real effort to play. Any advice?
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.
Sounds to me that you are really stressing the blowing.
There is a sweet spot that is still eluding you.
There is a bite on the reed with firm pressure.
Lower lip curled over the teeth. Teeth on top.
Reed goes into the mouth perhaps about ½ an inch.
And an initial gust of wind is needed to get you stated.
Once the reed gets going back off on the great gust of wind that is driving you nuts and weakens one.
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.
Getting the reed moist will make it easier to play too.
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.
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.
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 $14 to ship back in the US .
5) Send instrument to:
Erik the flutemaker
14701 SW 18th Ct.
Davie, Florida , 33325
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONCERT TUNING AND NON CONCERT OR TUNED TO ITSELF
In 1939 the world got together to discuss the importance of having a standard of tuning everybody could agree on, so they wouldn't have to spend so much time tuning up at concerts. World War 2 broke out and folks went home to fight each other. When the dust settled they came back together and decided that the musical note "A" when it vibrated at 440 vibrations, would be the world wide standard that every one could tune to.
standard that every one could tune to.
This became known as the A440 standard of tuning.
Many feel A440 is a bit dull or sad and A442 seems a bit more chirpy
The concert tuned instruments are recommended for people who want to play with others.
Our instruments that are concert tuned, are done so on a digital tuner between 68 and 73 degrees fahrenheit.
I try to tune softly after warming up the instrument with 98 degrees of my breath.
We work with hot irons and dremels to do this.
The instrument needs to be back to a neutral temperature to start tuning again after a hot iron is used.
I usually have to visit a major scale approximately 48 times on the 8 note scale. Bamboo flutes usually flatten a bit on the second octave.
The "non-concert" instruments or the ones "tuned to itself" are the instruments that are either deeper or brighter than perfect pitch.
They still sound great and are just fine for playing by oneself. And cost considerably less.
What is concert tuning? What does A440 mean? Why should one get it or not get it?
I recommend concert tuned instruments if you are wanting to play with others or record with other tuned instrumentation.
This is much harder to make as each note has to be perfect pitch on an electronic meter and built at the right temperature. There are times I might need to make 5 flutes or saxes before one comes out perfect pitch in concert tuning, so it is more expensive.
Flutes tuned to themselves are just fine for playing alone. The work of a good Flutemaker is to make good sounding in tune flutes to themselves and also provide professionally tuned instruments to play with others.
History of tuning:
Europe needed to have a universal standard of tuning because the pitches in Europe kept changing for different reasons.
One reason was old church organs going bad would be cut off at the top causing the pitch to rise. Another reason was it became popular to make a new wind instrument brighter than a former competitor giving the people a feeling of a new chirpier sound from an the dull past sound. Then pitch was raised to better hear brighter higher notes and louder music in large public hall concerts . This became a problem for opera singers singing along which caused their voices to strain. Higher tuning was bad for pianos causing strings, plate and the back to be strained. Also due to the raise in pitch stringed instruments began popping strings. So in 1859 France passed a law making the note A legal at 435 HZ. at 59 degrees F.
In 1896 The London Philharmonic Society tuned at A439 degrees at 68 degrees F considered room temperature and said when the French tuned at 59 degrees F. it was the same just as if they were tuning to A439 at 68 degrees F. The standard today is to tune to A440 at 72 degrees F. which was the temperature set to warm the concert halls of Europe.
In 1939, 3 months before world war 2 broke out, a music convention of Europeans held in Britain decided to make the universal standard at A440. Folks went back home and prepared for war and when the dust settled in 1955 they retuned to confirm that when the note A vibrated at 440 vibrations per second, that would be considered the universal standard of the A note so the world could play together in tune.
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