Hi all, I know it’s been a while since I last posted. Been very busy (no flute making but bamboo harvesting this past winter). I just wanted folks to know I just finished a set of flutes (high quality tuned bamboo) for Doc over at the Irish flute store if anyone’s interested. A few low Bb’s as well as one low A and several outstanding F’s and Eb’s. Please give Doc a call if you’re interested or you can email me direct at billymiller at swva dot net.
Before shipping to Doc I took a bit of time to use a web-cam to do a quick demo of most of the instruments in this batch to load onto youtube. Nothing fancy (on board laptop mic), just me going through the scales and octaves with snippets of tunes, and comparing intonation to a keyboard (the web-cam doesn’t capture what’s happening with the strobe tuner very well) but it’s enough to give folks an idea of the tone quality and intonation. (As most of you know, most bamboo flutes are notoriously out of tune) Hopefully, I’ll get some video up of me in the workshop soon for those curious about the process.
Thanks so much for everyone’s support on this site, and also to those who have sent folks my way. I’m really just barely getting by doing this, but it’s a labor of love, as music is for most of us.
I got my first Billy Miller D flute at Apple Chill in Chapel Hill, NC… ohhh…
25 years ago? Still have it, but I don’t play it a lot. He makes a nice bamboo flute. I’d probably buy one if I saw him again.
Yep, still at it, though (hopefully) they have improved a bit since then
I had a chance to hang out a bit with Patrick Olwell this fall and talk shop at the National Folk Festival in Richmond, VA. (We were both exhibiting there) He was kind enough to invite me to visit his shop later. I brought a stash of bamboo for him to pick through. He only picked out a few pieces as he’s focusing more on his incredible wooden flutes. We use the same species, and he gave me a few tips, most notably ways to improve my mouth hole design which I think has helped the volume considerably. He also goes for large finger holes on his bamboo flutes which I had strayed away from in an attempt to make them easier for beginners to play. Now I make a little of both.
Most experienced players go for a bamboo in another key as they usually already have a honkin’ D (my main session axe is a Copland D from around '85.)
You sound great on your tune links by the way. Glad to hear your still at it.
