Just came home from a day at the Oregon state fair. There’s this lovely band from South America that plays there every year, and one of the guys plays a whistle-like instrument, maybe a quena? It’s bamboo, seven holes (thumb hole on back), and no fipple, just a blade notched out of the edge at the top. Sounds VERY whistle-like, beautiful, haunting.
I don’t even know what a quena is or if this is one, just wanted to find out more. Who can help me?
Along the same lines, are there any other cool whistle-like instruments from around the globe that I should know about?
Yeah, that’s a quena, all right. There’re all sorts of whistle-like instruments. A visit to http://www.larkinam.com might give you a brief introduction.
Thanks for the help, Walden. Couldn’t find any quenas at Lark until I actually keyword searched for them.
I guess any other instruments that I would be interested in would be more or less closely related to the whistle, as I consider the quena to be. Not really interested in anything with a reed, or anything not based on the same simple fingering system. Any other suggestions?
One more question. Does the quena’s thumbhole allow for a more chromatic scale, or a more extended range, or both?
I made one of these several years ago, well before I had the know-how to make wooden whistles. Using only a saw, hand drill, files and sandpaper I had a playable Quena in about an hour-- I still love playing it. If my lathe would handle the necessary length, I would make and sell exotic hardwood Quenas!
Yes - I came across this site some time ago and a wooden Quena is to be my first attempt at whistle/recorder making. I may post the results on the forum but please don’t hold your breath (eeek!) because the end product is probably some weeks away.
A traditional Italian-style sweet potato ocarina has a whistle mouthpiece, and simple in-line fingering. These are available from a number of sources. I got mine from a music store, here in Oklahoma. K. L. Dunster produces a line of these http://www.greenverdugo.com/ocarinas/index3.html Also, there are some fine makers of traditional ocarinas in Japan and Italy. Another maker is Anita Feng http://www.scn.org/~bg599/
Kingflute, a Philippine company produce very nice quality 7-hole (no thumbhole) bamboo whistles, in soprano C and alto G, in painted and unpainted designs. They now also produce a plastic version. However, I know of no importer of these.
There are some bamboo whistles, that have the 6-hole fingering system, available from India. The green ones with the painted designs and red painted bottom tend to be not worth much, but the unpainted ones with the thread binding, are available in several keys, and are sometimes good enough. These can be acquired from various importers, such as http://www.mid-east.com , as can traditional brass pennywhistles, made in India.
There are American Indian flutes, which function similar to a fipple flute, that are presently very popular. They are usually tuned to a minor scale, and nowadays are often set up with a cross-fingering system, often with five holes. Some of these are set up with holes that can be covered with rawhide straps, for different scales and fingerings.
There are simple system fipple flutes from many cultures. Some have just a few finger holes, and limited range, while others, such as some from Thailand, have many many finger holes. But the exact 6-hole fingering system is to be found on many.
I have obtained a strange whistle from a flea market - it is a D whistle with a blow hole and mouth piece placed so you hold the whistle like a flute. It isn’t a fife - just a whistle with a strange looking mouth piece.
Ocarinas! I love them. I have several, though I do not have a traditional sweet potato. Charlie Hind makes the most beautiful ones I have ever seen out of walnut. I have his Chromatic Junior (six hole) and his Alto (ten hole). They sound so sweet. Check them out at hindocarina.com.
I have checked out Anita Feng’s work, very nice indeed. Would love to get my hands on one.
I will be on the lookout for bamboo whistles- I’ve heard/read about them from a few people.
Brewerpaul, thanks for the link. I just might have to try it. I’m already working on some PVC projects anyway.. this looks like a pretty simple one.
Go to Ebay (I know, too bad) and look in the musical instrument section and then go to the woodwind area. There is also a section called other woodwinds. You will find a number of different types of instruments there that will tempt you and help you see a lot of what is available in nontraditional band instruments.
Probably a Melody Flute. Long been in the market as a grammar school educational instrument, and now marketed by Mel Bay ( http://www.melbay.com ). A cylindrical fife, with a whistle mouthpiece set on the side. I also think Shanna Quay has a cane sideblown whistle available, imported from India.