I just ran across this on the Musical Instrument Makers’ Forum, and thought some of you might get a kick out of it. If this has been posted here before, I haven’t seen it. If the link below doesn’t work, go to mimf.com, then the Forum, then the “Wind, Percussion and miscellaneous” section and look for “Mark Lurvey’s photo-essay on making a willow whistle”
http://www.mimf.com/cgi-bin/WebX?50@182.QM0raXaYlrf^21@.ee82a6d/25
Tim
Tim, this photo-eassay was deja vu for me. My dad made me a whistle almost exactly like that, way back in the 1940s. I was just a little kid. I really appreciate your post because I’ve been wondering what kind of tree he used which would allow the bark to be slipped off like that.
He had been a poor country boy who had to make his own toys out of materials at hand, but he developed some amazing skills somehow.
I saw a band called Althing (http://www.althingmusic.com) play. One of the musicians plays a traditional scandinavian “willow flute”.
Basically this is a long thin whistle with no holes (well just the one at the end). Because the bore is narrow, it naturally overblows easily. So by using one finger over the end to open and close the end hole, she managed to get an octave out of it (I think). Possibly slightly more. It was seriously impressive to hear her playing on this. The breath control is incredible to play tunes all in harmonics with only one hole!
Anyway, thanks for the link. Since I have a willow tree in my garden I’m going to try that.
Paul
used to make these when I was a lad in Yorkshire. The recommended wood then was hazel. Also gave the bark a good sucking as well as tapping. Seems doubtfull now that the spit could soak through the bark but it might soften it so as to make the tapping more effective.
Brian
My uncle used to make these for me out of a (I believe) peach tree in his back yard along with a “gee-haw whammydiddle” toy.
I heartily recommend the overtone flute to anyone! When i first heard of this, it seemed like the primordial wind instrument, and it became really important to learn to play it if i was to call myself a wind player.
They’re really easy to experiment with, too, if you’re not concerned with the “authentic” side-blown mouthpiece arrangement. Just take a Gen or similar head, and stick it on a tube twice the length of the original body. (Suitable brass tubing can be had at a good hobby shop.)
Everybody who’s seen and tried mine has fallen in love with it, and wanted one of their own. It’s really fun and addictive, but also challenging because the breath control is so important. (Because the tube is so narrow, the useful range starts on the 3rd octave, and you get two notes per “breath level,” up to the 9th or so harmonic.)
Very, very much fun.
Be seeing you,
eric.
Here’s some cool overtone flute playing
http://www.tvfolk.net/artistVideo.asp?ID=17&resolution=high
From the TVFolk.net website, which I found in this thread
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=6468
and later came across this site
http://www.soundwell.com/english.htm
selling various permutations of overtone flutes…