Interested in making Native American style bamboo flutes

[TallTree]

Hi yall,

I'm looking forward to creating Native American Flutes (NAF) using bamboo. I've been playing the NAF for several years, mostly in private, but recently joined a local flute circle. Now I’d like to try my hand at making flutes as well

I've always been intrigued by the beauty of the NAF's sound, and its crafting as well. Though I don't have any significant woodworking skills, I intend to take a stab.

I hope to harvest some bamboo from a friend's backyard and start the process of curing, leading to crafting my first flute. That brings me to my first question. According to a book that I am using to guide me in making a flute, the author advises that I can cure the bamboo by cutting it into usable lengths and let it dry over the span of months. He suggests a more expeditious way by using a blow torch to dry the pieces by moving a flame back and forth while not scorching it. I’m confident that his advice is sound but would like to get any additional suggestions. I also have a related question. Is there any difference in when you harvest? Is it better during a dormant season? Will harvesting in the spring have an effect?

I look forward to learning from those of you on this forum that have experience and advise to offer. As I become more seasoned in the craft, I hope to be able to share what I've learned as well.

If anyone is in the Washington, DC area, let me know.

Tall Tree

p.s.

Since I'm still exploring the entire Forum, any advice on where I can learn about the various species of bamboo?

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Tall Tree,
This is my extent of my experience making flutes, but practicing making holes is a good starting point.
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/527/thumbs/1Mvc-291f.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=781) See Thread about Bamboo Balloon Flutes (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=548)

The best thing you can have is some bamboo to merrily experiment with.

It doesn't matter so much as to the species, just pick out what you think might work and experiment away.
There are special benefits of being a newbie to an art.
An open mind and freeness to explore will create a pathway of self discovery.

Ultimately you may want to follow a specific tradition or flute making methodology, but initially a lot is about becoming familiar with the tools and materials at hand, practicing techniques, and honing your skills that will define whatever work that you do with bamboo.

Re: Info at the site ... well, this whole site is still very much a work in progress, still in it's beginnings.
Maybe in the next year we might begin putting together web (user-friendly) pages containing basic How-to information.

Meanwhile use the Search function with key words, or check out Forums that are being developed on specific topics.

Feel free to ask any questions.
Topics meriting indepth discussion can be started as a New Thread.

Any advice on where I can learn about the various species of bamboo?
In what context?
Bamboo NAF flute species? ... that can be grown in a specific region? ... or something else?

Cheers,
Mark

[TallTree]

Thanks Mark

I appreciate your suggestion about practicing and getting familiar with the tools. I definitely will do so.

I've had opportunity to further explore the forums and have found a wealth of information throughout, much of it contributed by you.

As to my request for info on the various types of bamboo, I noted various posts that mention one species or another and was left wondering if, other than availability, if a particular species is more suitable for making NAFs.

I've read that most shaks in Japan are made from madake, and to a lesser degree, moso. I was left wondering if the choice of one over another species may be due to the quality of sound it makes, or its beauty, or its worakbility, or its strength, etc. etc. Or is it simply that one is more available than another.

I'm also an environmental educator and tend to be curious about the plants about us. I have the possibility of harvesting some bamboo from the backyard of an acquaintance and he doesn't recollect what he planted years ago. I'd like to be able to ID it and wonder if there is a keying guide, like those used in ID'ying other plants?

I may be getting a bit ahead of myself, but I tend to immerse myself when starting something anew, and crafting bamboo is no different. ;-)

Thanx!

Tall Tree

[Mark Meckes]

Can you enlighten us on the history of NAFs, ie origin tradition, region made etc?

There is only one species of bamboo suitable for flute making that is native to the USA. So if bamboo was used pre early 1900's, it would have to be this species:

Arundinaria gigantea aka Rivercane, Canebrake
New culms from a young (3yr) grove - Zilker Botanical Gardens, Austin Texas

http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/543/thumbs/AgiganteaZBGATX050521-449.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=1357) See more pics at Bamboo Flora (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=543)


There are a number of bamboos native to Mexico and Central America of which I have no idea if these species were ever traded/ exported in the distant past to the north for NAF making.

Musical instrument makers in various regions around the world have traditionally given preference to certain species for specific instruments, though their options have been limited to the species growing in their region.

Because Europe had no native bamboos and the USA has one species we are pretty much without a traditional bamboo culture.
Flash forward to the 21st century and we have over 400 of the worlds most 'elite' bamboo species growing somewhere in the US, of which many (100+ species?) could be fashioned into a NA style bamboo flute.

However, only a few species are still more commonly found growing in a region, and, of the flutes I've seen, most were made of whatever species was found that provided the standard dimensions required for making a NA style flute.

In Texas the most common species used for flutes is Phyllostachys aurea (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=503) (photos at Bamboo Flora)

Though it may eventually turn out that certain species grown in certain regions produce the best flute making material, we can not discount all the wonderful flutes that have been successfully made, sometimes from a most unlikely species.

I have the possibility of harvesting some bamboo .... I'd like to be able to ID it and wonder if there is a keying guide, like those used in ID'ying other plants?

This is exactly what we'd like to provide.
(We have many species pics yet to upload ... hopefully I'll get caught up with my own backload of pics in the next few months, and the next step will be to start a page for each species, highlighting the key features of each plant.)

To get help identifying the bamboo, start a New Thread in the forum:
Bamboo ID? Ask here (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=147)
Including pics of the bamboo will be a great help.
Usually the Genus of the bamboo can be fairly easily determined.
Determining species ID can be more difficult, especially without good pics.
Close up pics of shoots greatly aids ID, and for temperate bamboo species, that season is at our doorstep.

Mark

[TallTree]

As noted before, you are a wealth of info.

Thanx!

Tall Tree


ps.

I'll check with some of my conservation biology colleagues & professors back at my grad school, to see if they have any suggestions on the matter of identifying bamboo. I'll post a new thread if they have any advice.

[Mark Meckes]

Here's a Thread showing ...
Native american style bamboo flutes (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1812) ... in the Bamboo Musical Instruments Gallery (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=527)

Q ...

Is the NAF style of flute unique or is it also used in other traditional flutes?

Is it mainly the position/scale of notes that defines the flute as a NAF?

What is the 'cap over 2 holes at the node' thingy called?

I once saw a flute maker selling just this part - as a type of whistle that you cup your hand over to change the notes as it's blowed ...

Mark

[TallTree]

Is the NAF style of flute unique or is it also used in other traditional flutes?
I’m not an expert on the various styles and history of the NAF and you will find different accounts on its origin and the variations. So if anyone out there finds an error in my response, I humble myself to those who have greater knowledge.
When most people refer to NAF’s they are referring to either the Woodland or Plains (also known as Lakota) styled flutes. Both styles have much in common; from a construction point of view (see the image below). One difference is the use of a brass spacer plate (Plains style used them, Woodland doesn’t) Its use affects the aerodynamics of playing and tends to produce a brighter, louder sound, whereas its absence n the Woodland flute give a softer sound. There’s quite a bit more, but we have limited space and I’d suggest. Even though most people think of these styles as Native American Flutes, these are principally those from North America. There are many other types of Native American flutes made in North, Central and South America (i.e. Quenas, Zapotec, Mayan clay flutes, Zamponas, Ocarina etc.) constructed of wood, rivercane, clay and bone.

Is it mainly the position/scale of notes that defines the flute as a NAF?
Most (there are always exceptions) are in the pentatonic scale and some are diatonic. They can be constructed with five or six holes. On those that have six, the third hole from the top is held closed by a finger or sometimes a strip of hide

What is the 'cap over 2 holes at the node' thingy called?
The cap is known as the “bird” or “totem”. It’s essential, in order for the flute to work. Sometimes they are simple, others can be very ornate hand carved works of art all by themselves.

The flute has two hollow chambers. The first is smaller than the second, where air is blown in by the player. The air encounters a wall (in a bamboo NAF, this would be one of the nodes) between this smaller chamber and the larger one. The air goes up through the first hole and is then redirected by the cap thingy down to the edge of the second hole, where it travels to one of the finger holes making a note. There are different designs for the bird, some are flat bottomed (Plains style), and others have a carved channel.(Woodland) I've seen a lot of cross-pollination of ideas from both styles and there are as many variations in design and application as there are flute makers.

Note: Wooden NAF’s are constructed by routing out the two chambers on two blanks that are later glued together or in some instance one piece of wood that is bored. One of the values of using bamboo is that it’s relatively hollow, requiring that only the nodes be bored.

I once saw a flute maker selling just this part - as a type of whistle that you cup your hand over to change the notes as it's blowed...

All the “birds”, that I’ve come across, are srelatively simple and don’t have a whistle. I surmise that this might have been that particular flute makers own design or from a tradition that I’m not familiar with

Thanks for the link to the gallery. All the flutes are beautiful and are an inspiration.

Irv a/k/a Tall Tree

[Mark Meckes]

Thanks for the info Irv!
Good point that "Native American" encompasses North to South America.
In fact Central to South America is much richer in the diversity of musical instruments made from bamboo because of the greater diversity of bamboo species native to these regions ...

Rephrased question ...
Is this style of flute using the bird/totem/cap thingy unique to the North American traditions you mentioned or is this style of flute traditional in Central/South America or other countries?

I am guessing that this Moseño is a very elaborate form of cap thingy ...

http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/527/thumbs/moxe_osol27.JPGMoseño (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1196&cat=500&ppuser=69) by Angel Sampedro del Rio - Un Mundo de Bambú (http://www.unmundodebambu.com.ar)

...though my question out of curiosity is specific to the bird/totem style

Mark

[TallTree]

As far as I know (which is relatively limited) the NAF is the only flute to use the bird/totem. In other flutes, is accomplished by the embouchure of the players lips or in the case of a tin whistle, the angle of an internal mechanism. I've never heard of of a Moseno. Interesting sound (or was that clip from the bassoon featured in the gallery?) and construction.

I'm going to a flute circle this weekend, and there will be folks more experienced than I (including recording artists and other flute makers), who I can ask as to what they know. I'll share what I find out.

Mark,

You said that you don't make flutes (if I got that recollection correct), so what is your bamboo passion?

Tall Tree

[Mark Meckes]

Whew! Tough question. Every day I'm involved with bamboo in some way or another so I guess it depends on the day :)

Musically ... my passion is these thumbdingers (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=3034) - See Bamboo Jaw Harps - my experiments (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=493)

Mark

[Music Maker]

Hey! I'm a NAF maker too.

Are you on the Yahoo group?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nativeflutewoodworking/

It's mainly for construction out of wood using modern tools, as you mentioned with the router method. I'd really like to try making NAFs out of bamboo. I love the idea of using a bamboo node as the "plug" dividing the Slow Air Chamber from the bore... and I love the way the NAF looks when using bamboo! There are a couple pictures on Marek's website, and apparently he goes over how to do it in his book, though it's a little too expensive for me.

I'm assuming you're talking about NAFs with the recorder-like sound mechanism, rather than the hollow tube type--the shakuhachi-esque "Anasazi" flutes. (It seems like the Anasazi type lends itself better to bamboo construction, although they're harder to play in my opinion).

Are any North American tribes known to have made their flutes from bamboo? I'm talking about the kind with a plug. It makes sense that you could use a node as a plug, but how do you make the embochure? That's the only part that confuses me, since you can't really taper bamboo to make a comfortable mouthpiece.

Please help if you know how to make the embochure on a bamboo NAF, because I would really like to try it! Recently I found a big patch of bamboo that I can harvest (the reason I joined this group!), and I'm coming up with all new instrument ideas.

[Mark Meckes]

Marek's post was removed as it provided no substantive value to the discussion in this thread.
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Music Maker,
How's your flute making experiments coming along?
I've got some photos of NAF flutes made by local bamboo musicmakers which I'll post sometime over the weekend.
They will give you some more ideas on how the embochure can be constructed.

Mark