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The Folk Flute:
Nothing Less than Great Sound. |
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It is possible for all flute players to have an instrument which:
What it is and how to get oneThe Folk Flute is a three-piece wooden flute for playing traditional music including Irish music: nothing more, but nothing less! Crafted individually by hand in America from Turkish Boxwood or African Blackwood by an artisan flute maker with 32 years experience, each Folk Flute is unique and will only gain character and depth of tone with age--as will all traditional wooden flutes. It is designed for:
Current status as of September 24, 2024! I AM NO LONGER TAKING ORDERS FOR FOLK FLUTES. Tomorrow I am mailing off the last batch of Folk Flutes. 27 instruments! At the end I found myself with a few extra instruments and these are available first come first serve - see just below. Meanwhile I have a dozen other flutes to finish in the next 200 hours of bench time (probably finishing up in late January). I will then be officially retired from the requirement of having to take orders for flutes and producing them. I will still keep busy making instruments. These will be for the sheer joy of doing something new and unusual, such as recreating some Glass Flutes. I considered going into production of a 3D printed version of the Folk Flutes. This is certainly possible. However, I have decided to not pursue this exactly. Instead I will be designing these up so that folks with 3D printers can try making these instruments themselves. I also plan to write up a short book on making Folk Flutes including my designs. This as well as the digital files will be available on my website for purchase. I'll write up the history of the Folk Flutes and post it on my Substack site eventually. Its been 20 years since I first started making ths model. I have averaged about 75 to 100 of these a year. Thus there are some 1500-2000 Folk Flutes out in the world. Its been a good run! CURRENTLY IN STOCK - CONTACT ME TO PURCHASE: I have a Blackwood Folk Flute for small hands (ergonomic) from the current production. I also have a nicely aged and played-in Standard Ergonomic Boxwood Folk Flute from about 2008 featuring a different more "art deco" -style label. This flute was kept at Grey Larsen's as an example for his students. These are priced at $500 each. Occasionally I might produce a small batch of these and post these for sale at my yet to be developed site traditionalflutes.com The prices will be higher for sure. Occasionally unique one of a kind instruments will appear there as well as antique instruments, etc. Something to set up next spring! Meanwhile the Folk Flutes occasionally appear on the used market -- eBay, Facebook pages, The Session, Chiff and Fipple. This will go on and on for a few centuries I suspect and people will be talking about these flutes long after we are all gone. I have already seen a few of the newer makers making a similar instrument. I have just yet to see anyone pursuing a serious small handed version of their flutes. I will share my philosophy on how to do this acoustically and hopefully someone will continue this. Note that making flutes for small hands has been a very successful business model! I am also open to in-workshop tutorial (Karly - let me know if you want to schedule this!) depending upon my availability. CARING AND SERVICING: Meanwhile I still have a recurring nightmare where many of my clients suddenly need me to do some simple repairs or servicing on their instruments, assuming these are warrantied for my lifetime and beyond. Ummmm...NO. Servicing and even repairs are not that difficult. I will do a Substack post or YouTube video on how to do this yourself. There are also instrument techs who can perform these repairs everywhere. These days I usually do not respond to requests for servicing (thread rewrapping usually). Thank you for your interest, support and reports of enjoyment and stories for this model. I will post announcements here and elsewhere when I have the STL's etc. available. Most likely I will simplify my web presence off GoDaddy and the domain Folkflutes.com will become available for sale. From Previous Updates FYI: I need to stop making the Folk Flutes in Blackwood partly because I am almost out of the wood that I make these with, and partly because making these in batches is kind of brutal to my hands. I am pausing my Folk Flute order page and turning off the Buy-it-now buttons. I may do an additional run sometime in mid to late Fall of Folk Flutes in various woods and configurations, depending upon other instruments in my queue. I am happy to put your name on a waiting list at this point. I do plan to make these in 3D Printed Resin, using a Saturn 3 12K printer. I will be going through a round of prototyping and perfecting the design so that there is very little adjustment needed during manufacture. Making these flutes this way will save much wear and tear on my hands, allowing me to be able to make some music myself, instead of just making the hardware for everyone else. I am hoping these will play as well as the wooden ones. These will be available through a few of my favorite retailers only. I have been busy with a queue of keyed flutes which took much more time than expected and am running late on Folk Flutes ordered as far back as February. I am hoping to work on these during July, until I take a break to attend music camps. The hot weather slows me down further thus I am not planning to finish and send these until August or September. Sorry its slow these days! International shipping rates have gone up. I was hoping I could get better rates and delivery with DHL but I do not ship enough to justify their discounts. (from the April 4 update) Besides the Folk Flutes, I am still accepting orders for my higher-end Keyless Flutes with Sterling Silver Bands and Slides in the 3 size ranges (small handed, standard and large-holed standard). I have raised the price of these to $1400. Waiting time can be up to a year+/-. A 25% deposit will be required. My current queue of waiting customers has been very wonderful and forgiving by patiently allowing me to work at my pace. Thank you!!!
I started making this particular model in various woods 21 years ago. It has been a good run. However I am running out of well-cured blackwood and want to make only a few of my higher end flutes with tuning slides every month and explore other instruments. Meanwhile, a new 3D Printed version of the Folk Flute is in the prototyping stage. I hope to make these available for purchase by early 2025. If you want one in wood however, it is now or never. To order your Folk Flute, simply use the Buy it Now buttons below. To be on the safe side, also send me your shipping address and phone number via email. Cost is $500 plus shipping. I will email you an acknowledgement of your order with a guestimate in terms of a shipping time.INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: DHL raised my rates after they determined that I didn't have sufficient orders to justify a discount. Therefore I will be shipping international orders with the postal service, as before. If you have questions and questions about these flutes, please read through this website first, and read it again! That is what it is here for! I sometimes spend more time answering these questions than it takes to make the flute itself. If you have questions about care such as what oil to use - please read the care instructions that came with your flute - or download a new copy. I do not have the time to answer this question when the answer is sitting right in front of your eyes! Just go here. The popular Folk Flute is the Best Choice for beginning players, period. The Folk Flute features the same accoustical design as my more expensive Standard Model Flutes, voiced and tuned with the same degree of care and attention, using exactly the same reamers and processes. The Folk Flute plays as well as my more expensive models! Available in African Blackwood and Turkish Boxwood, right or left handed, Ergonomic Standard and Small-Handed versions, Standard and Small Handed Straight Line versions. > "It plays beautifully: intonation is excellent, response is really good, the tone is wonderful, and it is very comfortable to play. I give it two thumbs up." Grey Larsen, noted Irish flute player and author of The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle Is the Folk Flute is an appropriate choice for me? YES! Beginning traditional flute players want an easy to play and maintain instrument that they can grow with. The Folk Flute fits these requirements well. Intermediate players want an instrument that has a good tone and quick response that will hold up well in sessions. My more expensive flutes (many without all the acoutrements such as tuning slides and keys) are widely used in sessions. The Folk Flute is acoustically identical - and thus works well for sessions. The player is not limited by this instrument. Why buy a Folk Flute when less expensive plastic flutes are available? One primary advantage of wood over plastic is that the voice keeps getting more and more amazing as the instrument ages and is played in, like any decent wooden instrument. This simply never happens with a plastic flute. The wood adds something complex and lovely to the sound that is lacking in some plastic instruments. Wooden flutes are easy to care for, similar to other common woodwinds such as recorders and clarinets.Plastic flutes may be a good choice for some in extremely dry climates, or situations where humidity extremes will put the instrument at risk. However, I have sold many of my flutes to players in dry climates, who take them hiking and even mountain climbing and these do just fine. Taking care of such an instrument doesn't require that you be a rocket scientist and is easy as caring for a guitar or a violin. By request, I seal the wood with a polyurethane sealer which renders it impervious to humidity changes. I am considering keys or a tuning slide later on. Should I get one of the other models? The Folk Flute is a good reference point even for those unsure about these extra options. Many of my Folk Flute clients decide eventually that they want a flute with all the bells and whistles from me or one of my contemporaries. Once in hand, some have reported keeping their Folk Flute as a handy traveling instrument, or a comfortable and familiar fallback when they just can't cope with the new keywork. Is the Folk Flute tuneable? I make the Folk Flute with a 32-33mm long headjoint tenon, which allows for some adjustment for when tuning to other players. The headjoint can be pulled out or rolled inward to flatten it as needed. Since most everyone plays at A-440Hz only a small range of tuning adjustment is needed. The range is similar to that found on wooden recorders. I have small hands. Will the Folk Flute work for me? YES! YES! YES!!!! I started addressing the needs of smaller handed players as far back as 1985, and iteratively developed flutes that are comfortable to one's hands with the narrowest finger spacings available in the Irish Flute market. Distances between fingerholes (measured center to center) range from 32 to 35mm on my Standard flute, and from 29 to 32mm on my Small Handed Flutes. Holes are usually offset for further comfort. Fingerhole Spacings for my flutes - measured center of hole to center of hole, for comparison purposes. My Standard Flute has a slightly closer fingerhole spacing than most of of the other flutes out there, if only by a few millimeters in some cases. However, these few millimeters and the offset can make a huge difference. And for small hands, nothing else exists that can compare with mine for comfort. If your hands are on the small side, and especially if you have issues with such things as arthritis or tendonitis, or simply want a flute that doesn't require you to spread your fingers much, select one of my flutes. The spacing of the Large Holed Standard is very close to the Standard. On the upper hand holes the spacing is 35mm and 34mm. On the lower hand the spacing is 33mm and 33mm. The holes are a little larger (.5mm to 1.5mm) due to their lower position on the flute body. This should be considered if one has very narrow fingers. Are the smaller handed flutes quieter? Not at all. Most of the sound generation is due to the shape and effectiveness of the embouchure hole. Any effect of the resulting smaller fingerholes may be easily overcome by increasing the degree of undercutting, bore profile and other acoustical aspects. The best way to accomplish this design-wise is to make several hundred of these flutes - while trying to make each one better than the previous one. I have done this and my smaller handed flutes hold up very well in sessions and performances. Ergonomic versus In-line Fingerholes explained: Most Irish flutes by other makers, antique flutes and many other wind instruments have finger holes that are all straight in-line. I have found that a slight bit of offset for the 2nd and 3rd holes for each hand helps tremendously by making the flute more comfortable to play. I call this arrangement "Ergonomic". With respect to the 1st fingerhole, the 2nd hole is rotated about 1mm or less away from the hand bringing the ring finger closer to the 3rd hole, which is offset 1-2mm towards the hand. The 5th and 6th fingerholes are increasingly offset by 1 and 2mm or more towards the hand with respect to the 4th hole. Essentially the fingerholes are arranged in slight arcs which correspond to the usual arrangement of fingertips. This option is the commonly selected one for Folk Flutes and my more expensive flutes. If you are a fingertip player, especially with small hands this is the best choice. However, some traditional players use the lower pads of the finger joints ("piping style"). For these players in-line is the usual arrangement. Large Holed Standard Version: These are available set up as a Large Holed Standard Version. This is similar to my regular Standard version except that the holes are farther down the body, and are slightly larger and spaced a little but wider apart. These factors make the flute as resonant as possible. Playing a flute in this configuration requires larger hands, or playing "piping style" using the finger pads, instead of the finger tips. This would be a good choice for an experienced player. I would still recommend the small and regular handed fingerhole spacings for most beginning players. (Blackwood Folk Flutes in Small Handed, Standard, and Large Holed Standard configurations in the image to the left) Can these be made left handed? Yes. Simply email me when you order that you would like your flute set up for left handed playing. What doesn't come with the Folk Flute: end cap, rings, tuning slide, keys and retrofit capabilities, specific customizeability. Leaving out these options allows me to quickly make these flutes available with quick delivery times - for a price most can afford. A simple cloth case is provided. What wood should I choose? Currently the Folk Flute is only available in African Blackwood. This wood has been used for clarinets for years and is the the wood most flute makers use. Blackwood grows in savannas from Tanzania to South Africa. Blackwood and CITES There is no longer any restrictions for Blackwood Flolk Flutes. Permits are no longer required. What is the difference between the Folk Flute and the more expensive $800 Standard Models? Acoustically these are exactly the same flute, made from the same woodpile and the same reamers, and tuned and voiced the exact same way. Tuning and voicing so many Folk Flutes means that these and my more expensive flutes will all play and sound great. In 2012 I produced 167 flutes out of which 140 were Folk Flutes. This gives me lots of practice with tuning and voicing compared to some other flute makers who may only tune and voice a few flutes each month. Tuning and especially voicing (this is what determines how well the flute plays and how it feels to the player), like anything musical, requires constant practice and application to remain being really good at it. I prefer it if these flutes play as well or better than the more expensive flutes of my competitors! The Folk Flute is my lower cost "loss leader" and is a good way to get my flutes in the hands of many players, who then come back for the more expensive models. The difference between these and my more expensive models is what is offered and not offered. On the Folk Flute the flute is set up without any customization to the clients hands aside from small or regular hands. Tuning slides, bands, end cap and keys are not offered for this model. For my $700 flutes, I offer a few more choices of acoustical models. Usually a single piece middle joint is usually used. Customization to fit your hands specifically, tweaking after you have played it some if necessary and all the bells and whistles (tuning slides, bands, keys) may be added either when you order or retrofitted to the flute later on (at $400 for the slides and bands, and $450 per key). All of my flute models including the Folk Flute play excellently.If you want your flute "tweaked" and custom fitted to your hands etc., order one of my more expensive flute models. The Folk Flute is designed to be an acceptable model within the range and preferences of most players, and to play really well. At this point I have shipped over 1000 of these since 2003 and the feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. Folk Flute versus Other Inexpensive Flutes: I notice that people on discussion lists commonly ask questions about this or that inexpensive flute. Frequent answers suggest this or that flute made from PVC, Bamboo, and other materials one can find at a typical hardware store. These flutes do work for some. But in the majority of cases, these flutes will have a cylindrical bore, widely spaced holes, and are frankly disappointing. I recommend getting the real thing. The Folk Flute is the real thing! You will getting a true wooden flute with a proper tapered bore, undercut toneholes, etc. You are also getting an instrument made with the skill and experience of someone who has been mastering this art form for over 30 years. Your instrument is probably worth more and I could probably charge more, since these play as well as the many expensive flutes made by my peers (and these also play as well as my expensive flutes). I simply like to provide a lower cost but very high quality instrument in excellent wood to as many players in the world as possible. Its what I do. In terms of access, my smaller handed flutes especially serve a need for small-handed players. I have been working on perfecting a smaller handed flute model since 1986. Only a few other makers seem to have any grasp of this concept and all are way behind me in terms of experience and practice. Caring for the Folk Flute: Your flute will be easy to care for. You will simply need to protect it from extreme dryness, oil it with bore oil occasionally, and adjust the fit of the tenons as needed by adding or unwrapping thread. Detailed care instructions are provided with the instrument, and can also be downloaded here.
Embouchure cuts: I occasionally get asked if I provide different styles of embouchure cuts, similar in concept to what is available for modern flutes and Irish flutes by other makers. The short answer is "No". The embouchure is integral to the bore, tone hole lattice and other acoustically important factors. The ovoid embouchure that I use is actually quite complex in its shape and design, and varies from flute to flute as the flutes themselves vary flute to flute. I allow a little bit of variation into the process as this allows my flutes to constantly evolve as I pursue what works best, when I am in the tuning and voicing process. The end result is a flute that plays well, has a terrific tone, and is very forgiving to every player.
Testimonials: I should really post some of these on a separate page sometime when I get the chance. I get so many of them! The ones that really get to me and remind me why I keep doing this are from players who have had to stop flute playing entirely - because their antique flutes (or flutes made based on the original flutes) kept making their hands sore. They report the joy they now feel now that they they can enjoy playing the flute and make this a regular part of their lives again! I get several of these every year. > NOTE: ORDERING IS PAUSED!!! I may do a run of these in the Fall or Winter. I will also start making these in a 3D printed version. If you want to be added to my waiting list please contact me via email. All sales are final. Customization, servicing, tweaking and repairs if any will be considered on a case by case basis. You will receive an automatically generated acknowledgement of your order. Please refer to this website for delivery updates, which are updated weekly, instead of contacting me. This allows me to concentrate on the flutes, not answering email. By ordering, you agree to these terms. |
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