Hole positions for bamboo flutes

[saxofoner]

I am a n00b at bamboo crafting, and I have just started cutting approximate flute length pieces and burn curing them. I want to make flutes, but I don't know where to put the holes, besides random guesses. Suggestions, plz.

P.S. I looked at the e-book and it doesn't really tell how to get the hole positions.

[Mark Meckes]

Hi saxofoner,
Making flutes is not my forte, though years ago, knowing nothing about this subject I made some side-blown flutes simply by placing my fingers on a piece of bamboo, marking those spots and making holes in those locations. To my surprise and delight the flutes made music, albiet the scale was warped -no matter- Of special amusement were the indecisive notes which would jump back and forth between two octaves!
It was an enthralling period of personal discovery into an unknown world (to me), and the memory of this experience is still vivid, 30 years down the road. - even sold a few for a couple bucks at the market ... and wonder now about their destiny.

I would recommend to anyone dabbling in this field, who has bamboo to spare, to just experiment making some holes on a piece of bamboo (an art and skill unto itself) and see what sound they produce. They will be original flutes!

I have since learned that there are all types of formulas, depending on the type of flute and scale, for properly aligning flute holes into their respective places.
Though I can understand the importance of making flutes that are `compatible' to other instruments and traditional sounds, as a bone fide air head, lacking the discipline to conform to the musical norm, I'm delighted to have learned that music is simply where your head is at!

However if you know what style of flute you want to make, and want to jump-start your level of understanding and skill at making them, many flute makers are more then happy to share their knowledge base.
Musical instrument making involves a certain amount of mathematical equating.

Here's a link to Mark Shepards site on... Where to Put the Holes for a Flute (http://www.markshep.com/flute/Holes.html) - Placing and Tuning Finger Holes in Flute Making
My wife Carole just showed me a couple books from our library that I didn't know we had...

Simple Flutes - Play them, make them - Mark Shepard

Flutecraft - An Artisan's Guide to Bamboo Flutemaking -Mark Shepard

Very informative!

Mark

[saxofoner]

Thx for all the info. I will go to my library and look for some bamboo books. :)

[Angel]

Mark Shephard's book is good, but to go deeper and much more scientific background at Air columns and toneholes, by Bart Hopkin, You can buy it directly at the Experimental Musical Instruments (http://www.windworld.com/) webpage or at www.shakuhachi.com , Monty Levenson's page.

to go deeper too, recomend Arthur Benade's Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics -although this book goes to several topics quite diferent that the one mentioned.

For a fast guide, sorry in spanish, my

http://www.es-aqui.com/payno/colabora/quena_plast.htm

angel

[carlos]

hello saxofoner

I think you can try this link, and start to make the holes by this type of method...in percentages.The article have also length and bore diameter calculations, also very good for making diferent scale flutes...I have Mark Sheperd's book, it is good, but he has less information (practical) on crafting...But is fantastic in the teory( at least for beginners like me)....

so I hope this link can help you...
best wishes

I started one year ago to make flutes and this article is the best to start....
Today I see the same steps that I learn in the Sheperd book and in this article...
If you want I have one about native flutes....

http://www.koolbamboo.com/FluteNotes.pdf (pdf file)

[Angel]

some practical

http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/Flutomat-8.html

Peter Kosel has achieve a java based program that calculates distances from the bottom of the flute, once introduced freqs and hole diameter-height. thats great,
although it reduces the question to make a system that plays one octave...so called "flute·, but you need much more things to make a real bamboo flute.
This system ignores tapering, considering all bores as cylinders
An Excel spreadsheet made by Peter Hoekje (whom is based the flutomat) might consider tapering, but is quite inexact and hard to use (at least for my attempts)

At Hyperphysics you can find more deep information