Weighing many aspects:
Evaluating the excellence of a musical instrument can be a tricky
business. The whole process is subjective, at best. To be truly
objective, one has to evaluate many aspects of the instrument, so when
you weigh all these aspects, you have a solid idea of the instrument's
worth. Case in point is one of Chris Fuqua's bamboo Native American
flutes. (You might think that bamboo is an odd choice of wood to use
for an instrument that is native to the U.S. We usually think of bamboo
flutes as belonging to the Japanese tradition. Actually, bamboo grows
on North American soil. No doubt there were lots of NA flutes made from
bamboo back in the distant past.)
Gorgeous!: Okay, for
starters, let me say that this flute sounds positively beautiful.
That's my subjective opinion. But let me discuss some characteristics
of this flute that will be helpful to know if you want to move past my
subjectiveness.
The perfect flute key?: I
own the F# model. This is a good flute key, regardless of whose flute
you might buy. Why? Because many people prefer a lower-sounding
instrument. Even though there are flutes made in much lower keys than
F#, they are difficult to play for some people with small hands, (more
on this in the next paragraph), but many flute players find that the F#
flute is pleasantly low and fills the bill quite nicely.
Flute size and playing
comfort: Physically speaking, the lower the flute key, the farther
apart the note holes are. That's because the lower the key the longer
the flute barrel. (Think 'piccolo', high range, 'tuba', low range.) And
that fact means note holes can end up being too far apart to
comfortably reach. This can be a real problem with those of us who are
"blessed" with small hands, short fingers, or both. A child's hands
would have real problems with a low-keyed flute. My hands are medium
size, and I have fairly long fingers. But when I play a flute in the
key of E--one step below F#--I'm barely able to comfortably play it. So
a D flute--which is one more step down--would be beyond my finger
stretch. That lower keyed flute will have impossible hole distances--at
least for my hands. The note holes of an F# flute has more manageable
hole distances. Most adults and many children could play this flute
quite comfortably.
Importance of note hole
diameter: Something else that dictates playing comfort is the diameter
of the holes. If your fingers are small in diameter--that is, if your
finger pads are small--you would be hard pressed (no pun intended
<g>) to cover a note hole completely. And if air leaks around
your finger, you won't get an accurate tone. This bamboo flute has
small diameter holes, making it possible for just about any size finger
to get a good note seal.
Tone stability: This
particular flute has a very stable tone. What might I mean by that?
Well, if a flute's tone is unstable, blowing the flute even the least
bit too aggressively will make the notes squeak and squawk as the tone
breaks out of its unstable envelope. Chris' flute stands up to quite
aggressive blowing. This makes the flute great for jamming. Now, I
don't know about you, but I don't play only traditional Native American
music on my flutes. I play anything and everything within its tonal
range. I especially enjoy playing the blues, and this bamboo flute is
the best blues flute I've got. By far. The tone is stable at almost any
volume, and it's terribly forgiving of the beginner, something to
consider if you are just starting out on your flute journeys.
Flute mouthpiece and
playing intimacy: Something very unique to this flute is its
mouthpiece. The other four flutes I own have a shaped mouthpiece where
you put your lips around it and blow. Chris has taken a unique
approach. There is no mouthpiece, as such. The blowing end is just the
straight open bamboo, but Chris has rounded the edge of the bamboo so
it's comfortable to put your lips right up against the end. This forms
a perfect seal. More important, it allows you to comfortably play the
flute in the most intimate way. I'm a string player of several
instruments, and I've been at it for quite a few years. But I can say,
in all honesty, that I have never had the intimate playing experience
with these instruments--much as I love them--as I have with this flute.
You have to play it to understand what I mean, but I find myself at
times completely absorbed by the tone, the ease of playing, and the
simple blowing end that allows me to get "inside" the flute.
Other flutes I own compared
to Chris' flute: One of the flutes I own is made of Cedar and there's
no denying it has a quite beautiful tone. But it's delicate, and if you
blow even the least bit too hard, the tone "blows out". I also have a
flute made from river cane. This flute has tremendous volume, but the
holes are almost too large for my medium-sized fingers to cover. And
the note holes are quite far apart since the key of the flute is E.
This particular flute also has quite a large bore, and this calls for
significantly more air to make the flute sound. (Chris' bamboo flute
has a small bore which doesn't require nearly as much air flow to get a
tone.) I have two plastic flutes--one an E, the other an F#. They sound
fine, and are fairly easy to play. But they're not wood. And if a flute
isn't made of wood, you don't get that pure wood sound: you get a
plastic sound. As previously mentioned, Chris' bamboo flute has a pure
tone. The note holes are small in diameter, making them easy to seal.
The holes are close together, making it easy to play for most size
hands. The straight and simple mouthpiece end is a wonderful way to get
"inside" the flute as you play it. The tone is stable, no matter how
much breath control you might have. Or not have. And if you're
interested in making your flute sound even more beautiful, it responds
extremely well to the vibrato technique, a way of slightly changing the
volume rapidly to make sustained notes sound pretty.
The two highest notes:
Still another great aspect of this flute is that the second note above
the octave, along with the minor third that follows--these are the two
highest notes on a Native American flute--are extremely clear. They are
also very easy to finger and fall naturally under the fingers as you
play. I find these aspects especially valuable when jamming or when I
want to play fast passages involving these two notes.
Playing smoothly and
cleanly: And finally, the combination of the shorter hole distances and
smaller diameter holes makes it easier to play smoothly and cleanly.
Whether you're jamming, or playing slow meditative passages, the flute
plays clean and fast, or clean and smooth: whatever you want.
6 holes versus 5 holes: I
mentioned in passing that the flute in question has six holes. Chris,
as well as other flute makers, makes flutes with five holes, but you
need to keep in mind that although the five-holers make sweet music,
they are limited to the Pentatonic scale, a minor scale. This limits
the flute to that one minor scale. There is certainly nothing wrong
with that limitation if you want to use your flute strictly for playing
traditional music, or noodling meditatively. But if you want to play
every type of music, I would advise you to buy a six-hole flute where
several major scales, as well as several minor scales, are possible to
play on this type of flute. The majority of the music we listen to on
the radio or on our iPods will be written in a major scale. If your
purpose it to play a wide range of music on your flute, you will need
six note holes.
Craftsmanship: (I mean the
term, "craftsmanship" to be inclusive of women.) I didn't comment on
the craftsmanship of this flute since it doesn't contribute to the
other characteristics I've already mentioned, but you should know that
Chris is a consummate craftsman. The flute has been carefully
constructed and then rubbed with tung oil, giving the instrument a
silky feel; it's very nicely done. It's clear Chris pays close
attention to the finer points of flute-making because he uses double
leather thongs to tie on the block. This may seem like a minor point,
but the blocks on my other flutes can be pushed out of line at the
least bit of bump or stress, necessitating having to constantly adjust
the block so its edge sits up along the edge of the sound hole. But the
block on Chris' flute doesn't move, once correctly positioned. And
that's a relief. I'm thinking, "Why didn't someone think of
double-thonging before?"
Teddy bear <g>: A
major part of the process in choosing someone to be your flute-maker is
finding out how easy they are to work with. Chris is a "Teddy Bear". I
can't think of a finer compliment I could possibly give him.
Summing up: If you're
looking for a sweet-sounding flute that plays easy and has a stable
tone, and is very forgiving of beginners and at the same time has great
potential for the pro player, you may very well be as satisfied with
this flute as I am. Can you tell I'm happy with this flute? <g>
Whether you're a pro who's been playing the Native American flute for
some time, or a rank beginner who's looking for a sweet sounding
instrument, this flute will haul your mail. ^_^
Speaking of "mail," if
you'd like to EMAIL me about this flute or anything else about the NA
flute, you are most welcome to do so. My email is
editor-graphics@awestruckebooks.net.
Dick Claassen - NA flute
player, author, publisher. For information on ordering Dick Claassen's
instructive book Celebrate the Native American Flute,
~Thank you for your interest in WindPoem flutes.~
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