A friend of a friend wanted a bass recorder, so the friend mentioned that I make PVC flutes. I said... Well, I do not make recorders... although I do make flutes... but I am not sure if I have time right now. Then, after around 25 hours of work, I had my first F3 flute! (157 Hz) The next one should be a bit easier!
This one ended up with fairly large finger holes after tuning. I will use this one to refine the design for the next one (for the friend) and should have an excellent flute for the 3rd one (for the fof)! Cool!
(Click Images to enlarge)
Above are some pics of BF1 (Big Bertha), an F#, and a C5. The F# was one of my earliest flutes. It has a D-shaped TSH (True Sound Hole) and the "flue" has been scraped, built up with fingernail polish, filled with PVC slivers on the sides... it is a mess! It has an interesting airy sound that I really like for some tunes. The "totem" is a "bird" a diving Hawk... can you see it? So I call this one the Hawk.
The C5, "baby", is one of 30 flutes I made to send 24 with a missionary to African orphans. I wanted them to be very small and have no outside parts like most of my other flutes. It has a lateral oval shaped TSH and a very clear tone like a penny whistle.
All of these flutes are made using the methods of many Native American Style flutes. I am not a member of any Native American nation, and do not claim to know their heritage or culture. I appreciate the willingness with which so many of the Native American flute makers allow me to enjoy and participate in their craft. Thank You!
I do not follow all of the normal guidelines, so my flutes are a bit different. For one thing they are almost all tuned like Irish whistles! (Even my shakuhachi flutes!) I'm just an old German 'Celt' monk who barely runs in mocs and toots PVC... I guess...
I call this bass "Big Bertha"! It is 40" long with 33.2 of that being the actual sound column. There is a SAC (slow air chamber) on the top (north) with a blow pipe so I can reach the holes, and a tail on the south beyond "4-winds" tuning holes. The column length to diameter ratio is 21.25 which is a bit high and causes it to easily jump from the F3 to F4. The holes must be carefully sealed or the F3 is very hard to get. The next 2 flutes should be easier to play F3. The "baby" flute is only 11" with a ratio of 17.6. That is a good compromise for me because I like playing the upper octave. Flutes with smaller ratios, like 15, are very mellow but do not play more than a few notes in the second octave.
Enjoy the sound samples. They are my first attempts at recording my flutes and my first Audacity project. I recorded with a ZOOM H4. I used a little bit of echo to add some warmth. Also please ignore the occasional bump and thump as I learn to better place the mic... and intonation is a big problem as I stretch to cover those over-sized holes... always learning!
(Click to play mp3)
F3_BF1_PartingGlass (trad.)
F3_BF1_Jazzy
F3_BF1_BygoneDays (Ivers)
F#_Hawk_BygoneDays (Ivers)
F#_Hawk_TimeAgo
C5_Africa_RakesKildare (trad.)
C5_Africa_10KftMeadowCreekMorning
Charlie, these melodies are beautiful -- haunting like Celtic music. I'm very impressed!
ReplyDeleteThanks Judy! Some are traditional Celtic tunes, some are modern compositions by Celtic musicians and some are my free-form expression. Glad you liked them.
Beautiful!. How creative......
ReplyDeleteWe are well.
Brad is getting married in June in Alaska! :)
I hope you are getting to go to the wedding! Where in Alaska? Say hi to everyone! We do not see you much attending the South campus. Sandy and I are on the worship team once a month at Traditional service... then we rock out with the youngsters the other weeks! Charlie
Beautiful! Way to go, CT. I wish I were smart enought to understand all the technicalities, but nevertheless I am so totally impressed with your accomplishment. Are you retired now? We have added another grandchild--Melody has a 6 month old baby girl, Miranda Genevieve. Give my greetings to Sandy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen... I will work until I keel over... I might like to stop breaking software some day and build flutes instead! Our 2 grandkids keep us busy with out 3 youngest at home still! Say hi to Charlie, David and Melody... sounds like she does good work!
Charlie, I listened to all you flutes. They have very nice and clear tones.
ReplyDeleteNice work. Check out my blog. I have some videos of my flute playing...
not the best player but I have fun. I also have a photo page where you
can see my flutes and jigs.
I use a Zoom H4 as a back up recorder at church. Works great. I've been
the sound dude there for about 8 years. I'm ready to retire from that job.
I spend more time at church than the minister.
Thanks Gerald... In case someone does not think to click your name...
http://socratease8.blogspot.com/ I will check it out!
Cool site Gerald! I have made a few hammered dulcimers. I have not played as much lately with all the flute building. I also made a bowed psaltery that is a lot like your zither. The strings are very close to the edge and you play them with a violin bow. Really cool!
Your flutes look great! I am just thinking of making a flute tree... your's seems just right...
I am using Ubuntu at the moment because I fried Windows by installing Celestia! I can not play any videos on Linux with the ridiculous Mozilla-Adobe-Flash war! UGH!
looks great now I need to know where and what size holes for the fingers are have you finished #3 yet,
ReplyDeletemick
Thanks Mick. Maybe I will post dimensions after I finish #3. I have it laid out with adjustments from #2. I have to get the windway done and the fundamental tuned before I can start the finger holes. I like to go slow and adjust as I learn. Even with PVC, every one seems to be a tiny bit different! My measurements should be close enough to get you started if you want to build one.
Hey Charlie,
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! Love "big bertha" care to share some dimensions? Now, if I am looking at the picture right... When the holes get that big, move them toward the mouthpiece some. Only speaking of what I would try... I would move them, probably an inch or so, especially the bottom hole. Remember, if the hole size becomes too small for the size flute, then other annoying things happen but with PVC, it's fairly easy to fix!!! Moving them "north" in this specific case, will make them get smaller, to achieve the note you want. Best wishes,
Chris
Thanks Chris. Your strategy is exactly what I do. I use a Rubber Tube-stretch technique to transfer a good design to a new size, pilot the holes a bit small, then ream them out to tune. I figure it will take 2 to 3 flutes to get a really good flute with first and second octaves in tune and a balance between loudness and playability. My second F3 had very playable hole sizes and I am expecting #3 to be good enough that I can drill the hole close to final size with confidence. Glad they are PVC so that I can afford to use this iterative process.
ReplyDeleteWhen I do need to plug a hole I use Sculpy. First I place tape and a backing piece of tube inside. Then I fill the hole and smooth it to match the surface. I make a curved "Trowell" by taking some pipe close to the right curve and rub it on a piece of sandpaper on a solid piece of pipe the same size as the pipe I am filling. After filling and leveling I heat the Sculpy carefully in a well ventillated area. I have used a torch, lighter, solar magnification, and soldering iron (a little ways away). Once hardened, I remove the backing piece and tape from the inside and sand the sculpy a bit if needed. Makes a nice permanent repair that can be re-drilled.
the soldering iron that i use is employing a ceramic heating element~:'
ReplyDeleteI would like to learn how to make these type of flutes! are there any blue prints or whys to learn? You do some really nice work! thank you for your time in this matter. I think that it would be cool to make them for the kids in my area. Thanks again! Michael.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael! In a later post I give the dimensions for the F3 bass flute. It is really quite an art and there are a surprising number of things to learn! I would look at the info provided at the Yahoo group for building Native American Style Flutes. They have a tremendous amount of knowledge stored in the files section and old posts. Careful... it is addictive!
ReplyDeletehttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/nativeflutewoodworking/
A simple starter... http://www.markshep.com/flute/Pipe.html
how much will you charge to make me one of the big oneand andmid size one well how about a all 3 special
ReplyDeleteChaptor Reply...
Joe, that is a very difficult question! Consider the bass... It takes about $10 of materials and parts to make! (Not counting tools of course.) So, how do you account for time? Now that I have perfected the design it "only" takes about 12 hours to build and tune... can you believe that! So, even if a person decided to pay themselves "25 an hour that would be... ah... $310??? It is hard for me to figure that someone would pay that! I really do not know what to say... make an offer? If you want to try building the bass yourself... give a look at a later post that gives the dimensions for my final design. Also, please post a comment here with any questions during the building process.
The other flutes are a bit different... You can buy PVC flutes online for about $20, and for that you should be able to get an "off the drill press" student's flute. I put a lot of time into crafting a good quality instrument. The mid sized one would be OK for $40 with one pass of fine tuning (+/- 5 cents). The little one is harder... I gave away my last one by "accident" so I do not have one to use as a template. So... it would take some time... but... several others have asked too, so I think $40 would do. I do not hide the fact that these are PVC, although I do rotate the printing to the back!
Also, just for clarity, remember that although these are similar to Native American style flutes, I am not Native American and I have varied the style. I also based my bass version on the techniques of organ makers.
Hi, can you Sr. send to me the size of your BIGBERTHA, inside diammeter, hole places, number of holes. I am waiting a answer.
ReplyDeleteass: leandro seibel
Hi Leandro! Thanks for your interest. You will find the dimensions on a later post. If you decide to build one, remember that every little change makes a big difference in flutecraft, so, drill the holes a bit small and slowly increase the size up to pitch working from bottom hole to top hole over several passes. Chaptor
ReplyDelete