Homegrown Music: Make a Bamboo Flute Part I

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Basically, you'll be trying to accomplish the same thing you did as a child when you'd "hoot" by blowing across the top of an open pop bottle. Hold the flute as depicted in Fig. 2, and place your lower lip against the flute near the edge of the hole. Now, purse your lips just a bit and blow a stream of air across, and slightly into, the cavity.

If you don't get a note, rotate the flute so you'll be blowing at a slightly different angle, and try again: You may have to experiment awhile to get it right (a certain amount of perseverance and breath control are required), but if you've followed my instructions correctly, you should eventually be able to make a sound. If you simply can't coax even a little noise from the tube even after repeated attempts, ask an experienced flute player to show you the technique (if that person can't produce a note from your bamboo tube, you may have to rework the instrument).

You'll probably notice—as you practice—that the placement of your lips, and the angle and force of the blown air, have an effect on the audible result. For example, by putting your mouth further over the hole, you'll produce a flatter note. The differences may seem subtle at first, but if you keep at it, you'll eventually develop a feel for the right position for you. The note will then come easily and sound true each time you play it.

Once you've developed this ability, the tone you're making should be the flute's key note . . . that is, if you've made a 21 " key-of-D instrument, the note should be D. Chances are, however, that when you compare the flute's sound against the same note played on a pitch-pipe, tuning fork, piano, or guitar, your instrument's pitch will be slightly off . . . and you'll need to make an adjustment. The mouthpiece's shape and size have some effect in this regard, so-first-make sure you're satisfied with the cavity's configuration and performance, or make any improvements that you feel might help (for instance, you may want to enlarge the hole, or increase the undercut).

If your flute's note is still significantly flat, carefully trim off a very small amount of the instrument's length from the open end . . . play the note to check the flute's pitch . . . and repeat the process as often as needed until the flute reproduces its key note with reasonable accuracy.

FINGER HOLES

Now, you're ready to locate and drill the holes that you'll finger to play the full range of the scale. As you work, keep in mind that the size and—particularly—the placement of each opening in relation to the length of the flute will determine the "trueness" of its note.

I've provided a spacing chart (Fig. 3) that shows you the approximate hole-placement measurements for flutes in the keys of A, F, and D. I stress the word "approximate", however, because variables like the tube's inside diameter, the size of the mouthpiece hole, and the thickness of the bamboo affect the spacing required to produce accurate notes on any given flute.

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