Chiff and Fipple Forums

I'm not sure this is what you're saying, but what if each key actually lifted an entire section of tube, so that the tube became shorter? So the tube is split into a ton of pieces, and every time you lift a key, a chunk of tube is removed from the whole? Yes, that's the idea, though they can't stay...

I'm not sure this is what you're saying, but what if each key actually lifted an entire section of tube, so that the tube became shorter? So the tube is split into a ton of pieces, and every time you lift a key, a chunk of tube is removed from the whole? Yes, that's the idea. Of course, it might be...

David Cooper - can you explain how this would result in weird sounding notes? And how higher notes would tend to "misfire" more? Well, I may be wrong as I've never made the holes big enough to produce correct notes without the lower notes being open too, but when I open just one hole on a...

Looking at the drawing I assumed it was tuned for one hole open at a time. (Is that 'closed fingering'?) That would cause a lot of weird sounding notes that sound muffled, and the higher up you go, the more they'll misfire. Having one flute tube per piano key is likely the most workable solution if...

What you need is a synthesiser - that'll save you a whole lot of trouble. How many notes will your mechanical piano-flute be able to play at the same time? Only one? How many keys are you going to have to hold down at once to get some of the notes? If you're imagining pressing just one key for each ...

No, I think if you're going to use a left hand pinky hole, the right way to do it is the way you've (I assume) already done it. It should be closed all the time and opened only for the accidental. Yes, that does have the downside of making you adjust a bit to playing with your pinky down all the ti...

I think it's preferable because you don't have to relearn how to hold the whistle while keeping your left pinky on it all the time. Just to experiment, I try playing my large bore whistles with the left pinky on at all times, and it really does throw me off. It'd probably take weeks for me to get u...

I'm talking about a left hand thumb hole (roughly) beneath hole 3, not hole 2. So in the context of a C whistle, it would be an F# thumb hole for the left hand. My rationale is that I no longer see the point for an A# hole on D the whistle (or a G# hole on the C whistle), because these notes can be...

First, I wonder if the fact that this is a quenilla rather than a whistle affects its playability as a chromatic instrument. I know nothing about playing quenillas, but my understanding is that they are very thick, have a large bore, and have very large holes compared to a high D whistle. So I can ...

Progress update I've made a chromatic quenilla in C, starting by making the standard 6 top holes before adding the extra four. The quality of the bell note did sound better before adding those extra holes, but that may be primarily because it's harder to cover all ten holes fully, so the problem may...

A square tube should support a range of frequencies, but that's masked by them averaging out to a single frequency with degraded tone. My first prototype resin quena had an octagonal bore (as I wasn't rotating it with a motor at that stage when experimenting with resin - you need that rotation to ke...

I'm only low-key selling them, so I'm only getting the occasional order, and I haven't been wanting to commit to making a bunch in any one particular color. That said, I do have them listed on Etsy with the black-and-silver colors scheme. Since I've started selling a few there, I wanted to ensure I...

I hadn't imagined you doing more than one at once, but now it's obvious that that's the way to do it. I've been thinking about using a 3D printer to make models for components which I'll then use to make moulds so that I can produce the actual components for instruments in resin - I want them to be ...

Prototype #6 has just solved the problem: the mouthpiece now has owl-like ears/tufts which make it easier to keep your mouth open wider and still seal the gap when pressed against the edge, so no more hiss. I've got a good two and a half octaves from it too for the first time, and I can play it at t...

Actually, I've hit a snag, so I may have to make more conventional mouthpieces instead. Once all the leaks in the head were sealed up, I found there's an unwanted hiss. You can replicate this on a standard whistle too by directing a narrow jet of air into the end of it from your mouth, and I realise...