Flutes for a lifetime
Flutes for a lifetime
I began playing flute at 8 years old. I knew the entire symphony by then, and I really liked the piccolo in ‘Peter and the Wolf’. I was already a whistler. My mom had told me stories about her father, whom I never knew, who played the flute in the symphony. There was a ‘drawer’ in my grandma’s house that had flutes in it. His Powell and his Haynes were long gone. I was fascinated.
After I had played a year or two, I began taking lessons from a student of my grandfather’s. I played flute academically into University before I took a different path. I have always loved flute and have always had them in my life in some way.
My Flutes
I play C flute, Piccolo, Alto, Bass, Shakuhachi, Xiao, and the Overtone flutes that I make. With Shakuhachi, I am Gaijin, an ‘Outer person’, I have no school, no teacher. I have learned Shakuhachi by ear, through exploration. I love to play honkyoku, but I find the tradition of honkyoku off-putting.
My Flute Path
The doors for music never seemed quite open for me, at least not the ones I wanted. The path I saw before me, as a soloist was not appealing. I had a dislike for the rigid views of classical music, and the expectations of a flute soloist at the time. I was studying Pierre-Yves Artaud and no one else that I knew was doing that back then.
I had grown a distaste for what seemed like regurgitation of classic repetoire to please a preconcieved idea of interpretation. Even the allowed improvisations of the baroque seemed limited. I think if Bach were to be here now, he would be adding modern technique to whatever he wanted.
I became a computer programmer. One of my first major consolations in my life, conforming to the pressures and values of society. I was good at programming, It was easy. There was money. Art was discouraged. I now know that art is all there is. I did at least find the art in my programming.
I continued with my flutes, always looking for a path to take. It has been very solitary and personal. These days I’m making my path. I didn’t know how then, I’m not sure now. I do have the life experience to find my way. I know one step at a time will get me there. This website is a part of those steps.
Flute Pursuits
I am interested in all aspects of the flute. As is my habitude, I like exploring the extremes, modern techniques, multi-phonics, electronics, as well as the history and variations of the flute around the world and historically.
I am very interested in how to make flutes, not just shakuhachis but western transverse flutes. As is my nature, I want to improve them. I love the Carte 67 design from 1867 over the compromised Boehm system that originated in 1843 that we use today.
I compose music, and in pursuit of that, I’ve been giving some focus to organizing those efforts. I have started with a Band camp account so that I may share in the music I create.
Shakuhachi & Harmonic Flutes
During COVID, As I became quite blind because of cataracts, I played my shakuhachis a lot. I spent a lot of time playing Ro, the lowest note, and then to find the ‘dance’ in the moment with the music. It is just the flow, there is no thought, no past, only the the manifestation of the present, a step out of the past.
“It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note – it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.” ― Miles Davis
I would go further, and say that there is no right or wrong, that the path will resolve itself in the future.
For me, this is the essence of honkyoku. To play a breath, to respond to the influences of the flow, to be with it, to let it be, follow it, when it should be.
During Covid I came to desire a deeper ‘Ro’. So, with plenty of time, in my blindness, I began making long harmonic/overtone pipes with a shakuhachi embouchure. They did indeed give me a deeper Ro to pursue, and gave many beautiful surprises as well. I love meditating with them.
The animals in my garden where attracted by them. They would come and just sit and listen. It was as if I wasn’t there, or that I was there so powerfully that it was safe. Sometimes I would talk with the birds. They all regarded my playing as safe place to be.
The magic of my garden is no longer available to me, but I continue to make my flutes and experiment with them. I can play them anywhere, and no one ever minds.
I hope to have a set of harmonic flute music on band camp soon. It is very pleasant and comparable to a sound bath if you have ever experienced that.
I also continue to make them and have new ideas and new experiments to conduct.
Restoring my Bonneville
I also own a 1904 Bonneville flute that came to me in a very sad state. It has been deemed unworthy by the people that do restorations. I don’t agree and have set about restoring it myself. I have just recently obtained the materials and tools to begin working on it. I have the skills and the patience, I will be reporting on that project as I go.
