Romy Benton Bamboo: Introduction to Bamboo Flutes

Introduction to Bamboo Flutes

Introduction to Bamboo Flutes: Romy Benton

I've been making bamboo flutes for nearly twenty years, and over that period have distributed several thousand of them! At least half of my customers have been people with little or no musical experience; they're simply intrigued by the flutes and the possibility of learning to play them. Until now, they've been mostly on their own, and it's usually difficult to find an appropriate teacher for bamboo flute--the first thing a classical Western-flute teacher might say is "Well, you have to get a REAL flute first." Not so, I say! Many people with no prior flute experience have started the process on a bamboo flute, and if they eventually wish to acquire a modern, mechanically-keyed flute and study music more formally, that's just fine. I took the opposite course, with ten years' study on modern flute before "discovering" bamboo. The intent of the following material is to assist beginners with an informal start, and to give sound general advice which won't undermine any future studies in a more traditional vein.

Many of my flute-beginner clients have gone on to derive great satisfaction from music, and they've taken as many different approaches to learning as there are individual students. Frequently people will thank me a decade or more after the fact, for helping to bring music into their lives! (A very few have cursed me too, but that's another story...) Above all, this should be an enjoyable process and an avenue for broadening one's means of self-expression via music--so have fun with it!

What follows is mostly quite elementary stuff, and I've completely avoided standard musical notation. Those with prior musical experience--even "real" flute players!--should still find much that's helpful in approaching my particular flutes. At first, we'll assume that you know NOTHING whatsoever about flutes or music. This approach will develop over time, with more-advanced material to follow--and questions are always welcome. Here's a good site that defines musical terms:

http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/

Romy Benton
Dec 31, 2003

What to Do the First Time You Pick Up the Flute

"Run! Run while there's still time to save yourself!" --Advice from my ex-spouse

Most transverse (sideblown) flutes are made to be held extending to the player's right, and mine are no exception. Wind instruments are NOT made in both left-and-right-handed models, as with guitars and such. The first thing you should do with the flute is to hold it comfortably with both hands, paying no attention to the fingerholes as yet. Point the flute out to your right, then bring the blow-hole to your lips. Blow... Oh, no! NOW you've gone and done it: You're a flute player!

--What? You say there was no sound? Well, we'd better work on this. Next is a slightly more detailed description of tone production.

Producing the Tone

The sound is produced by blowing across/into the blow hole, or embouchure hole--it's that simple. Its very simplicity gives far more control to the player than does a flageolet-type flute such as a recorder, pennywhistle, or Native American flute. With flageolets, the airflow is automatically channeled via various ducting systems, but it's also somewhat compromised; the maker must strike a more-or-less happy medium of air-focus for the overall range of the flute. "Embouchure" is a French word, referring to the lip technique used to play a wind instrument. Flute-playing is a constant process of refinement; the airstream must be aimed precisely to get a good, clear tone, and the angle, size and speed of the airstream should be slightly varied as one plays higher, lower, louder, softer, etc. Most people can learn to do this with practice; one must merely have the willingness to spend a bit of time each day, learning along the way. The pleasure should be in the process!

So here's how it's done: The flute will be resting against your lower lip, WITH THE LIP SLIGHTLY OVERLAPPING THE HOLE. The lip will generally cover approximately 25% to 30% of the blowhole hole, covering the edge that faces the player. The lip should NOT be pulled back or curled over the teeth; it should feel rather relaxed, with the edge of the hole contacting the lip right about at its interface between "wet" and "dry." The lower lip should behave like a cushion, and at least a horizontal inch or so of it will be gently pressed against the flute. This is all very important, because the player's sensation of the hole's edge against that sensitive part of the lower lip is how the proper position is judged! I can hardly overstress the importance of this point--got it? Also, avoid a "puckering" position, as would be used for whistling. (Pictures coming soon)

Next, the upper lip is brought up slightly in the center to form an arch. The result should be a narrow, oblong orifice through which the air can pass. Are you familiar with Orzo, the type of pasta that looks something like large grains of rice? If not, you're about to be! You want to make the opening in your lips resemble a bit of orzo...

The Theory of Orzo, and other tone-production tips

Here's your mission: go to a food store, and buy a package of orzo. It also appears in the bulk section of many natural-food stores. Here's a good, basic recipe:

www.vitacost.com/science/hn/Recipe/Orzo_Med_Style.htm

Reserve a few grains of the orzo, and while the rest is cooking in boiling water, observe the metamorphosis--how it gradually expands during the cooking process. This is your model: As you play the flute, the shape and size of the opening in your lips--the Orzo Orifice, henceforth referred to as the OO--will range in shape from the cooked to the uncooked, including all stages in between. Contemplate this well!

Then, as you eat your delicious Orzo Mediterranean Style, meditate on each individual grain, and visualize each as a note of beautiful music, soaring forth to the heavens. Don't over-eat, though--and be sure to brush your teeth, or at least rinse your mouth, before picking up the flute again. It's not a good idea to blow food particles into a wind instrument!

The Theory of Orzo might seem rather wacky and offbeat. But I've been thinking about it for years, and it makes a lot of sense. An offer: if you don't have time for all the shopping and cooking suggested above, send me an self-addressed stamped envelope and I'll throw a tablespoon or two of orzo into it for your benefit. (See the conclusion of this screed for mailing address.)

--Where were we? Oh, yes--pick up the flute--still not concerning yourself with the fingerholes--and positioning your lips as described above, form an OO. Then, blow gently across the hole. Aim to strike the far edge: the idea is to split the airstream in half against this outside edge of the hole. --WHOA! Not so hard there--it should be a moderate, steady stream. Here are three tips to help you get the knack:

Imagine you have a brimming spoonful of hot soup that you're blowing over to cool. You don't blow too hard, or the soup will slosh out. That's about the right intensity.
Draw a good breath of air--just comfortably full. Without the flute, form an OO and blow gently. It should take a good ten seconds or more to empty the lungs.
Tear off a single square of toilet paper. It should be as light as possible; with two-ply TP separate the layers, and use just a half-thickness. Now stand facing a fairly rough-textured wall, and hold the square agains the wall, in front of your face. From about 2-4 inches away, blow on its center, or a bit below; try to keep it in place on the wall with air pressure alone. Practice holding the paper in place as long as possible. Try different-textured surfaces, and observe how much air pressure is needed to suspend the square. On a smooth surface, it'll probably require more airflow than the flute will ever need; on the other hand a rough surface can simulate the most soft, whispered notes you'd play. This correlation is really quite remarkable in my experiments.

Here's a variation on the trick which is perhaps more consistent: Instead of putting the paper against a wall, center it on a plastic CD case. Blow on the paper as before, and vary the angle of the case. The amount of air pressure required to hold the paper in place depends on the angle, and the appropriate range for most flute-playing purposes runs from about 45 degrees to near-vertical.

The above three exercises should help impart an idea of the blowing technique. A beginner invariably expends far too much air in getting a sound, due to simple inefficiency. Once that first sound appears, the process becomes one of refinement, of minimizing air usage through airstream control--which automatically improves tone quality as well. Hey, we're on our way!

--Fun Fact: Orzo literally means "barley" in Italian, because orzo's shape resembles unhulled barley. Watch for my Theory of Barley, coming soon!

(BONUS: the Theory of Barley involves beer drinking AND flute playing, for those so inclined!)

Refining the Tone and Overblowing

All right, we've gotten that first tootling sound; now to begin working toward making it music. At this point, while we're still discussing tone production we'll continue to disregard the hands and fingers.

The first attempts at producing tone may be practiced in front of a mirror, since the visual element can be a big help in positioning and establishing the OO shape. Spend some time alternately raising the flute to your lips, getting a tone, and then lowering it again. The goal is to develop consistency--the instant assurance of a sound, which comes only with practice. In the beginning, it's better to practice for only a few minutes at a time, then rest for a while. Otherwise, the lip muscles can become fatigued, which is counterproductive and frustrating. Take it easy at first; ideally, leave the flute where you can casually pick it up and blow for a short while, several times a day.

A big part of flute playing is a technique called overblowing. Largely through lip and breath control, most notes on a flute can be played in two or three different octaves. With overblowing, we use lip and breath technique to "kick" the tone up into a higher range. An octave is a doubling (or halving) of a note's vibrational frequency, which our ears interpret as being the same note, but in a "higher" or "lower" range, respectively. The lowest octave that can be played on a given note (on any particular instrument) is termed the fundamental. Here are the main variables in overblowing:

Size/shape: The OO will be larger and more oval for low fundamentals--like cooked orzo. For higher, overblown notes it will be smaller, more compressed, more of a narrow slit--see the uncooked pasta.
Angle: On low notes, the angle of the airstream is slightly more downward, more into the hole. For overblown notes, the angle is more upward, more across the hole.
Speed: The speed of the airstream is slower for lower notes, faster for higher ones. However: Never let anyone tell you that you overblow a flute by "blowing harder"! This is a common misconception, and the only thing it will achieve is a strained, shrieking high range that nobody will want to hear! Also, it's then impossible to play high notes softly. Most of the increase in airspeed should happen as an automatic result of compressing the lips, reducing the orifice size. If lung pressure remains constant, the airspeed will thereby increase naturally. So: DON'T TRY TO PLAY HIGHER JUST BY BLOWING HARDER! Even though it may work in a crude fashion at first, this approach ignores our advantage over fipple-type flute players. Note that of the three main variables--angle, speed, and size/shape--the fipple-flute player has control over only one--the speed! Thus, they're forced to use higher lung pressure as an aid in overblowing. We, on the other hand, can control all three variables, which is of huge benefit in terms of tone, flexibility, and range. Take advantage of it! It's ultimately much more musically satisfying to have full control over the air, since flute playing is essentially a process of air-sculpture.

Here's an invaluable tip for improving your tone--both lip muscle-tone, and tone as in sound--the two are closely interrelated:

Play long tones: Select a note in the middle of your comfort zone, and hold the note for as long as you can in one breath. Concentrate on refining the tone, get as much "fuzz" out of the sound as you can, and focus on reducing the lip orifice--the OO--to the minimum. Breathe. Play the note again; try to maintain it longer yet. Then gradually move upward and downward, repeating the process note by note; concentrate on the tone, and the subtle changes in lip geometry required. I can hardly over-emphasize how beneficial this exercise is--although beginners may regard it as "boring." But it's one of the key elements in speeding your early progress. Patience! This whole process should be a much-needed antidote to the rampant short-attention-span disease of modern society!

Adjustments of size/shape are largely a function of compression--the amount the lips are squeezed together. With angle, the jaw also comes into play--although its action is very subtle. Note that if the jaw comes slightly upward and forward, the air will be directed more across the hole. The opposite jaw motion will direct the air more into the hole. Exaggerating these motions a bit at first--even bobbing your head to greatly alter the angle--may be helpful in grasping the concept. But ultimately, the changes should be on a very small scale; moving the jaw even 1/8" is quite significant, and the main focus should remain on the lips.

If you have trouble with all the above, a more-experienced flutist can be quite helpful; the tone-production technique is practically identical for any transverse flute. However, remember that a conventional flute teacher will probably be baffled by your choice of instrument; for that reason instruction might best be confined to embouchure alone.

Remember: Don't let yourself be discouraged early on by any seeming difficulty of tone production--it's actually deceptively simple, and the necessary muscular training should occur both consciously and sub-consciously. Above all, be constantly alert to the relationship between what you do and what you hear, and make adjustments accordingly. In the next section, we'll get the fingers involved.