A couple of words to, and about NA flute players, those of you who play in your sleep. You folks take a wooden tube with standard pentatonic tuning,……and turn it completely upside down. This is just what you do. You have taken my flutes, and made noises and notes I haven’t heard on ANY instrument. I will never even approach the level of skill I’ve seen and heard from professional musicians, recording artists, and those of you whose first passion is the performance of this instrument. That being said, I am blessed that you have chosen to do WHAT you do, and HOW you do it, with MY instruments. …….HOWEVER, although there are a number of things I do in building a flute, that are unique to my flutes, I am not going to tell you I engineered into these instruments whatever noises you folks seem to be able to coax out of them. Based on some degree of consistency I would say it’s 65% whittling, and 35% ………… luck.
Do I want to become a better performer then? …… No. If I learn any more about playing them, I may decide the flutes I build now are unacceptable, and I’ll start engineering them right into the fireplace. Plus, you like them now. You just do so for reasons that I think are partly out of my control, but thanks. I appreciate your loyalty, and your skill. You carry the torch for this instrument, and pretty much set the bar for proficiency. I am so far under that bar, I can’t even see it, but this instrument is magical, and continues to feed “mi querencia”. Thanks again, on behalf of the rest of us. ………too much information again.
Rich,
The talent you’ve been blessed with is truly a work of art. Thank you for sharing it with us. It’s amazing to me how you can take a dead piece of wood, work it, and turn it into a living, singing, piece of art that entertains so many. Your blessed and I for one appreciate your talent and art. Thank you for sharing your gift. I for one hope and pray that this journey in your life is a blessing for you as much as it is for us. Thanks again my friend.
Ken L.
Rich
Thank You for the nice words, but you need to be more gracious to yourself. It’s very obvious with your flutes, what your passion is, and you’ve been blessed with a talent for producing some beautiful arts of work we call flutes, stop and think what these instruments were before you put your touch on them. You’ve turned a dead piece of a tree into a living, singing piece of art. Credos to you my friend and the best to you in this journey you’ve chosen. Now, let us know what you have hidden in the shop. I would love to see some more work of yours soon.
Ken Lyons
Conroe, Tx.
Hi Rich,
As another flute maker I really have to say you are Great! I really like the way you let the wood speak for itself. I like to think that the Great Father is working through all of us makers as his voice to the world. Let the world hear!!
Keep up the fine work.
If you would like to see mine I’m at wolfriverflutes.com
J.Kissinger a.k.a Wishbone
Rich, your a pretty good player regardless of what you say.
Nice block on that flute, I don’t remember seeing that one.
Scott August