Homemade simplest musical instrument: the first try :)

Yesterday I've made some simplest musical instrument - some kind of open flute-like instrument made from a plactic pipe with thick (3.5 mm) wall.

That's generally not the appropriate pipe, thin wall pipe (about 1.5 mm) is evidently much better... But it's the most available pipe here :)

The instrument is as perhaps the simplest in its construction, as also (as I feel) one of the most difficult instruments to get just any sound from it.

There are 2 different techniques to play this instrument. One of them is relatively simple (in the sense of just getting any sound of desired pitch), maybe close to flute in its principle. One should just blow at some angle to the edge of mouthpiece, at the same time partly closing the mouthpiece hole by lips. In the 1st half of the video I use this technique.

During the 1st day of attempts I was able to play someway all the 6 notes in the 2nd and 3rd registers (from b1 to g2 and from f2 to d3 correspondingly), an also just one, the highest note in the 1st register - g1. Now, after the 2nd day, I learnt also someway playing also f1, es1 and d1 in the 1st register. The lowest 2 notes, b and c1, appear almost impossible.
Also, the 4th register (b2 to g3) is also possible to play, but except its lowest notes, it's quite unstable, requiring very "sharp" and careful blowing, and producing also sharp sound.

But there is also the second technique, which is much more difficult. But it's also the only correct technique, while the first technique must be regarded only as a fake method.
In this correct technique the player should insert the mouthpiece into the mouth asymmetrically, such the way that the edge of the mouthpiece is placed between two upper central teeth, while the other side of the mouth is more or less open (this also changes pitch). Then the player must direct air flows by the tongue and teeth to the mouthpiece edge to change registers and sound "colours".

That was only the theory. In the practice, after 2 days of attempts, I couldn't play any distinct sound this way. Though, there are some traces of 3rd register sounds between all the noises. And very rarely there are 2nd and even 1st register traces. But at this moment I have no ideas how to make them more long and stable, and how to let them overpower noises.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• homemade
• musical
• instrument
• open
• flute

[tomankt]

Hmm... Since that time I've made several other similar flutes, but they are from thin PVC tubes (20mm or 16mm), and switched to bashkir/persian mode of playing (which I try unsuccessfully in this first video :) ). Those PVC are a bit easier for playing and produce a bit more realistic sound. Just about month ago I've even made a PVC flute (kuray) with tapered bore -> better low notes, while not too "emptying" high ones.

[TheFlutification]

Wow, im glad you make homemade instruments! its very creative, keep it up! hmmmm... Can you play the irish washerwoman or the flight of the bumblebee on that? lol

[tomankt]

Unfortunately, there are some problems with connecting webcam to my present PC (some USB errors), so, I would upload anything new, when I find another way to record video. My photo camera records sound at only 11 kHz, which is too poor.

About features to play something: the instrument has actually only 6 diatonic notes, naturally repeated 12, 19 and 24 semitones higher. So, in the lowest octave, 7th note of major scale is unavailable.

[tomankt]

(Of course, there is an option to make 6th hole with a key for 7th note... I've thought already about that). But there is another problem: semitones. Forked fingerings don't work here due to instrument design, so, all semitones are played by partial opening holes. It is not a big problem - unless it is to be done too quickly :)

[asselin66]

@kittypooing lets see you play one