how to make a whistle/flute out of deer

Subject: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: Bearheart
Date: 27 Dec 02 - 07:00 PM

Hi and help! I'm teaching our two week shamanic healing intensive and Churaig wants to make a tin whistle or flute out of a deer leg bone. We have the technology, but how do I find out the proper intervals to make the notes match up? I'm sure there must be a book out there some where that tells how to do it...

Thanks

Bekki

Subject: RE: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Dec 02 - 07:09 PM

There's some interesting scholarly stuff about the types of holes at this site.

Do you have any of the old Foxfire books? I am pretty sure one of them would ahve the info. I have a different old book which may say. I don't think it is unpacked, but will look for it and let you know.

When do your classes start?

kat

Subject: RE: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: Allan C.
Date: 27 Dec 02 - 08:44 PM

I am reasonably certain that in order to make a flute with proper intonation the first necessity is that the hollow of the tube (of whatever substance it may be) must be uniform. Deer leg bones are not uniformly hollow. Virtually any means you might employ to correct this, for instance by drilling or by the insertion of a red hot shaft of proper diameter, will cause the bone to burn. This really smells horrible. Just thought you'd like to know that.

My best guess is that you would have good luck in making such a bone into a recorder type whistle. I have doubts that very many of the ones made by Native Americans, for example, were totally accurate in intonation. That was the beauty of them. Wonderful tones were made by overblowing or underblowing the notes.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are determined to make a musically accurate instrument, you have your work cut out for you. If you set aside that requirement, you can have a nice whistle with only a little effort.

Subject: RE: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: catspaw49
Date: 27 Dec 02 - 08:50 PM

Sorry...My only experience is in blowing up a possum's ass...........

Spaw

Subject: RE: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: Allan C.
Date: 27 Dec 02 - 09:15 PM

I should mention that if you use the lowest speeds with an electric drill or else use manual drilling techniques, you will be less likely to have the problem with friction burning and the attendant stench.

Subject: RE: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: leprechaun
Date: 27 Dec 02 - 10:18 PM

It always stinks.

Spaw - what kind of explosive are you using? Doesn't it get kind of messy?

Subject: RE: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Dec 02 - 03:03 AM

If you really want to make an "accurately intoned" flute out of anything, the simple books commonly cited - and generally available, are:

The Amateur Wind Instrument Maker Revised Edition, Trevor Robinson, University of Massachusetts Press, (c) 1973, 1980, ISBN 0-87023-312-2. My copy was about $18 US a couple of years ago.

and:

Making and Playing Musical Instruments, Jack Botermans, Herman Dewitt, and Hans Goddefroy, University of Washington Press, Seattle, (c) 1989, ISBN 0-295-96948-2, Mine was about $19 US 6 or 7 years ago.

The information left out of these books is that you need to make one, tweak the holes as much as possible, recalculate, make another and throw the first one away, then repeat the whole thing about 3 times.

If you are making a Native American flute - tradition is that each player makes his own, and then invents his own melodies to fit his flute. They are rarely anything that approaches being tuned to a "standard" scale. Holes should be drilled to fit the fingers of the one who's going to play it.

You can "tune" after the holes are drilled, by enlarging a hole. If you elongate it in one direction or the other, you can make a fairly large change in individual note pitch; and simply increasing the diameter slightly in a concentric manner will also affect the pitch. Since this is about the only adjustment you can make - and you can only go one direction, it's well to start with fairly small holes and work you way toward the note(s) you want.

There are some good "standard references" that are easily accessible if you really want to make a "real" flute. The above two are not ones I'd bother with if that's the intent; but they should be quite suitable for what you indicated as your problem.

John

Subject: RE: how to make a whistle/flute out of deer
From: Bearheart
Date: 28 Dec 02 - 06:20 PM

Thanks for all the help folks-- Kat, that site is amazing, though I couldn't get all the links in it to work. He cites some interesting articles in Scientific American about European archeological finds that are very interesting-- like the Neanderthal bear bone flute. (60,00 -82,000 years old!)

I've actually done a lot of work making things (rattles and carved pendants/amulets mostly) from bone and antler, so I'm pretty familiar with working with it-- much harder (and smellier!) than wood, but a lot of what I work with is found material (road kill and deer hunter leavings dragged in by the dog)so the hard work (cleaning it) is usually done already.

Kat, the training is underway as we speak but they won't be making things till later this week and next. The fellow in question is visiting from Australia and already plays the whistle, so that will make it easier I think as he knows something about them...

Bekki