"It's a world of laughter,
A world of tears.
It's a world of hopes,
And a world of fears.
There's so much that we share,
That it's time we're aware,
It's a small world after all."
When it comes to one of my new flutes, it is a small world, after all, indeed. I realize that some of you reading this aren't into music or techincal jargon or Native American style flutes...but there are aspects of what I do many find intriguing, regardless...be it the woodworking and how different woods behave, to the construction and how-to, even the process itself. And so I digress...
I recently came up with a 'first' for me, a type of flute that there simply must be very few of around this ol' world of ours. It's what I call an ultra-high key of A-flat (Ab). Some people don't like the really high keys...all I can say is that different pitches, different keys, play different types and styles of songs best. When you get really high and really low, it pays to slow down and let melodies do the talking. Out in nature, Life really responds to the high keys, maybe because they carry so well, or maybe because they are closer to bird-talk.
This flute is in my flat-bottomed Half-Pipe design, which allows for larger diameter finger holes as opposed to a round-bore flute for the same key (waaaay too long of a story for another day). But when I go above the key of high F, there has been a train-wreck of space for all 6 fingers to fit (for the 'usual' 6-hole flute design). After a friend's suggestion for a 6-hole ultra-high key, I thought that I could rearrange the finger holes so that they could all fit in a tight space.
In designing my flutes, the center of any finger hole is a specific distance from the end of the flute. Draw a perpendicular line around the flute at that hole mark, and by theory the hole can go anywhere on that circumference. And so I held tubes and looked at how my fingers would behave cramming them together in the 'normal' left hand above right hand configuration. I came up with this:
You are looking at the flute's left side above, where the mouthpiece is to the right, and the end of the flute to the left. The right hand is on the 3 holes to the left, and the left hand is covering the holes on the right hand side of the picture. If I can make this any more confusing for you, please let me know.
All I can say is it worked. Oh, it takes a minute or two to get used to feeling the holes in their relatively different positions, but it is rather natural feeling. Run the scales a couple of times and you're golden. All the notes are there, even the above-octave ones, cleanly and clearly.
The flute is about 19" long - didn't need to be, but I like the aesthetics of it. In the above picture, the hole to the left is a tuning hole, which lets the air know that's the 'end' of the flute. The Quilted Maple wood was too pretty to simply cut off at the hole. Same went for the figured Massarunduba wood used for the body of the flute.
Toward the back are two dark walnut inserts...the Maple bottom had two small holes in the wood, so I enlarged them and glued in the walnut circles, using them to mark the flute. I'm always inventing new and little things as I get bored with the same ol'-same ol' approach to work or Life.
Bottom line is I proved to myself a 6-hole in the ultra-high keys is do-able...it only takes a player willing to 'learn' something new to make it a perfect match. This one sold before it hit the streets because someone had just happened to write about wanting one if I ever made it. Ah, serendipity...
------------------------------------------------------
And so here it is December 9 and I'm looking at forecasts for mid 70s highs and mid 50s lows for the next few days...so much for a yuletide fire, eh?
Nice radar grab out of Nashville, TN late yesterday afternoon showing thunderstorms with hail markers for 1-1.25" hail. Forecasts have been nigh impossible to nail down the past few days as a stationary front went wacko and flew north, against virtually all models. High of 63? Try 73. How about 67? Nope, 75. Oh well, got lots done outside and inside...and wearing the same wardrobe for both activities! "It's beginning to feel a lot like September...."
Of course, we're gonna pay for this excessive warmth, and it looks to arrive with a passion next weekend. So be it. 'Tis the season.
A world of tears.
It's a world of hopes,
And a world of fears.
There's so much that we share,
That it's time we're aware,
It's a small world after all."
When it comes to one of my new flutes, it is a small world, after all, indeed. I realize that some of you reading this aren't into music or techincal jargon or Native American style flutes...but there are aspects of what I do many find intriguing, regardless...be it the woodworking and how different woods behave, to the construction and how-to, even the process itself. And so I digress...
I recently came up with a 'first' for me, a type of flute that there simply must be very few of around this ol' world of ours. It's what I call an ultra-high key of A-flat (Ab). Some people don't like the really high keys...all I can say is that different pitches, different keys, play different types and styles of songs best. When you get really high and really low, it pays to slow down and let melodies do the talking. Out in nature, Life really responds to the high keys, maybe because they carry so well, or maybe because they are closer to bird-talk.
This flute is in my flat-bottomed Half-Pipe design, which allows for larger diameter finger holes as opposed to a round-bore flute for the same key (waaaay too long of a story for another day). But when I go above the key of high F, there has been a train-wreck of space for all 6 fingers to fit (for the 'usual' 6-hole flute design). After a friend's suggestion for a 6-hole ultra-high key, I thought that I could rearrange the finger holes so that they could all fit in a tight space.In designing my flutes, the center of any finger hole is a specific distance from the end of the flute. Draw a perpendicular line around the flute at that hole mark, and by theory the hole can go anywhere on that circumference. And so I held tubes and looked at how my fingers would behave cramming them together in the 'normal' left hand above right hand configuration. I came up with this:
You are looking at the flute's left side above, where the mouthpiece is to the right, and the end of the flute to the left. The right hand is on the 3 holes to the left, and the left hand is covering the holes on the right hand side of the picture. If I can make this any more confusing for you, please let me know.
All I can say is it worked. Oh, it takes a minute or two to get used to feeling the holes in their relatively different positions, but it is rather natural feeling. Run the scales a couple of times and you're golden. All the notes are there, even the above-octave ones, cleanly and clearly.The flute is about 19" long - didn't need to be, but I like the aesthetics of it. In the above picture, the hole to the left is a tuning hole, which lets the air know that's the 'end' of the flute. The Quilted Maple wood was too pretty to simply cut off at the hole. Same went for the figured Massarunduba wood used for the body of the flute.
Toward the back are two dark walnut inserts...the Maple bottom had two small holes in the wood, so I enlarged them and glued in the walnut circles, using them to mark the flute. I'm always inventing new and little things as I get bored with the same ol'-same ol' approach to work or Life. Bottom line is I proved to myself a 6-hole in the ultra-high keys is do-able...it only takes a player willing to 'learn' something new to make it a perfect match. This one sold before it hit the streets because someone had just happened to write about wanting one if I ever made it. Ah, serendipity...
------------------------------------------------------
And so here it is December 9 and I'm looking at forecasts for mid 70s highs and mid 50s lows for the next few days...so much for a yuletide fire, eh?
Nice radar grab out of Nashville, TN late yesterday afternoon showing thunderstorms with hail markers for 1-1.25" hail. Forecasts have been nigh impossible to nail down the past few days as a stationary front went wacko and flew north, against virtually all models. High of 63? Try 73. How about 67? Nope, 75. Oh well, got lots done outside and inside...and wearing the same wardrobe for both activities! "It's beginning to feel a lot like September...." Of course, we're gonna pay for this excessive warmth, and it looks to arrive with a passion next weekend. So be it. 'Tis the season.
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