COMING REAL SOON....

Mid G closed-end Kingfisher flute in quartersawn Red Oak...

Low E Half-Pipe one-of-a-kind experimental flute that is only 16" long!?!?! Walnut over Poplar...

Mid A Half-Pipe in African Mahogany over Ebony base...

High F (?) Half-Pipe 5-hole painted black...fun and bright!

My "HIPPIE FLUTE"

(CLICK PICS TO ENLARGE)

The 'Hippie Flute' has landed in the hands of its happy owner as of Saturday morning, and here are the pics I had waiting in the wings to publish. You think I would have thought far enough ahead to record a song with it, but nooooooooooo that would have required me to think ahead! Oh well, you can only accomplish so much when things get hectic, eh?! I photographed it without any finish so I wouldn't deal with reflective glare, etc. Paints are acrylics in multiple coats, topped with a wipe-on polyurethane finish. The black lines were originally done with a Sharpie at the 'coloring book' stage, but finished off with a Rapidograph pen before sealing.

The particulars are it's made of spruce, in the key of low C, and I built an in-bore constriction about 5 inches from the foot of the flute to make this a much more compact low C flute. The short SAC (area behind the block) makes for a more comfortable hand placement, closer to the player. Typical of softwood flutes, it's oh-so-mellow...perfect for the theme, dudes.

The new parent Sharon mentioned something I'd thought about...whether one would be comfortable playing Native songs on such a flute, would it feel right, etc. While I was alive for Woodstock, I was too young to remember much about it or anything going on then. But was it not an era that stood up against government control and lying, covering up 'truth' and strong-arming those that refused to play by the Fed's rules? Was it not about truly loving peace and acceptance of everyone as they were? Can't encapsulate such a significant cultural movement, of course, but I would have no problems playing serious soulful songs with that baby.

I did tell Sharon that she needed to buy a pair of glasses with round yellow or rose colored lenses, as well as a cheap afro wig...be in a somber concert, start talking, put on the glasses, then the wig, then pull the flute out...wouldn't that be a hoot?!