Hello everybody!
Well....since we are on the subject of PVC flutes, I thought I might share a
little success story that I recently had. The following is a correspondence
that I sent to Daniel Soergel, after some hit and miss attempts at producing
a 2.4 with 1" PVC, (not 3/4"). I wanted a bigger sound....anyway, here's the
formula I ended up with through trial, error and some good advice from
Daniel!
I took this flute to class one night, and Martha and I played through
"Kyoeri" together, she played her bamboo 2.4 and I played mine, and it is
remarkably in pitch. The #2 hole is a tad sharp, but I'll adjust that with
the next one. Recently, Stan Richardson played it when I was in Dallas for
the Intensive with Kurashi-sensei, and I actually heard Stan getting some of
the upper register on it, which I've had some difficulty doing, but now at
least I know it can happen. Stan also suggested sharpening up the blowing
edge a bit, which I will also work on with the next ones I make. I'm also
going to try Tom's bit of wisdom and try bending, or widening the opening at
the end of the flute.
Sorry for the length....but I hope that some of you might get some benefit
or interest out of what Daniel and I shared with each other......here
goes....
Hello again Daniel!
Well...after heeding your advice, I was successful yesterday with coming up
with a good 2.4 PVC flute that is in pitch!! I ended up using some 1"
though, instead of the 1 1/4". After I started looking at it again, the 1
1/4" just seemed a bit too big in circumference. However....I am going to
try and glue a piece of 1" inside a piece of 1 1/4" just to see what I come
up with.
I also sanded down a piece of 3/4" and actually did fit it into a piece of
1", but it was tough going, and I have not yet tried to drill the holes. It
is a nice thick pipe, though. I'm going to try that route again also and see
what the 2.4 sounds like with double the wall thickness.
Here are the measurements for my 2.4: (holes are +/- a mm)
The flute is 28 1/2 inches long
#1 hole - C: 21 3/4"
#2 hole - D: 19 1/8"
#3 hole - E: 16 5/8"
#4 hole - G: 13 5/16"
#5 hole - A: 11 5/8"
All measurements are from the very top edge of the flute, not the foot. I
initially cut a 32" piece of pipe, then made my mouthpiece. It is not a
coupling. I fashioned the utaguchi by making the first long cut, then coming
back and making the blowing edge cut. Clamping the pipe down with some cooI,
padded 'quick-grips' from Home Depot was incredibly helpful when cutting! I
sanded for symmetry and rounded edges after that. Then I cut off 1" pieces
until my holeless pipe was in the key of 'A'. I actually set up a microphone
and plugged it into my chromatic tuner and went an inch at a time until I
got to 'A'. I think I actually had to make a 1/2" cut at the last.
I determined the position of the first hole by taking the position of a hole
on a previous 'bad' flute that is in the key of 'C'. It took a couple tries
to get a good consistent 'C', then after that, I pretty much used the
relationship of the other holes that I had before, and things fell together.
The holes are drilled with a 3/*" bit, but I really 'round out' the holes
with it, then come back with a small rounded file and smooth the edges.
Next I'm going to work on getting a piece of 3/4" sanded down enough to
drive into a piece of 1" and make a 2.4 with a thicker wall. That'll be
interesting!
Thanks a bunch for your advice! You really helped me get this flute done,
and I hope that you might try this yourself!
Tim Cassler
Toolbox Studios, Inc.
454 Soledad, Suite 100
San Antonio, TX 78205
210.225.8269 x111
fax.225.8200
------ Forwarded Message
From: Tim Cassler <tim@toolbox.net>
Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 08:15:29 -0500
To: "daniel G. Soergel" <dsoergel@juno.com>
Subject: Re: 2.4??
Excellent information Daniel-san!!! Thank you so much! I'll try the smaller
hole/tuning first method with my next one, and take a bit more time at it as
I go. These flutes went really, really quick. My wife flipped when she came
out in the garage and I had 3 flutes laying there, and I was scratching my
head, totally perplexed at the #1 hole dilemma!
So, next, I will take your directive, and try tuning each hole (starting
with the first hole first) to see what happens. I think I'm also going to
try the gray PVC. I would like a louder flute.
Question: If I drill the first hole, and blow it, is it's pitch going to be
the same before, as after the rest of the holes get drilled?? Forgive my
ignorance, but I'm a bit fuzzy about this hole & tone thing! But it sure is
fun! Cuz' if it's a 3/16" hole at first, then it ends up moving, (possibly)
then getting enlarged, does it sound different once it's made a 5/16" hole??
Daniel, I really appreciate your feedback, and I will definitely share my
progress and results with you as I move forward. A guy I work with here made
a 1.8 out of 3/4" and it really sounds pretty cool. I took it to my
shakuhachi teacher, Martha Fabrique, here in San Antonio, and she was pretty
impressed with how it sounded. Obviously, it does not have the finesse and
playability of bamboo, but it's a neat little flute to have to just blow on
when the urge arises.
You know what....another thing I'm going to try is actually putting a
microphone to the next flute I make, and patching it into my tuner. I've got
a chromatic tuner, so I can get really scientific here if I want to. I also
play acoustic guitar so I could tune it to one of my acoustic guitars.
Thanks again, Daniel! I hope we stay in touch! I'll definitely keep you
posted!
--Tim Cassler Toolbox Studios, Inc. 454 Soledad, Suite 100 San Antonio, TX 78205
210.225.8269 x111 fax.225.8200
> From: "daniel G. Soergel" <dsoergel@juno.com> > Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 22:01:58 -0400 > To: tim@toolbox.net > Subject: Re: 2.4?? > > Hi Tim, > > I can't say for sure why the #1 hole does not scale up properly. As the > bottom hole, it is the first one I drill. I am assuming that if you > follow my method, you drill a small hole first, then depending on > whether it sounds sharp or flat, it can be "moved" up or down. If it is > too far off, necessitating a huge hole, you can simply start over without > too much time invested yet. Measure with your ears, then document the > result. > > Moving the hole means turning it into a lengthwise slot, which > effectively moves it's center. Of course the larger the opening the > louder the flute. So when the slot is finally in the right place, it can > be rounded out. If you started the flute by building the mouthpiece first > and then fine tune the length of the hole-less flute, you should have the > first two notes exactly where you want them as you round out the first > hole. > > Bigger, louder holes eventually sound too harsh. The "rings" then help > soften the tone as well as liven the sound. By the way, a louder flute > can be made from the dark grey pvc.(same sizes) > > Forgive me for being redundant if you know this already. But you are > quickly approaching the extent of my expertise! I have not tried 1.25" > diameter tubing, so you could be breaking new ground here by figuring out > the hole locations. I would be interested in your findings, if you have a > nice in-tune flute in the end. I feel the thing to do is share it with > the shakuhachi world (free of course). Formulas don't do much good since > they have to be adjusted for bore width and the blowing edge detail. > Since the pvc tube sizes are standard anyone could make one by simply > having a specific measurement for where to put the holes. When it came > time for the final tuning, I realized my "ear" was not as accurate as I > wanted it to be after all. But making flutes improved my playing somehow. > > Dan >
--
Tim Cassler Toolbox Studios, Inc. 454 Soledad, Suite 100 San Antonio, TX 78205
210.225.8269 x111 fax.225.8200
> From: Tom <tom-tom@gaea.ocn.ne.jp> > Reply-To: Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu > Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 11:49:21 +0900 > To: <Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu> > Subject: Flute > > After having glanced at Jeremy's recent communication, here is another > variable to throw into the PVC flute works. If you've been working with > this pipe, try bending the bottom end sort of like a bamboo shakuhachi. > What happens to the tone and responsiveness? Point is that makers of bamboo > shakuhachi have known for a long time that altering the bore on the inside > radius of the curve is not the same as altering the bore by the same amount > at the same place on the outside radius of the curve. Something about the > velocity of sound not being the same for both radii as it goes around a > curve. Something going on here that can make a lot of difference in tone > and responsiveness. > > Tom Deaver > > Bei Shu Shakuhachi Workshop > http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~shaku100/ > > ____________________________________________________ >
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