The Secret of Native American Flutes Series: Flute Wetting out
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- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
- Ever wondered what to do about the moisture causing your flute to squeak? Check out these tips and advice and be sure to subscribe for more great videos in our upcoming series of 'Secrets of the Native American Flute'. Visit us at www.bluebearflutes.com
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Your videos are so helpful! First time ever I have wetted out on one of my flutes. You provide some great information. Thank you!
Thanks Charlie. I bought one of your flutes this past August...i love it! Im lucky enough to live by the ocean and a river, so i take it with me on my bike and go down and sit by the river in the woods and play. Its one of my favourite things to do. I did however discover bees dont like it...i read later that vibrations make them angry, hence why i got bit...im getting more comfortable playing in front of an audience...which means for me having people around when im down by the beach...it took a few months or so, but im ok with people that happen to catch me playing. Its such a lovely instrument, and i have no music background..its just practice. I would tell anyone thats wants to play to not worry that they never played anything before..just do it! Thanks
It sounds like you've really "got it"! Thanks so much for this kind message my friend and for awaiting my reply! It is an inspiration to anyone wanting to be part of the music of life!
LOVE your humor...along with the very helpful information and tips !
Thanks Ani! :)
Thanks for this "The Secret of Native American Flutes Series" videos they are very helpfully Charlie! 👍🙂👍
Thanks my friend! And thanks for watching our videos!!!
Thanks brother, I will. All I have is time anyway. So I’m gonna be patient. Thanks
Question regarding the quena flute which I know you have made. I thank you for all your videos and information you provide, as a new flute player since December 2020 , it has been very much appreciated. I am from Atlantic Canada and purchased my flutes from Ontario, Canada. I have an A 432htz flute and a G 432 htz flute. I have fallen totally in love with their tone and resonance. I am at the point where my finger muscles now memorize the melodies and do not sound robotic unless i'm learning a new tune. I have been following Alexandro Querevalu a Puruvian musician who puts such soul into his flute playing. I wanted to try the quena flute so I purchased a C quena flute. As you know, your chin and bottom lip close off the top opening and you blow down into the opening. I have accomplished this part the second day after I received the flute. Very low, resonating sound. My problem is the finger hole distancing. My small female hands can't possibly reach these finger holes on this larger flute and the holes themselves my finger hardly covers the opening. I love this flute, is there any other suggestions I could try. I am not willing to give up, I'll restretch my fingers if possibly :). Hoping you may have some helpful suggestions. Margaret
Thanks for this. Good information!
Thank you my friend!
Thank you so much!
Hey, you bet my friend! Thank you so much for watching!
Thanks for the awesome video
Thanks for watching my friend!!! More videos to come!!!
great intro! love it
Thanks Armin! As always you are greatly appreciated my friend!
Thank you Charlie my hero
I try my friend! More videos to come!!!
Thanks again Charlie!!!!!!
You're the best Mike!
Charlie awesome video thanks for the heads up on wetting. I have a question. Would a hair dryer work instead of using compressed air? Thanks love my flute that you made for me! Western Cedar 6 hole flute in the key of G.
A hair dryer if it's cold weather might not be too bad. I have noticed with the compressed air that it is almost instantaneous whereas the dryer may require you to use it for a few minutes. The extra heat might not be good, so use it with no heat. Thanks for watching my friend!
the fipple is also the name of the sharp edge that the air is blown across in native american flutes, recorders, tin whistles,etc. they are all known to organologists as fipple flutes. i love your videos.
Thanks Mike! Great info, its appreciated!
Again....thanks! Was lookin’ at how to make Indian bannock an’ you popped up on the next video. How cool was that! Been tryin’ to make flutes from pvc, an’ successful with a few. Now there’s a flute that "wets".! Need to try lookin’ at wood, but buyin’ yours just seems down right easier, an’ I like easier!
Well....keep the film rollin, an’ look forward to your next one. An’ again...thanks for sharin’ your craft!
If you haven't seen it yet, check out our new videos on pvc 4 hole whistle and a pvc Low Bass A!!! Thanks for watching my friend!
Hope to see you at the Cahokia Mounds Indian market in a couple weeks. Looking to get one of your hawk whistles that are usually sold out. Thank You!
We will be there at the Fall Market! Promise! Be sure to check their calendar on their website. cahokiamounds.org/ Thanks my friend!
Hi Charlie, I have been looking into how to prevent and preserve my flutes. Two thing came to mind as I was watching your video. Thank you so much for teaching through your videos. What do you think of himalayan salt lamp? I am thinking of having my flutes nearby of it to help drying then out before putting them away, wrapped into my knitted 100% wool jumper. So these are my ideals, himalayan salt lamp and wool jumper wrap. It'll keep them dry enough yet it'll breath, keeps them in good even temperature but prevent them from constant humidity. Yes? no? maybe? What do you reckon?
Sounds like an interesting experiment if nothing else! That's how I've always learned, taking a little of what some other people do and trying something new out of it! Please let me know how it works out Eva! And as always, thanks for watching!
😊❤
Yep, I wondered why my newly built flutes would stop playing after a while.
Very frustrating till I realized they were clogged with...uh...stuff...ya...know.
I sling them out, and will stop that bad habit the day I sling that flute into the shop floor...duh me.
Thanks Again Charlie.
👍
I was thinkin’ mopping the channel out with a foam cleaning stick thingie. I like canned air though.
I live in humid climate and no AC. I got it about 8 months ago as a beginner and played with it just fine. Now I pick it up after it sitting for about 2 months and it's squeeking so bad I can't get the 2 lower notes at all. So can this happen just from sitting in a humid room and not even playing it? In that case, how do I remedy this? thanks.
It sounds like the issue was probably something other than wetting out. Wetting out is more temporary. You may have something lodged under the block of the flute (as this happens) or perhaps it is misaligned. On very rare occasions, a crack or knot may have opened up allowing air escape.
Wondering if a hair dryer would work or would it cause any damage to the flute?
The hair dryer might be ok if it had no heat settings. Otherwise, the air-can is really quick! Thanks for watching!
Hey man! I have a flute that sounds kinda raspy and have not been able to figure it out, I finally got a good look inside and noticed that whoever made it drilled the note holes too far. Putting little "pot holes" inside the flute directly under the holes. Is that the problem??
It could be, however typically raspy sounds come from the track area under the block.
BlueBearFlutes ya i took the track off and wow they did a terrible job. Thanks
I wonder if you couldn't mitigate wetting out by polishing the bore, breath chamber and nest with an extremely thin layer of beeswax?
It's also a good idea to burn the track area so that it is both harder and more impervious to moisture. This is something I have been doing to our flutes for at least 20 years. :) If you get a chance, please check out some of our other videos.
Are there certain woods that are less likely to wet out? The cedar flute l just got from High Spirits seems to wet out really easily, and unfortunately no way to move or remove the block on this one (432 Hz Spanish cedar flute in Gm).
That is a great question! I do go through some of the causes of wetting out in this video and I can tell you anytime that the track area of a flute is incredibly glossy or made out of another material, it has a tendency to wet out. One other thing is a mouthpiece that you stick in your mouth. I do go over that in this video, and if you can play the flute without putting the mouthpiece in your mouth, that would probably be best!
@@BlueBearFlutes I'm afraid I do have a tendency to put the mouthpiece in my mouth more than I should as a former recorder player. But I can't tongue trill as well without doing that. So do you think harder woods maybe have less of a tendency to wet?
@wabewawa61 Actually harder woods (especially deforested ancient woods 😊) are MUCH worse! That is a very good question however. One other thing about hardwoods as well is that they sound less like a Native American flute and more like a silver flute or plastic recorder. I typically stay with the woods that would have been historically used except for in the case of Poplar which is an incredibly soft "hardwood" and I primarily use it because it is sustainably forested and relatively hypoallergenic.
@@BlueBearFlutes Interesting, thanks! I'll definitely be checking out your poplar flutes because I would also like something more hypoallergenic. I'm thinking I'm going to have to coat the mouthpiece of my cedar flute with carnauba wax or something similar due to a slightly allergic reaction to it or whatever finishing oil was used.
@@wabewawa61 They make tongue depressers and popsicle sticks out of poplar. 😉
How about the Navajo flute does it wet out
Someone once told me "a flute's a flute". I have found, through much research, that most of our flutes are similar in most ways, whether they be side or rim blown, with a block or a plug inside of them. It almost seems at times that we all made similar flutes at about the same time all over the continent. One of those hard to explain things. Thanks for commenting my friend!
Bahahahahaaaaa! 🤣 I hate the word "fipple". It sounds so... well, yeah.
I'm working in my second flute. The first one needs a lot of remedial work, lol. It plays but I can't quite get in tuned in. I haven't given up on it but I am laying it aside for now. I learned a lot. I'll go back to it. But I started over on another. It just happened to be the perfect length for F#. This one is going better. It had better. I've already anointed it with my life's blood twice. The first time with a razor blade (I knew better, the words "this is a bad idea" actually went through my mind at the start-) the second time with my craft knife exactly opposite the first on my poor thumb. This flute will always hold a place on my heart 😁 especially if it will play. All my measurements are right...
Email me pictures of it and I'll be glad to help! Good luck, and I'm sure you will get it to work out! :)
In short, the wood fibers swell and distort, throwing it out of tune when exposed to moisture. Additionally, there is something called "grain raising". It's when the ends of the wood fibers curl upward, creating thousands of micro eddies or wind turbulence. Grain raising can be minimized in the manufacturing process, by intentionally moistening the bore, allow the grain to raise and then sand it out with very fine sandpaper.
It sounds like you are getting into the experimenting phase that so many flute makers and especially flute enthusiasts follow. Although I do have an upcoming video which will show a few modern techniques, I am and always will be more fond of the original ways of doing things. Caution to the wind, it is a Native American flute when it is made in the way of being a Native American flute. Kind wishes on your journey.
Hello Charlie! I am also a Native American flute maker, and watched this video. There is a flute maker out there that says that he uses a ceramic flue that is guaranteed to not wet out... do you think that is possible? Wetout just seems to be a part of our crafts... also just want to say thank you for the videos, they do have a lot of good hints...
I saw the same thing and was also wondering. Hope you will get an answer on this.
Thanks for the comment Allan! I'm also unaware of ceramic's water preventing abilities. I tend to agree with you about it being mostly unavoidable. The ways I mention about slowing it down may be on to something. Not triggering salivary glands seems to help a lot and explains why some of us can play and play where as others wet-out in a matter of minutes. I look forward to hearing from you again soon my friend!
how are you all doing Charlie and Jessi and aniastutsa😉😁..do you still have otter bag and wouldn't know a opossum named "Myron".. still keeping on the good red road, hold yourself in the road... brother
Hey Myron! I do still have the otter bag you gave me :) Hope to see you again sometime! Message me on my website sometime, www.bluebearflutes.com
BlueBearFlutes osda! Osda!..its great to seeand hear from you brother I sure will talk to you on your website.. These things we do as a people is of great need even the creation of music..time is now.. Hope to see you all as well stay strong 😂💪🌽⚡🌎
Knowing how much waste ends up in landfills and eventually the ocean, it's very disappointing you would promote these metal cans with plastic tops.. You could easily use a plug in electronics duster or just allow your flute to air out naturally, as it's a sign to give it a break.. I feel like drying the bridge area does not adress the majority of the water that has collected in the mouthpiece area and will have dimenishing returns
Brian Z,
Do you have any children yet?
If the plastic and cans in a landfill bother you now, just wait till you see how much garbage
those kids produce...tons...and...tons...of...plastic...garbage...their...entire...lives.
Plug that into your life equation.
Best wishes,
Mr. Brown
Also Brian, please do not research the CONTENTS of that can.
🙄
Fipple!