Blue Bear Flutes - How Long Should the Track or Air Chamber Be When Making a Native American Flute?

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  • Опубліковано 22 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 97

  • @garrisonsheffield9583
    @garrisonsheffield9583 2 місяці тому +1

    Wish I could like the video a thousand times. Very appreciated perspective.

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  2 місяці тому +1

      @@garrisonsheffield9583 I appreciate that so very much! You can go and like my hundreds of other videos If you want!

  • @jeannemyers489
    @jeannemyers489 Рік тому +7

    Thank you for the continued education about our flutes Charlie. It helps us novice flute owners better understand the function of our flutes. It can help make us better players too! 🎵

  • @VisualVoicePhoto
    @VisualVoicePhoto 23 дні тому

    Thank you for sharing your lifetime expertise Charlie! Every time I watch your videos I better understand why I am on this journey. I am ordering a flute from you today!

  • @craftinganewworld1674
    @craftinganewworld1674 Рік тому +3

    I use orange beez wax polish on my flute tracks. I put a dab on and set the flute in front of a heater until the wax has melted in the bamboo. After it's melted, I use a bamboo tool that's fire hard, and very smooth to pressure polish the track. Gives me a really smooth track. 🙏
    Your videos are very helpful, and I appreciate you sharring. ☀️🌟

  • @josephnebeker7976
    @josephnebeker7976 Рік тому +1

    Sometimes the most informative video for people who think everything matters is to say, "Not everything matters"!

  • @naiman4535
    @naiman4535 Рік тому +5

    Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience in flute making with us, Charlie! As a flute maker myself, I can definitely say that the Slow Air Chamber is the most controversial part of the Native Flute. Some say that it enhances or makes special breath effects on the NASF possible, but I feel that this could be due mainly to the wide bore diameter in relation to the air column length. As for the length of the track or flue, I used to make my tracks longer, but now I make them shorter because I feel that the shorter the track, the less of a chance there is for turbulence to creep into the air stream - but maybe burning the track in is the best way to solve that problem, regardless of the track length. The air that passes down the track or flue has often been called a laminar air stream, and because it is a single, solid flow of air, it seems like the narrower that you make the track or flue, the deeper you can make it; conversely, the wider the track or flue, the shallower that it has to be made. Heck - there are so many complexities involved in making the whole sound production mechanism that many flute makers feel, myself included, that once you hit on something that works for you, by all means, stick with it, and don't change or modify it unless you really have to.

  • @deborahlevey8527
    @deborahlevey8527 5 місяців тому +1

    Hey Blue Bear Flute ,it's me again , Debbie do ,I made some flutes out of bamboo like you showed us .fixing to buy a lathe machine n table top saw.hoping I can learn step by step how to make a American native flutes ,with your help ,I know I can do it....❤

  • @Country_Jedi
    @Country_Jedi Місяць тому +1

    If Charlie says it doesn't matter then that is good enough even for an over analyzer like myself. My Blue Bear Flute sounds amazing and I hope soon to try my hand at making one myself also. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience 👍

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Місяць тому +2

      @Country_Jedi Thank you fellow Jedi! I have a video planned that we will make within the next two weeks that you will absolutely love! Please be sure to watch out for it! It will be one of my videos of "...by hand with only XYZ tool"! (a surprise!)

  • @lazytomcatranch
    @lazytomcatranch Місяць тому +2

    Here I am, tracking down another piece of the puzzle. l)J

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Місяць тому +2

      @lazytomcatranch i have put so many puzzles together already and have shared all of the results in my videos! We make thousands of flutes today and ship them all over the world!

    • @lazytomcatranch
      @lazytomcatranch Місяць тому

      @@BlueBearFlutes Your instructional videos are amazing, and I hope to buy Your book very soon as well. I am paying particular attention to the tools, equipment, and items used in Your method involving the gluing of the two halves of the flute together prior to turning it. I will also most likely buy one of Your flutes soon, though what I really want is a low bass flute, and bass flutes are the most expensive everywhere I have looked. Thank You so much for Your videos, I am watching them one after the other at this point to learn, much as I did decades ago when learning from Bob Ross how to do landscape oil paintings. May You walk gently through the world and know it's beauty all the days of Your life. l)J

  • @johnmartin9090
    @johnmartin9090 11 місяців тому +1

    I've made the pvc flute with your great information and instructions. Can't wait to create a bamboo flute in the near future. I have beautiful and large bamboo on my land.

  • @independentmind1977
    @independentmind1977 Рік тому +2

    Thanks Charlie for sending me this way from Reddit. This is a great companion to the book

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      Ironically my friend, the videos came first before the book! Of course we have made so many videos since then but it is what inspired it's writing. Thanks so much for checking us out!

  • @ColeMu
    @ColeMu Рік тому +2

    I did binge a good deal of your videos and managed to make a flute out of the bamboo growing in my yard after 4 tries. Sadly it chose to keep splitting so my quest continues in making them. But thank you for all of this information.

    • @ChrisLeeW00
      @ChrisLeeW00 Рік тому

      I have had similar trouble with bamboo harvested fresh. I have heard from other makers that the bamboo should be seasoned, either by allowing it to dry on a shelf for a few months, by running it over a fire or torch until it lightly browns, or doing both before removing any of the inner nodes and turning it into a flute. Cutting holes while its still green seems to be a gamble with wood and bamboo from what I’ve seen.

  • @TheBottegaChannel
    @TheBottegaChannel Рік тому +1

    I always heard of the slow air chamber called the back pressure chamber and had it explained to me as " it functions similar to how the air bladder of a bagpipe works, allowing for a steady play session.", but that's only from info gleaned off of online research. That said, amazing video. I'll have to remember the info for my next prototype.

  • @agoogleuser3787
    @agoogleuser3787 Рік тому +2

    Cool new video!!

  • @paulsolovyov2403
    @paulsolovyov2403 Рік тому +2

    Wow this is the best flute UA-cam channel. so far the most detailed and elaborate explanation and analysis thank you
    you've made my day.
    There is one thing
    what if we make the track in a triangular form so that the entering point is two or even three times wider than the regular sized exit point to increase it's volume (in the proper meaning) so there's more air contained and processed entering the wide entrance and then being pressurized when it comes out the narrow point. Of course in this case the track length should be bigger.
    perhaps it might compress the sound make it more stable or sharper...
    I have to try it right now)
    have to go thank you

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +2

      Your idea is similar to what I do on a daily basis however my triangle is in a different direction. I advised you to try it and see what happens! 🙂 Thanks so much for watching! (M😉)

  • @simonbar7665
    @simonbar7665 Рік тому +2

    Big like

  • @ArminHirmer
    @ArminHirmer Рік тому +1

    very interesting, as usual

  • @mikegillihan9944
    @mikegillihan9944 Рік тому +1

    Great video, thanks! I love what you’ve done with the Googol flute. I can’t imagine streamlining your process to the point that you can sell an item of that quality at that price point, that must have taken a lot of work. Amazing.

  • @sethwinegar
    @sethwinegar Рік тому +1

    Thanks for the video Charley, I finally feel at peace with understanding the air chamber. Darn thing made me not rest at night with all the confusing information out there.

  • @radagastjones9339
    @radagastjones9339 Рік тому

    Thank you so much for continuing to share your knowledge about these wonderful instruments. I've been a student of yours for many years, but about 5 years ago I took a path that led me to building cigar box guitars, ukuleles, even violins and dulcimers. I needed this short reminder in order to start making flutes again. I have missed the joy the flutes brought, not just to me, but others as well. I am very grateful for the gifts you have shared with us all, Charlie.

  • @robertopalladini7543
    @robertopalladini7543 2 місяці тому +1

    Gracias Charlie....

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  2 місяці тому +2

      @@robertopalladini7543 De nada mi amigo! Gracias por escribir!

  • @harleyv1969
    @harleyv1969 Рік тому +1

    Charlie I have watched quite a few of your videos, (you have a lot) and I followed your instructions in every aspect that I could. The flute turned out fantastic sounding and pretty cool looking, even, but what I really learned is that if you make the bore bigger and out of round on purpose just to see what happens then the hole pattern is now a 'your on your own' from here out situation. The super glue and sawdust is very handy, works better and easier than I thought it would. It saved my flute and I learned a lot by just going for it. Tremendous satisfaction in the end result 👍thanks for all your videos you make, God bless!

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      Hey my friend, thanks again for your kind words! Coincidentally I do have a video on what to do if you change the size of the inside of the flute and how it affects your hole pattern. Its title is something like how to change a pattern to fit your flute. If you can't find it, email me. 😄

    • @harleyv1969
      @harleyv1969 Рік тому

      @@BlueBearFlutes excellent! I'm going to find it 👌😁

  • @reiki11
    @reiki11 Рік тому +1

    Charlie! Thank you for your explanation of airflow. Love my Googol!

  • @chicodecoster
    @chicodecoster Рік тому +2

    Thanks 🙏 for sharing my Brother.

  • @elkbud9572
    @elkbud9572 Рік тому +1

    Thanks from France 🙏👍

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      Merci mon ami! N'oubliez pas de regarder mes autres vidéos !

  • @wade4452
    @wade4452 5 місяців тому +1

    Thank you as always. Blessings

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  5 місяців тому +1

      @@wade4452 You're welcome! Thank you for watching! Keep an eye out for the next video, it's going to be amazing!

  • @duaneroberts8753
    @duaneroberts8753 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for this video Charlie, you've answered a very important question.....yeha noha....

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      You're welcome my friend! Of course the question may be there however don't get hung up on it. The reason I didn't make this video for such a long time is because it is not a super important part of the process.

  • @francescop5767
    @francescop5767 Рік тому +1

    thank you Charlie..you are the best

  • @larryshortridge5094
    @larryshortridge5094 Рік тому

    Very valuable information, thank you.

  • @ajtaranto1989
    @ajtaranto1989 Рік тому +1

    I was driving by a cucumber field the other day and right in the midst of the field there was a Nun doing squats. Had to take a double take, I have never in my life seen something so suspect, have you? That silly enough for ya :) Thank you Charlie for signing the book I bought from you, Ive made many times the cost of that book with the knowledge I gained from it.

  • @mattbe2337
    @mattbe2337 Рік тому +1

    Hi Charlie. Thank you so much for excellent information in this and all of your videos I have watched. I received your book on making flutes at the beginning of January and am loving the process of making an instrument I am teaching myself to play. Thank you and Jessie for your excellent tutorials.

  • @nelsonpalmer4831
    @nelsonpalmer4831 Рік тому +1

    Thank you once more for clarity

  • @royboggs3849
    @royboggs3849 Рік тому +1

    Thnx Charlie! You’ve been extremely helpful! 👏👏👍👍👌👌👌👌

  • @Tamaquashad
    @Tamaquashad Рік тому +4

    Hi Charlie,
    First thanks for everything I’ve made a ton of flutes since first emailing you a few years back, I’ve also been the only flute player for my tribe and you have been a massive help.
    I’ve been a lurker on many flute forums and such and never actively involved, but I seem to always come back to your videos and teachings as they seem the most traditional/logical in my eyes.
    Anyway, what is your opinion on some of the opinions about traditional flutes being tuned Diatonically, I’ve seen some posts of people claiming they’ve visited museums and found old flutes with diatonic tuning and would love to hear your thoughts!

    • @ChrisLeeW00
      @ChrisLeeW00 Рік тому

      A resource I found online is in flutopedia, search “Map of Native American Flute Tunings” (I would post a link but I’m not sure UA-cam allows it). This page has a chart of different tunings both historical and modern. Hope that helps!

  • @artemi-music
    @artemi-music Рік тому

    thanks a lot for this video, it was interesting to know about your experience.

  • @kentalaga8450
    @kentalaga8450 Рік тому

    Excellent topic Charlie! When I began my flute making journey I often postulated about the importance of the slow air chamber and if it's needed at all. Other flute makers I've talked with, about my skepticism the SAC, told me that it is necessary for the flute sound quality and the dimensions of their idea of the perfect and necessary SAC. I've experimented with different lengths and widths of the SAC and I didn't notice any dramatic change(s) in the sound quality of the flute. I've made flutes with the embouchure/mouthpiece being the SAC or vice versa, again of various lengths and diameters and they play and sound pretty darned good. I guess it all comes down to what works for the individual flute maker and making flutes that play easily and sound pleasant to the ear.

  • @peterpeersman4931
    @peterpeersman4931 9 місяців тому +1

    so wonderful the way you play

  • @weswalker1208
    @weswalker1208 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for everything you do

  • @AlbertMoore-e8z
    @AlbertMoore-e8z 7 місяців тому +1

    Please explain what's inside the flute as far as under the track and how should the blow hole end be ?

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  7 місяців тому

      I briefly explain what it is in a river cane flute here: ua-cam.com/video/QMUW21jBMXg/v-deo.htmlsi=GtgA-zcnDKqsMUkX
      And you can see it in a wooden flute here:
      ua-cam.com/video/Ec8K0neROB8/v-deo.html

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  7 місяців тому

      I believe I've used the word "partition" in about 90% of my videos, however the word is sanemos with "plug", "blockage", a "stop" or "restriction".

  • @idontlikeit.7822
    @idontlikeit.7822 4 місяці тому +2

    The best advice ever….just play the flute….long ago and far,far away the Scotsman that taught me blacksmithing would say, don’t be a chicken, Hit it!

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  4 місяці тому +1

      @@idontlikeit.7822 🙏🏼😄🙏🏼 Great Advice!

  • @williamjohnson476
    @williamjohnson476 Рік тому +1

    Another excellent video :) I would love to see your approach to making a rim-blown type flute and a transverse flute (like the wooden ancestor of the silver flute, fife maybe?). I am running into more references and depictions of these types of Indigenous Flutes.

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +2

      Hey my friend, sorry I made you wait all this time for that video! 😁 I have been promising myself I would get to it ASAP and so I will. As you probably already know it's much harder to play those types of flutes than it is to make them!

    • @williamjohnson476
      @williamjohnson476 Рік тому +1

      ​@@BlueBearFlutes Haha, what's years in the grand scheme of spirit? Glad you're still givin'er Charlie and look forward to experiencing the right time for the video to come out :)

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      @@williamjohnson476 I hope you're doing well my friend and always look forward to hearing from you!

  • @amandabates4539
    @amandabates4539 3 місяці тому

    I have been a woodwind player for almost 40 years. Unfortunately, I am a mixed breed of races, so my native ancestors family has been lost before I was born. Because of that, they can’t help me with my Native American flute. I would have loved connecting to my Crow, Blackfoot, and Sentinel family in this way. That’s half of the flutes Joy, that I feel I could have. Aaaanyway….Question: does there need to be an angle in either hole, for the air to split and create the best sound, in your experience? Like angling of the holes vs. straight vertical trajectory

  • @aetheralmeowstic2392
    @aetheralmeowstic2392 Рік тому +1

    You know, one thing I was wondering is if it'd be possible to develop a version of the Native American flute with a full Boehm key system.

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      You certainly could! I have made just about one of everything! The only reason I don't offer everything is simply because I like to stick with original!

  • @AlvinHanson1708
    @AlvinHanson1708 Рік тому +1

    I read pine is the best wood material that doesn't warp like oak or cedar.

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      I would not necessarily say that Pine does not warp or that cedar does. Honestly often times it has to do with where the knot holes are.

  • @tomcartmill401
    @tomcartmill401 Рік тому

    Charlie: That makes sense and feels right. 😁

  • @imadharrouk3766
    @imadharrouk3766 Рік тому

    Thank you again and again!!

  • @yvancoissieu7390
    @yvancoissieu7390 3 місяці тому

    Merci beaucoup pour cette vidéo. Peut être pouvez vous me renseigner : quelle est l'angle du biseau de la flûte ? 45 degrés, 40 degrés, 35 degrés, 30 degrés ? Il me semble que cela a une très grosse influence aussi sur la qualité du son lorsque le flux d'air vient se partager sur le couteau. Merci pour votre réponse 😊❤.

  • @RickyD1968
    @RickyD1968 Рік тому +2

    Awesome Video !!!

  • @jerrycandelaria8845
    @jerrycandelaria8845 Рік тому +1

    Hey Charlie I actually have two questions I wanted to make my own out of whatever piece of wood but I noticed does the sound hole or shaft tube have to be larger if you have a larger girth pipe my second question is I noticed on the sound block is it better to cut into the sound block to make the groove or to cut into the pipe to make the groove between the air hole in the sound hole or experiment between both

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      I believe this video may answer both of them. Let me know!
      ua-cam.com/video/Ckk-QZF-pYM/v-deo.html

  • @bread-ih9lm
    @bread-ih9lm 8 місяців тому

    Slow air chamber seems like it would have advantages to circular breathing. Flutes and recorders are a bit harder to do the technique with. Aside from that it probably would make your air usage more balanced and go further.

  • @alexdenton6586
    @alexdenton6586 Рік тому +3

    Does the contact form on your website work?

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +1

      Absolutely! I just tested it myself. If you contact me through it, usually I reply within 24 to 48 hours. In other words, if you message me on the 29th, I will likely message you back by the 31st.

  • @wildernesboy
    @wildernesboy Рік тому

    Alright Charlie, How about showing us how you make your acorn,turtle, snake ocarinas?

  • @adolfharleydavidson4544
    @adolfharleydavidson4544 Рік тому

    Thank you very much, and could you tell us the measurement of the last hole up to the inner tube (sorry, I have translated it with google)
    I try to make one of your flutes but they don't work for me, I don't know if it will be when translating into centimeters

  • @nicolautuleise
    @nicolautuleise Рік тому +1

    Hi Charlie,
    First of all I'd like to thank you for all the videos and all the input about making Native American flutes, without you I would not be where I am now as a flutemaker.
    I have an issue for which I only find very few ressources online and I was wondering if you can help and/or make a video about: my workshop is in the cellar and now (being in winter in Germany) it is quite cold there (around 10 degrees Celsius): How do you tune a flute at this temperature so it is in tune at room temperature? Is there some kind of formula? One thing I found on your facebook group is that the tuning varies by 3 cent for every 2 °F (being around 1 °C) of difference. So in my case 10 degrees colder = -30 ct? Is that correct?
    Quite a long comment now 😅. Thanks for your help!

  • @AlvinHanson1708
    @AlvinHanson1708 Рік тому +1

    Cool

  • @RidgeRunner5-
    @RidgeRunner5- Рік тому +1

    Hello Charlie, hope you and yours are doing well. Question, can the sharp edge of the sound hole be too sharp?

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +2

      No however if you are getting jumping octave and other signs that it is too crisp, very lightly bevel the edge of the track as it goes into the sound hole. I do have a video on this. Please email me and let me know how it works for you.

  • @americanpatriot2979
    @americanpatriot2979 Рік тому +1

    Thanks Charlie. A'HO

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому +2

      Thanks for watching my friend! Please be sure to check out our other videos! And more to come!

  • @RucoMedia
    @RucoMedia Рік тому

    Can't the track be sealed with beeswax preparation?

  • @Chris_the_Muso
    @Chris_the_Muso Рік тому

    The term you are looking for in respect to what the track is supposed to do is "linear flow". It won't matter how long the track is, providing it is long, smooth and straight enough to ensure linear airflow when it his the labium. It is the linear flow speeding up as it breaks into turbulent flow when it hits the labium that creates the tone. I've been working on one inch for my Irish whistles, but that is just an arbitrary figure that gets the job done so I can concentrate on the more difficult questions...

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому

      I guess it goes to show, even after making over a million flutes, there is still something new to learn. I'm just wondering if there is like a club or group or something where people think up these new ways to describe the simplicity of a historical musical instrument!

    • @Chris_the_Muso
      @Chris_the_Muso Рік тому

      @@BlueBearFlutes Yes, the club is called Physics. Physics can't make a better sounding flute or whistle but it's great for understanding how a flute works, and communicating the basic bits like how the sound is created or understanding why we do things the way we do. It's the understanding that can lead to a better flute, whether it comes from decades of experience or a physics book. Another way to think about it is that the same physics can describes any similar instrument whether it be a flute, a pipe, a whistle or an ocarina. They are all the same even if they have different shapes and in most cases different tuning and pitches.

    • @BlueBearFlutes
      @BlueBearFlutes  Рік тому

      @Chrisamic @Chrisamic You'll have to forgive me as I was speaking of the clubs with which I belong. Unfortunately there are few if any members. Two of these such clubs are called "logic" and "language." I will admit that the language club has a vote up at present to change the name to "communications" however I haven't voted quite yet. In any case, I may have mentioned something in my last comment with regards to "millions of flutes". You're completely correct in that I have met numerous people over the years who have used the language of physics to design flutes though they have failed miserably. Myself, without using this language at all (physics), have created a great many flutes as well as a life around said creation of such flutes. I have used these skills to teach millions of people around the world to do the same. I do have a question for you to pros at your next club meeting however, is any of this even possible - that which I have described to you - without a membership in your club? It could be perhaps that this particular club that I have created doesn't discluded or discourage those who don't speak your language? Just a thought. 😁
      *also a little extra note... if physics can't make a better flute, please remind me of the reason to use this language at all if not for the sole purpose of the disclusion of new members?

    • @Chris_the_Muso
      @Chris_the_Muso Рік тому

      @@BlueBearFlutes Ha, we belong to the same club, just different branches. Science is logic in as much as I don't believe anything without proof. Common sense also dictates that science doesn't know much about music, or the spiritual connection we have with it. A computer can design a flute but at best it will be just a flute shaped object. It's the artist that turns a flute design into a musical instrument for a different type of artist to play.

    • @almendratlilkouatl
      @almendratlilkouatl 2 місяці тому

      ​Actually you come across very rude with those comments, Its always new age boomers who wanna stick with their half truths and reject new knowledge, the opposite of our ancient native vision of life @@BlueBearFlutes

  • @_.-GRATEPHIL_.-
    @_.-GRATEPHIL_.- Рік тому +1

    ✨🙏✨🎵🌳🎶=😁

  • @juliocesarechevarria8008
    @juliocesarechevarria8008 Рік тому +1

    amigo podría poner los subtítulo en español gracias desde Argentina