I Made a Flute…
Well, I posted on Chiff & Fipple that I might be interested in a flute. I did some research to see what my options were, since I didn’t want to spend much just to find out if I like it or not. After looking around a bit, it seemed the best option was one of Doug Tipple’s PVC flutes. You can get a D flute for $55. But of course I figured I should get all of the upgrades, so mine would end up at $100. Still not too bad considering the reputation of the flutes as starters. Still, that was more than I wanted to spend, just to see if I liked it.
So, I thought I’d build one. Doug has the instructions right there on his site. It seemed simple enough, and would cost very little, so I figured I’d give it a try. I bought a 10′ length of PVC for $1.79, a few files, needle files, and drill bits. All together I spent less than $20. I just cut it with a hack saw, measured and marked the PVC as the instructions say, and drilled the holes. I had to spend a little time undercutting the embouchure, but it wasn’t too hard. All together, I probably spent less than two hours working on it.
It’s not clean, but it does play and it sounds well enough in tune to me. I say it plays. That is, of course, when I can get my embouchure right. I’ve never played a flute before, so it takes some time to get anything but a hiss most of the time. Or, I get the high D and have to work my way down to the low D. Granted, I haven’t spent much time on it, and I know that it can take months to get a good working embouchure. I also know that I made this flute myself without ever having seen one in real life. Honestly, I have no idea if I filed the embouchure correctly. I’m not sure if I made it too sharp or too dull, but I can get a tone out of it at times, so I know it works.
The bottom line - I don’t think I want to take up the flute just now. I like the whistle and still have so much to learn on it. I don’t want to add the complexity of an embouchure into the mix. I play for my own enjoyment and may play with a small group or session some time, but have no desire to become a “serious” musician. My interest in the flute came from occasionally wanting something lower and more mellow than the whistle. Well, for the time being, I can use a low D whistle for that. I know it’s not the same as a flute. I know the flute offers much more tonal variety. But, I just don’t think I want to put my efforts there right now.
I will probably continue to play around with the flute I made, and may want to re-visit the idea of taking up the flute sometime in the future. Truth be told, the sound I really like is that of the uilleann pipes. However, the price would be out of my reach right now, and my wife would probably strangle me!