End blown head for conical bore flutes?

Irish Flute
1

I’ve still been experimenting off and on with piper hold, and it seems more natural to do this on the low whistle than the flute because it’s centered in front of the body.

Has anyone ever tried making an end blown head like on a quena or quenacho for keyless conical bore flutes? I’m curious what it would sound like. Would it sound close to the same flute with the normal transverse head, or would it just basically sound like an expensive quenacho with better intonation? :slight_smile:

Thanks,
Bob

2

This is a little different: actually a transverse head made to fit a vertically oriented flute:
http://www.drelinger.com/brochure/uprite_brochure3.htm#brochureTop
(Page 5 has a picture of Drelinger’s modern version.)

And then there’s the (rare) Eklute, which turns the flute into a whistle, one of which Doc Jones has for sale.
http://www.irishflutestore.com/POFlutes.html

And here’s something more along the lines you’re asking about:
http://www.shakuhachi.com/Q-Models-Headjoint.html

3

Originally I was thinking this, but it also has a cylindrical body and not a conical bore.

4

I only mention conical bore flutes since they’re the most often used in ITM. Basically, I’m wondering if it’s possible to have an end blown flute that’s similar in tonal characteristics to our transverse conical bore simple system flutes used in ITM.

I guess my idea wasn’t original. The older I get, the more I wonder if I’ve ever had an original thought. :slight_smile:

5

Why, I wrote that very thought in my journal when I was a junior in high school back in '77. :wink:

Jennie

6

WOW!!

My having gone to one of the above links, I notice that there is a Brand X headjoint, which appears to turn a flute to the vertical, but the $4K tag is exciting, too.

7

The whistle head from tony dixon flute/whistle combos is easily adapted and a lot cheaper …it’s the best part of the combo…throw away the rest…

8

I’m aware of the whistle heads that are available, but I was referring to a head that still uses some type of flute embouchure like with a shakuhachi or quena, but on a traditional conical bore simple system flute. I’m still wondering if that would change the tone so much that it’s essentially a new instrument?

9

Well, it wasn’t as though I were interested in a Brand X head for myself. Yet, $4K seems like an awful lot, for a nicely crafted piece of bent tubing.

10

This head, but for Ssilver (Boehm) flutes.

http://www.shakuhachi.com/Q-Models-Headjoint.html


Kevin Krell

11

A shak or quena head would definetly change the tone (no phase matching from the embushure to cork cavity…although you might substitute the oral cavity ???) I’ve never seen one with a conical bore flute body…Doug Tipple was interested in exploring that topic a while back…

12

On the upside here, a conical-bore flute uses a cylindrical-bore head. That said, and, because there is no difficult-to-manufacture taper in a cylindrical-bore head, perhaps a door of manufacturing opportunity could be open to a far greater number of potential manufacturers.

Hmmm…