Neither you, nor this flute will ever want to find yourselves together at a Woodland Native American community gathering. Ever. The snake is very powerful medicine for these folks, and not welcome outside the confines of their ceremonies. This instrument is 20-7/8” in...
A Confluence of Design and Creativity
About 14 years ago, I was introduced to the artistry of Zuni fetish carvers, and began incorporating the work into a few of my instruments. One artist in particular, Garrick Acque, for me, stood out from the rest. I thought it fitting to incorporate one of his carved...
Kauri and Cedar are not cousins….
Many builders and players love eastern red cedar flutes. I am not one of them. This instrument has a nice, respectable voice for a cedar flute. However, it is not a cedar flute. Folks can purchase red cedar for around $0.50 USD per board foot. This flute is built from...
Cedar is not my favorite….
Hi. This flute is built from Oklahoma red cedar and tuned to G#4. It has a bore diameter of 7/8” and is 18 inches in length. Overall, it’s a nice cedar flute, technically correct, nicely voiced, and not one of my favorites. The only reason for that is because it’s...
Whimsy 2.0
Meet Whimsy 2.0 I began building this block from scraps, and it is the second build with this cast of characters. The flute wood is SE Asian paldao, with accents of dyed/stabilized box elder burl. The fetish block is somewhat fragile, so this flute would not be your...
Ambrosia is not a fruit salad
This material is known as Ambrosia Maple. I thought ambrosia was a fruit salad, and I was wrong. It’s a tiny bug that loves eating maple wood. If a flute has a pin hole from one of these bugs, the flute will know it, and sound like a duck call instead of a flute....
![Hawaiian Curly Koa Gm](https://querenciawoodwinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/01231-20-13-.jpg)
Hawaiian Curly Koa Gm
In flute making, I’m particularly fond of equatorial hardwoods, for their beauty and voicing. My tools are never fond of them. Ever. This is Hawaiian curly Koa. It has a 1” bore diameter, and is tuned to Gm. I had other...
![A Brief Dance with Physics](https://querenciawoodwinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/12221-1-.jpg)
A Brief Dance with Physics
I decided I wanted to defy the laws of physics, and build a flute with a 7/8” bore diameter…over two ft. long, tuned to E4m. Shortly thereafter, I decided there are some rules of acoustics that have no work around. I...
![Serendipity….](https://querenciawoodwinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG_1420-768x675.jpg)
Serendipity….
So while I was downstairs in my shop fashioning the fetish block for my latest instrument, my bride, Ms. Denise was up on our deck, taking random photos of the storm clouds brewing out over the ocean. When she came down to show me the result, the cloud formation in...
![Another tribute to the Zuni Pueblo](https://querenciawoodwinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/11222-1-.jpg)
Another tribute to the Zuni Pueblo
So I again tried to create a shade tree tribute to the people of the Zuni Pueblo. A people who’s culture, language, and spirituality are unique among Pueblo tribes, and who have by and...