A run on quenas

I made every one of the flutes on this page. Each is created either from a bamboo tiki torch or bamboo I found lying around in front of a local science museum.

More flutes

The flute demonstrated in the above video is a quena made in Ecuador. I bought it from an ebay seller.

Here's a flute I made from a bamboo tiki torch. It combines features of quenas and shakuhachi. There are six finger holes on top and a thumb hole on the bottom. The mouthpiece resembles the Japanese utaguchi "lip" rather than the Andean "U" shaped notch. The scale of the instrument is unique due to the fact I positioned the finger holes to fit my hands, rather than to play a particular scale.

The shakuhachi

Once again, the shakuhachi is a Japanese endblown flute. It is typically made from bamboo and features a beveled lip or "utaguchi". This instrument has four finger holes on top and a thumb hole on the bottom. Traditionally, finger holes are burned into the flute with a red hot poker. They are large and wide: on the order of one third of an inch apiece. The shakuhachi's range is over two octaves--remarkable for just five holes. I purchased this bamboo shakuhachi from an ebay seller.

 This is a PVC shakuhachi I bought from an ebay seller who lives in Thailand.

Here's a PVC shakuhachi I made from scratch, using the one from Thailand as a model.

The kaval

The kaval is an endblown flute made from wood. Kavals are played in Turkey, Bulgaria and  the countries making up the former Yugoslavia. Here is a video showing me playing a kaval I purchased from an ebay seller.

Now here is a video showing me with a PVC kaval I made just yesterday (October 18th):

A few notes each from neys

Several months ago, I purchased a Turkish ney flute from an ebay seller. The flute is challenging for me to play. This video clip shows me getting just a good clear notes from the instrument.

Here's a clip showing me playing a PVC ney I made myself.

Endlbown flutes of the empty variety

The Middle Eastern ney, Japanese shakuhachi and Andean quena are all of fairly simple design. They are also hollow throughout. All three are quite challenging to play, with the ney being the most difficult. Arabic and Turkis neys and quena feature six finger holes and a thumb hole each. Persian (Iranian) neys have five finger holes, in addition to the thumb hole. Shakuhachis have four finger holes and a thumb hole. The Anasazi flute resembles all of these flutes put together. The mouthpiece end is beveled and the body of the flute includes six finger holes.

Paintings of court musicians playing ney flutes date back at least three thousand years. These paintings have been found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. Neys are usually made from reeds (Arundo donax). The Arabic word "ney" itself means "reed." 

This first video shows me playing a makeshift ney made from a tiki torch. I am not sure whether the way I shaped the mouthpiece end is typical of ethnic neys. Nor am I sure whether my playing method is accurate. Anyway, I was glad to get sounds from this particular flute. What you hear is my rendition of the Rolling Stones tune, "Paint it black."

The flute section

Flutes are wind instruments with histories reaching back thousands of years. There is an incredible variety of flute designs, as well as of materials used to make these instruments. Some flutes are cylindrical in shape. These include the transverse or cross flute, as well as the Middle Eastern ney, Japanese shakuhachi and South American (specifically, the region of the Andes Mountains) quena. Others are globular in form. Examples include the ocarina and xun, the latter being an egg shaped flute from China. Panpipes consist of several tubes of different lengths fastened together. The Native American flute features two sound holes. When one plays this kind of flute, the air stream is directed out of the first hole, under a wooden block and over the far edge of the second sound hole. Pennywhistles, recorders (aka blockflottes or whistle flutes), the Slovakian fujara and koncovka all feature air duct assemblies, also known as fipples. Such arrangements can also be noted on police whistles and the like. The fipple consists of a square or rectangular window near the mouthpiece end. A specially shaped wood plug is inserted in that end and positioned in such a way as to allow a thin stream of air to be directed over the far edge of the window, thus producing the sound.  In addition, the transverse flute consists of a tube blocked at one end, with a mouthpiece (embouchure) close to the plug, along with a number of finger holes. The shakuhachi features a lip or "utaguchi" for the blowing edge. The quena has a U shaped notch. The mouthpiece end of the ney is slightly beveled or cut at a slant. All three of these flutes are hollow throughout.

Flutes may be made from wood, clay, metal, plastic, bamboo, glass, bone and other materials. Ocarinas and xuns are typically made from clay. Ethnic flutes such as shakuhachis, quenas and neys are made from bamboo or cane. Native American flutes are often made from wood, although people in warm climates use bamboo. Fujaras, koncovkas and similar flutes are made from wood.

It is interesting to note the similarities of some flutes across cultures. Panpipes are found in South America, Greece, Romania, Hungary, China and Africa. The Chinese di-tzi resembles a transverse flute but with an additional hole covered with rice paper for interesting variations in sound. The bansuri of India is also a transverse or cross flute.  In addition, Turkish and Arabic neys resemble the quena in terms of all these flutes having six finger holes in front and thumb holes in back.