I had always naively assumed that the noseflute was an apocryphal instrument.
But if it’s on the web - http://www.asza.com/inose.shtml - it must exist.
I wonder do noseflute shops let you try the instruments out before you buy them?
Indeed they are real. Mine comes from the Philippines, where you are generally allowed to try ANY instrument before you buy it.
It is a good idea to blow your nose before attempting to play one of these. It may not work otherwise.
It is a good idea to blow your nose before attempting to play one of these. It may not work otherwise.
Yuck! 
I don’t think that the dish soap trick would help prevent clogging in this case.
The ones I have seen in stores are cheap plastic ones that are round and small…never seen one of the design of that picture before.
I agree…yuck! 
Cees wrote:
The ones I have seen in stores are cheap plastic ones that are round and small…never seen one of the design of that picture before.I agree…yuck! >
The plastic ones are a novelty handed out at children’s parties, and function on a different concept from the Pacific island traditional nose flutes.
I recently purchased one of the cheap plastic kind for every member of my household from The Whistle Shop. I got all different colors so that we could tell them apart (everyone is assigned a whistle…no swapping!!)
Anyway, my wife and I do a duet of “You Light Up My Life” that brings the crowd to their knees.
To their knees, huh?
I have one of the plastic kinds shown here:
http://www.larkinam.com/MenComNet/Business/Retail/LarkNet/Kids
Scroll down:
It is a fipple that basically uses your mouth as the bore. Hard to play. Get a slide whistle for the same sound.
The “Whistling Billy” story that accompanies Clarke whistles relates that he could play tunes with his nose, although he only did so as a novelty for his audience.
There is such a thing as a hawaiian nose flute made of bamboo. The ones I’ve seen have 3 finger holes, one more hole on the edge near the closed end. About half inch in diameter and 6 inches long. They are sold in the museum store at the Hilton in Waikiki. Didn’t try it though - don’t know how it sounds, never heard one played.
To play the cheap plastic type you breathe through your nose while shaping the note with your mouth, but the traditional type has finger holes. So do you just stick the top of the traditional type up your nose to play it?
No. It’s not a fipple flute. You sort of blow across it.