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….
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
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...
Something a little Different
Yep……, this flute has yet another bird for the fetish block. However, the flute itself is significantly different; It has an Amaj melodic tuning, in a Hitzaz (Ousak) scale. The 8 note sequences of this scale are divided into...
Clarity and Fuzzy woods are not Friends
So I tried hardening the bore of this “Rainbow” poplar F#m flute, without a ton of success. In addition to having large cellular voids like cedar, which dampen the ringing voice typical of a hardwood, the...
Happy Birthday Leonard
During my 20 years in the flute trade, I’ve met many great performers and makers. Three stand out as being most influential in this journey, One continues in that capacity, one hasn’t spoken to me in about 9 years, and the...
A little entertainment…..
I’m working on a new flute with a mode 2/5 tuning, and exploring it’s possibilities with a Celtic flavor….I should add, I don’t play it very well……. In the meantime, in an effort to make my website a little more entertaining, I’ve incorporated an audio file into the...
Experiments done…..
So this cedar F#m was the second of three planned experiments, in an effort to create a predictable process of generating a hardwood voice, from a soft wood. Last month’s flute and this instrument exceeded my expectations such...
A few Experiments…
This would be an Oklahoma red cedar Gm. It has a 7/8 inch bore, and an overall length of 20-1/2 inches. Outwardly, not particularly unusual or creative, but the first of three experiments wherein I’m attempting to achieve a...
A Simple Recipe….
…Pretty simple recipe. Oklahoma red cedar, box elder and amboyna burls, domestic turquoise, and a couple of cabs of labradorite. F#m. The problem is, the demand for turquoise on the international market, has dramatically outpaced supply....