I couple of years ago, I was given a wooden (or bamboo?) flute a couple of years ago. I was given no information about it (ie. what kind of flute it is, proper fingerings, etc) other than the fact it was from Japan and it has an “A” written on it, so I assume it’s in the key of A. It has six holes on the top side like a normal whistle/flute, but it also has a hole underneith to be covered by the thumb and one right before the end that there is no way to cover.
I tried playing it for the first time yesterday. I kept the bottom hole covered and played it as I would a normal whistle/flute. It has a nice tone and seems to play a regular eight-note scale (A-A) relatively in tune with itself. It is, however, clearly not concert pitched. When I took out my tuner, I found that the A is so sharp it almost registers as a B flat, and the other notes follow a similar pattern. I tried taping the hole on the bottom that I can’t cover. Partially covering it made little difference and if I covered all of it, the A became a G sharp and I nolonger got a recognizable scale. Taking my thumb off what I presume to be the thumb hole throws everything off as well.
It’s aethetically pleasing, at the very least. It is a warm honey color with black bands and the inside is painted red. Still, I’d like to be able to play it…
It sounds like you have a Japanese flute called a fue (sometimes shinobue or yokobue). I have never heard of any with a thumb hole, but wouldn’t be surprised. They typically are made from Shino bamboo in a variety of keys and are available in 6 or 7 finger holes.. However, many are in a “natural” scale, or a scale that has developed specific to a certain region’s festival. If the finger holes are similar sized, it’s probably one of these rather than a western scale.
It doesn’t appear to be the flute you discribe. The holes on the top look like those on western flutes/whistles for the most part and it still doesn’t explain the two holes on the bottom. It does play a western scale, though it is either a very sharp A nat. or very flat B flat scale, according to my tuner set to A440. The flute may have been calibrated to a higher or lower frequency though.
The “A” is on the endcap, so I guess it could be the number you mention.
