Three days ago I decided to try and make my own PVC flute. I had been eager to play the flute for some time but can’t afford the purchase atm, so I decided to make one myself from PVC, I had seen some guides especially GG’s low-tech whistle guide, and Doug Tipple’s flute guide.
It was and still is a fun experience, not only is it the first flute I’ve made, it’s also the first time I’m actually playing a flute =D I really like it.
It really took me a considerable amount of time to make it. Not because it’s particularly hard but because I’m not very experienced when it comes to DIY =D I think the second time around it would go a LOT faster.
I’m still very much practicing the embouchure but it’s improving steadily, with practice comes perfect they say =D Compared to day 1 I’m getting a much better sound out of it. The first day the sound was quite bad really, I didn’t know if it was my embouchure or the flute or both but it seems most of it was me =).
I’m not sure if I’d see this as a replacement of a more professional flute, well I am pretty sure actually, I don’t hehe, rather I view it in it’s own right: it was practically free and selfmade and it’s making music, how lovely is that.
I am not in a position to buy a flute and decided to try my hand at making one. Well, I am about on my 30th now and having a blast. I actually just sold 3 to a local instrument retailer.
When I made my first one I was having a horrible time getting any sound out of it at all. Seems my trumpet embouchure wasn’t any good for flute. But I have kept at it and am getting a decent sound now. Been playing for a little less than 4 months now and play everyday 'cause I am having such a blast with it.
I just get a real kick out of telling someone I made the flute out of pipe and watching the shock when I play it.
You should definitely make a couple more to test out different hole placements as you will continually find ways to improve on it.
Here is a tune on it. Please be kind as I have only been playing for a short time. I am certainly not brave enough to post an Irish tune on here yet. btw, the mic I have sucks, so if it sounds like crap lets blame the mic!!!
Congratulations on making your first flute. Here is a link to an ebay ad for a new flute on the market, one made from copper tubing, no less. The seller has a 100% customer rating, so the flutes can’t be that bad. From looking at the photos I can’t tell whether there is a tuning cork or whether the end cap serves that function. I can’t see an other reason for having the end cap so close to the embouchure hole. You would think that the end cap would would be in your way while you were playing the flute. ebay ad
From a earlier comment about embouchure hole size and flute pitch, the way that I would do it on a one-piece, non-tunable flute would be to finish the embouchure hole before I drilled the finger holes. If you leave the flute length a little longer than you will need, you can remove a little off the end of the flute untill you finally get the fundamental tone up to the pitch that you want. At that point you can drill the finger holes.
I had a listen to the sound files on their site and to me that copper flute doesn’t really sound so good. I would imagine the chimney is a tad shallow.
Doug, is there really enough of a difference in the thickness/consistency of PVC pipe that it is necessary to cut the embouchure first? The ones I have been buying seem to be very consistent. I can definitely see having to do that if the consistency is not there, but am wondering what your take on it is. Have you seen much difference in the PVC you get?
I really wanted to try my hand at making some bamboo flutes but I haven’t found a local supplier yet. Looks like it would be more work because of the need to bore it out, but I like the sound they make (when they are well tuned )
Darren that flute looks really nice ! And sounds just lovely. It got me so I excited lol that even though it was past midnight I went into my workshop (living room) and sawed off .6m of PVC. This time I’m going at it from a different perspective.
The first time I was very eager to find out how it would work out and to play the flute and other things so I wasn’t really that patient. No regrets but different approach this time =). I have something to play on, now I just want to take my time for everything and get it perfect. For starters I made the cork for flute #2 so it fits inside which looks a lot better and allows me to position it.
The point of making flute #2 after midnight was the embouchure. Looking at your flute, Darren, I noticed the embouchure is quite square and wanted to try that out and also to get the holes nice and smooth; I had also seen Doug Tipple’s whistles and remember the square embouchure on the one with the lip plate.
I don’t know how much time I just spent on the embouchure on flute #2 but it was a pretty long time I can tell you. I did the very beginning with the small blade on the swiss army knife. Then when I pierced the tube I took the scissors and used them as a drill until the scissors where smaller than the hole, then I went to carefully scraping, keeping the embouchure smooth. The last 2 millimeters I did with sanding paper rolled up, at the same time taking the opportunity to finalize the shape. And now it is finished =), the embouchure that is. The note is about 3-5% or so flat so that gives me some margin to work with =). I’m really happy how the embouchure came out, it was definitely worth the effort.
Ooh Doug Tipple! What an honor. If I get to buying a flute you would be my first choice.
Yeah you’re right that copper flute doesn’t look very comfortable to play with the cap in the way like that.
I must say it’s really nice to chat with people on the same boat =)
Darren, to answer your question, I wasn’t really referring to a difference in the thickness of the PVC pipe. I was referring to your comment where you said that the fundamental of your non-tunable flute was not at standard pitch. Once you have the design set and you are satisfied with the fundamental pitch and intonation of your flute, then there isn’t any good reason to follow the method that I mentioned about cutting the embouchure hole first on flutes that follow. On the other hand, while you are prototyping new flute designs, such as experimenting with different embouchure hole sizes and shapes, then, in my opinion, it makes sense to establish the fundamental pitch first by starting with a longer flute and approaching your standard pitch by removing material from the end of the flute. Of course, if you have a two-piece, tunable flute, you don’t need to be as concerned with fundamental pitch because you can adjust for that with the tuning slide.
dominic, it must just be the lighting or something but the holes on my flutes are all round. Maybe it was my head you were looking at???
I am pretty sure that Doug only does round embouchures as well, but I could be wrong.
Man, you are certainly taking the long road with you flute making. Using scissors to make the holes seems about equivalent to cutting your hair with a spoon. If you can get your hands on a drill, even a manual one, things will be a tad easier.
BTW, not sure which pipe you are using. The instructions from that whistle site you mentioned call for a thin material because it is best for the whistle, but the flute seems to want a bit more meat. Use a PVC schedule 40 pipe for that extra thickness. Plus, if you are using the measurements from Doug’s site with that thinner material it will not sound in tune. Inner diameter and hole placement makes a big diff.
You probably can use those measurements for rough placement of the holes, but go slowly while you are shaping them in order to tune them correctly. Personally, I prefer to go right to the drilling stage by using the right measures.
Oh, right! I see what you mean. That’s a great way to do it . I just figured I would make a bunch of flutes that I would through out until I got it right.
Haha I guess I expressed myself wrong. Language barrier I guess =D By square I meant that the embouchure doesn’t appear sharpened but straight, maybe that’s the word lol, maybe you know what I mean now =D
Actually it goes surprisingly well with scissors, as long as the hole is not too much bigger than the scissors because then it’s slow progress. No doubt it would go faster with a drill though heheh. I’m not so worried about it though, it’s the end result I’m looking forward to not so much worried about how long it takes, maybe next time I want to be a bit more time efficient, not this time =D.
My pipe is a bit too thin I’d reckon but unfortunately I don’t have a lot of choice here. I could only get my hands on 20mm outside diameter, 1.5mm wall thickness (17mm inside). It was that or 16mm outside or 32mm outside and even getting the 20mm asked for some sweat because they were sold out at the first shop. I think that explains why my holes ended up so much smaller.
Now I used the flutomat to tailor the hole positioning to my pipe. I’m going with the hole sizes suggested by Doug Tipple unless they end up to far apart then I may move 1 or 2 holes a little, I’ll see that when I draw it out =)
Thank you Doug for taking the time to write such a detailed guide on making the flute =) !
I’m a bit lost with the tuning. I haven’t made the fingerholes yet because I don’t know how to approach the tuning. From what I understand because it’s conical it can’t be perfect in pitch through all octaves, namely the higher notes will be flat and the lower ones sharp. So how would I approach tuning when I start making the holes. Say when I start on the E hole, if I make it perfect E4 then won’t the higher octave be flat? or is that completely fixed by undercutting the finger holes on the embouchure end?
To what frequencies should I tune the notes in the lower octaves I’d really like to know. Like this I mean:
low D : D4 + 10cents
low E: …
Then I can fix the higher notes by undercutting but I need to know to what low octave I need to tune em to to make the finger holes =\ Maybe you guys can share your approach to this? It’d be really helpful =)
Well, obviously I am no expert but I will offer you my approach for what its worth.
There is some flexibility for the player to change the pitch of notes, just not very much. Most accomplished players do this without really having to think twice about it but they will change the angle they blow (rolling the flute) and the shape of their embouchure to adjust. i.e. rolling the flute inward will lower the tone, tightening the embouchure will sharpen, etc.
BTW, these PVC flutes are cylindrical, not conical.
What I am doing is trying to make the first octave as close to bang on as I can because I find that most people aren’t really going to go too far beyond that 2nd octave, not on these flutes anyway. If the first octave is in tune (and most music is written for the first octave and a half) the player can usually adjust a fair bit for the second octave.
For sure, do the undercutting of the finger holes. I really only do significant undercutting on the top (the left hand) holes.
Positioning of the cork is important too. Use the guideline of one diameter distance from the centre of the embouchure but test out some adjustments.
Doug Tipple seems to have a great solution with the Tipple-Fajardo Wedge;
Ah that sounds good, I’ll start from there and see if any other adjustments are necessary. Having the bottom octave in perfect pitch sounds like a good start =) cheers mate
I am the maker of the copper flute discussed briefly above and that is my old, discarded desogn. The new one design is available here: http:www.ethnicwind.com
you guys were right that the end cap wasn’t a good idea. I only make these in G because of the problem you were mentioning about the second octave being flat. That wedge idea lookies like it might be a good thing to let me make a low D flute.
I actually just sold 3 to a local instrument retailer.
But I have kept at it and am getting a decent sound now. Been playing for a little less than 4 months now and play everyday 'cause I am having such a blast with it.
Looks like it would be more work because of the need to bore it out, but I like the sound they make (when they are well tuned