cross/transverse flutes

Cross flutes or transverse flutes are basically hollow tubes sealed at one end. An oval hole close to the blocked part serves as the mouthpiece. Blow gently across the edge of the hole to produce notes. You can get a range of sounds just by overblowing or blowing with various amounts of force. Adding finger holes gives the player some control in terms of the notes produced. Here is a video showing me improvising on a PVC flute without finger holes.

The orchestra or band flute, the Chinese di tzi and the Indian bansuri have features in common. They are all cross flutes. The buttons and levers on the orchestra/band flute are of fairly recent invention and supposedly make playing the instrument easier. Traditional flutes lack these features. The bansuri is usually made from bamboo, with holes burned into the instrument with a red hot poker. Besides a mouthpiece hole and six finger holes, the di tzi features an additional hole covered with onion skin. This modification produces a distinctive "nasal" quality to the flute sound. I do not have bansuris in my collection but do have an Indonesian flute and a di tzi, along with bamboo cross flutes I have made myself.

Here is a video of yours truly playing an Indonesian flute bought from an ebay seller.

Now here I am with a di tzi.

Now here's a bamboo flute made in the style of a di tzi. I cheated a bit here: I used clear scotch tape instead of onion skin.

The tune is my rendition of "Japanese banana", sung by Alvin and the chipmunks on a record from the time before CDs replaced vinyl disks.

Playing another bamboo flute here.

This is still another ebay seller purchase. The instrument is tuned according to a scale common to Anasazi flutes (found in a cave in Arizona).

 Clay is an excellent medium for instruments. This is a ceramic fife, about twelve inches long, with six finger holes. The key is B flat, though I did not deliberately tune the instrument to that key.

Here's a little flute made from a bamboo tiki torch. The torch itself cost a dollar so I definitely made a "bargain" instrument. Actually, this might be considered a piccolo, given its high range.

Here's a fife made from a discarded piece of aluminum tubing.

Still another bamboo flute.

One more:

and a last one. This is my rendition of an English tune, "John Barleycorn" played on a fife made from a bamboo tiki torch.