I used the river cane (that’s what I call it, it might actually be something else) that grows near the er…river.
I put it beside my Mellow D for comparison, and I used a nail, paperclip, and a screw to make the holes, and a cleaning rod to get through the ‘walls’ at the joints of the plant. Ain’t it purdy?
The holes look the same size and space apart, but they’re not. I think that’s because I was pushing the whistle down flat with my hand when I scanned it (it’s slightly bow shaped). I put the Mellow D mouthpiece on it, but because it’s wider at the top, I had to shave some of it off to get it to fight right.
I’m sure it’s out of tune, (because I made it!) but I can get it to go the high D or mabey E. You can barely hear it, I think because it’s still living and really soft. If it was dry, it would probably sound better. If I just lay it in the sun, will it dry or do you have to do special treatments and stuff?
That looks really cool, indeed! If the cane is green, you will probably want to let it dry for a while to harden, then run something through it like a sharp bit of wire, several times, to scrape out all of the pulp. Cane actually holds up pretty well even if it gets wet, so your whistle should wind up being fairly durable, if a bit on the brittle side.
Congratulations! That is one HOT looking whistle!
serpent
Yes, you’d want to dry it out first, and the holes need to be more cleanly -and larger- cut IMO. Also, make sure the bore is as smooth as you can get it if it isn’t that way from nature. But then I’m not a whistlemaker; just going by past info.
I just came in with about 30 long pieces of cane that I collected. I even found an old piece that was already dried out, it’s a little bit less than an inch wide and about 3’ long…really pretty.
I have a question…if I was going to seriously try to do a bunch of cane whistles to see if one of them ended up being half-way good, should I make holes before they dry out or after? And with what exactly should I make the holes? If there are any sites that tell what I’m supposed to do…just point.
From the pic you attached it looks like the reed might be water hemlock. Did it have fan-like clusters of “flower” heads (like yarrow) on the ends of the branches and a greyish streaked color when dry? If it is I wouldn’t use it green since it is poisonous but when dried it is safe. It’s also much easier to work with regardless of species when dry, get less fuzzy holes that way.
The easiest way to make a clean hole in reeds or bamboo is to burn the holes. Go outside, heat up a nail, holding with pliers, using a propane torch (grill, charcoal, campfire etc, not a stovetop since it makes a lot of smoke!) if you have access to one. Push the red hot nail into the material slowly to make a perfectly smooth non-fuzzy hole. Depending on the material the smoke can be a strong irritant so do it in a very well ventilated area and make sure the smoke blows away from you. The smell can be annoying after burning so let it air out for a while. Sounds scarier than it is but has been used for hundreds of years by many cultures.
Another way to make a clean hole in soft, dried reeds is to use a tube drill. Find a metal tube (pen body, copper pipe etc) and sharpen the outside with a file or sandpaper. chuck it into a drill or if you are patient wear a pair of gloves and wrap the opposite end of the tube with tape and rotate the “bit” to cut a hole.
Good luck and keep experimenting. Remember to make the holes small at first then widen as needed to tune. For reeds, sandpaper wrapped around a dowel works well.
Here’s one good resource. Thanks to Serpent, et al. for directing us to it. If you play around with the values in the calculator, you’ll get a sense of how tonehole size and placement, tube diameter etc. interact.
Best wishes,
Jerry
P.S. There’s also free, downloadable tuning software. It’s been discussed recently, so you should be able to find it with a search. I’ve lost the URL since I downloaded it, but it’s great.
From the pic you attached it looks like the reed might be water hemlock. Did it have fan-like clusters of “flower” heads (like yarrow) on the ends of the branches and a greyish streaked color when dry?
Not right now, but in the summer it does. You described it exactly. It’s everywhere here (being as I live a few feet from the creek bank, it grows in the yard even). Most people around here call it ‘snake weed’. I knew it was poisinous when it was green, but I’ve eaten it before (don’t ask, LOL) and not died from it. I like how it’s green with with magenta splashes all over it. But it turns the pale gray color when it dries. Hmph.
I’m going to try the nail burning method. My quena, transverse flute, and the P-word thing all look like their holes have been burned, but I didn’t know it was so simple to do with a hot nail.
Cranberry, a while back, someone else made a whistle by attaching a commercial head to a tube she’d measured and drilled with loving care. Someone who shall remain nameless, told her “you didn’t make a whistle, you made a tube”. An argument lasting a couple of weeks ensued, and lots of people got really turned off by it.
Cranberry, you made a nice whistle. Take the suggestion about burning the holes - that will work well, and will allow you to enlarge them as needed for proper tuning and volume. If you want to try production, email me and I’ll try to help you figure out what you need to have to do that effectively.
Cheers,
serpent
You did a great job, Andrea! Go for it again. The holes don’t need to be perfectly in line, but they do need to be the right diameters, and spaced based on the inside diameter of the tube, and the thickness of the walls. Pete Koel’s Flutomat calculator will get that info for you. http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/flutomat.html
