Homegrown Music: Make a Bamboo Flute Part I

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CUTTING UP

When you take a good look at your bamboo, you'll probably notice that every joint is marked by two circular ridges (this is true of most species, anyway) . . . and that the one on the joint's wider end is always somewhat "sharper"—in other words, narrower—than the other. Each of these double—rimmed nodes marks the location of a hard inner membrane that divides the tube into joint-to-joint compartments.

To cut a usable piece of the material, choose a good two-section, three-joint length and then—with a coping blade or some other finetoothed saw—cut through the cylinder's broad end just outside the first joint . . . leave the middle node intact . . . and slice off the narrow end just inside the third joint. (Wrap masking tape around each tip before sawing to help keep the fibers from splitting.)

The result will be a two-section tube that's open at the thinner end and closed at the other extremity by that joint's dividing membrane. The interior "bulkhead" at the middle node will also still be intact. You'll need to remove it by chopping it out—a few pieces at a time—with a hammer and a long, sharp tool . . . or burning away the material with a hot poker . . . or boring it out with a drill and a long bit.

Once you've completed the rough work, take a 20" piece of dowel and glue a two-inch strip of sandpaper around each end . . . coarse at one tip and fine-grit at the other. You can use this tool (and a good bit of patience) to give the inside of your flute a smooth finish.

THE MOUTHPIECE

Now, it's time to make your instrument's "blow hole". Measure about 3/8" to 1/2" in from the smooth ridge at the closed end of the flute, and make a mark at that point. (Some kinds of bamboo have ridge creases running lengthwise. If this is the case with your section, you may want to position the mouthpiece about a quarter-turn beyond one of the ridges . . . so the raised part will rest against your chin when you play.)

Once you've located the site for the mouth hole, bore a cavity—using a succession of increasingly larger drill bits (and, again, a "shield" of masking tape) to keep the material from splitting—that's a maximum of 5/16" to 3/8" in diameter. Some flutemakers leave the opening perfectly round, but Craig prefers to "ovalize" his mouthpiece slightly by elongating the hole with a sharp knife or—again—a piece of sandpaper glued to a thin dowel. In any case, you should definitely undercut—by about 15° to 30°—the edge of the opening that'll be farthest from you when you play the instrument (see Fig. 1).

ON PLAYING AND PITCH

At this point your flute should be capable of making . . . well, if not a true note, at least some sort of sound. Before you can adjust the instrument's pitch, though, you'll have to learn how to produce a simple consistent tone.

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