So if you were to bend a longer pipe the same amount, the change in pitch would be greater as the frequency change would be the same BUT the fractional change would be larger. This is my favourite method, but this time I cannot follow this way because my printer is incapable of such dimensions. 3. Once done the first row, we need the accidentals row. 4. The more beeswax or other tuning material that you pack down into the bottoms of the pipes, the higher the pitch gets; conversely, the more you remove or take out, the lower the pitch gets. Tuning the pipes with beeswax actually serves a dual function; in addition to tuning the pipes to the desired pitch, it can also seal the bottoms of the pipes so that no air escapes, if this has not already been done by another method. Since sealing the bottoms of the pipes can also be done in the ninth step of framing the pipes, there can be some overlap here between the ninth and eleventh step of Pan Flute making, especially in achieving the first objective, which is sealing off the bottoms of the pipes. The tuning of a pipe generally proceeds in three stages: 1) sealing off the bottom of the pipe; 2) rough tuning of the pipe; and 3) fine tuning the pipe. I will now proceed to discuss each one of these stages and objectives in turn. This make the A an A4, with a frequency defined to be 440 Hz (modern concert pitch). Question Compare the sounds each pan flute makes. This is due to harmonics produced by the section behind the hole. Place the remaining two straws onto the tape. A common comment that I hear from people when they find out that I make my own Pan Flutes is that it must be very hard to cut the pipe to precisely the right length to produce the desired note or pitch. Actually, the lengths of the pipes constitute the least exacting aspect of Pan Flute making. Just as long as the pipes are longer than the minimum length that they need to be for producing their desired pitch, plus a comfortable tuning margin, they are then tuned up to pitch by the insertion of tuning material, which is packed down into the bottoms of the pipes. The pipes of the upper octave of an Alto Pan Flute are more than halfway full of tuning material; if they were the exact length that they needed to be to produce the desired pitch, they would be too short to hold comfortably with the fingers. The traditional tuning material used in the Romanian Pan Flute is beeswax; its advantages are that it is flexible and malleable, and readily sticks to the bottoms of the pipes, sealing off the bottoms as well. Its main drawback is that it expands quite a lot in hot weather, which tends to raise the pitch of the pipes.. You need bamboo. Step two Step Two Use your penknife to cut a sharp notch 1 inch from the open end of the bamboo. Can you build a pan flute with other materials, making it easier to use or hold? If you hear 2 notes when you play the C, D or E tube, then lower the 2-tubes group. Apply glue to the back of the lolly stick and carefully place on top the straws, making sure it touches every straw. 2. . The first formula L=v/(4f) can be used to determine the length of the pipe considering the speed of sound in air and the frequency of the note you with to produce. Hope this helps! Now we have the basis to determine the tubes length. on Introduction, Hiam working on a similar project for school where i will be needing the varying length for the notes Is it possible to get some help from youMy tubes have a diameter of 10mmI am having difficulties to get the lengths for the notesThanksDevesh, Greetings :) I've been wanting to make a set of panpipes for ages, but had no clue where to begin. This is how I. Start lying a strip of duct tape on the table, then add one tube at time on the tape, following the right order. :), Reply How to make a pan flute How to make smoking pipes from wood Pan Pipes 60K views Instrumentos Alternativos How To Make A Homemade PVC Flute It's cable reimagined No DVR space limits. (Weve previously made our own cardboard tube kazoos and rainsticks such a fun way to explore sound and make music!) amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; The pan flute have a problem: each tube can produce a single note, so if you want a full 3 octave flute you have to make 36 different tubes. Now we have to start measure things. By the way: the tin whistle sounds good, is well tuned, and it's a C-whistle. Its best modifier is Fabled . A general purpose hand-held sander with various sandpapers ranging from at least medium to fine String. Here is the process that will bring us to an almost perfectly tuned pan pipes. SUBSCRIBE - / @ksuiteach Show more Try. You can use it "as is", or you can change the speed of sound to a value you think it's more appropriate for you. )/ 4* frequency (in Hz? It's an easy trash to treasure craft idea for kids that will. Using the first formula shown in the previous step we obtain the list of length: 31.69, 29.91, 28.23, 26.65, 25.15, 23.74, 22.41, 21.15, 19.96, 18.84, 17.78, 16.79, 15.84 rounded to second decimal digit, measured in centimeters. If you don't know how to use a tube-cutter and you cannot figure out by yourself feel free to ask. Each tube have a different length but, usually, the same diameter of all other tubes. As a math student I love Mathematica, so I will use it. Fitting the slats of adjoining pipes and readying them for assembly will test the precision woodworking skills of even the finest craftsman, and how well and precisely the slats are crafted reflects on the caliber of craftsmanship that went into making the instrument. Are you mainly looking to throw something together in a hurry to get an instrument you can finally play, or are you looking to craft a fine, precision instrument? The choice is yours. Ideally, if the requisite care is taken, you should be able to hold two adjoining pipes together at their slats and not be able to see even a sliver of light shining through when you hold them up to the light. One of the most helpful tools that I have found in fitting pipe slats quickly and precisely is carbon paper. Rub the interfacing slats of two adjoining pipes together with a piece of carbon paper held between them, and the high areas will be marked in black; these are precisely the areas that you need to file or scrape down to flatten and fit the slats. A few rounds of fitting the adjoining slats with carbon paper should suffice to get a pretty good fit. Keep practicing and learn to play a song with . OK, then. Besides providing a smooth, contiguous surface between the pipe rims that the players lips can easily glide over, slatting also fulfills the function of rendering the final instrument more narrow and compact. Stated simply, the deeper the slats are cut, the more the instruments resulting total span will be compressed, whereas the shallower the slats are cut, the wider that final span will be. Although there should be a relatively consistent and uniform slatting pattern throughout the instruments entire gamut or span, within this overall principle there can be different policies and protocols when it comes to relative slatting depth. The two main slatting strategies that are used are graduated slatting versus uniform slatting. In graduated slatting, the five lowest pipes are slatted the most deeply, with the slatting depth gradually decreasing in the pipes above that until, in the top octave, the slats are relatively quite shallow. Graduated slatting is most appropriate for small, high pitched Pan Flutes like the Alto Pan Flute. Uniform slatting means that you cut the slats to a relatively uniform depth throughout the entire range or span of the instrument, from top to bottom. Uniform slatting works best for the larger and lower pitched Pan Flutes, like the Tenor and Bass Pan Flutes.. Luckily, some physician (well, actually a lot of physician) already studied this matter creating and developing a branch of physics called acoustic. Finish by covering the lolly stick with ribbon or washi tape, to decorate. I found this tutorial very useful, I taught some children how to make a pan flute using these instructions and it was a huge success!I also tried a different method to close the tubes: I've cut them a bit longer than required and then I've put some plasticine at the bottom. You can read more on our, STEAM Activity for Kid: Chromatography Art Project . or slightly heavier placed over the top of the arch to flatten it. Thick, heavy books also work well as weights. While the pipes are being trussed or weighted down, as the case may be, the gluing of reinforcement strips should be done to the inside curve for the former and the outside curve for the latter. Then the curvature or arch of the pipes is set, and the rest of framing can proceed as normal., There is a considerable degree of flexibility to which the various sub-steps of framing the pipes can be arranged, within certain limits and considerations. The first goal of the framing process is to remedy and set the correct arch or curvature of the pipes if marked or significant warping has occurred since assembly. The second goal of the framing process is to provide sufficient strength and structural reinforcement to the arch of the pipes and their curvature, so they are set. A highly recommended first step in framing the pipes is the laying down of two to three layers of epoxy and fiberglass sheets on the very bottom of the instrument; often, this alone is sufficient to set or stabilize the arch or curvature of the pipes after they have been weighted or trussed. However, the gluing of the front strip(s) in the case of a tight warping or the back strip(s) in the case of a wide warping is also recommended to set the arch or curvature even more firmly., To cut the reinforcing strips of wood for the front, back and bottom sides of the frame, I have found that taping a sheet of heavy brown paper, like from a shopping bag, to the front and/or back of the instrument and tracing the curve of the bottom of the pipes onto it, then cutting out that curve with a pair of scissors, works very well. You use the same exact curve for both the top and bottom edges of the same strip(s), with merely a wider distance between the two edges at the bottom than at the top. For example, a distance of 3 cm. Wait, don't take your driller too soon. Musical craft ideas can be a great learning activity for kids. The Pan Flute is a precision instrument, and that means that the wall thicknesses of the individual pipes should be precision calibrated to be even and consistent with one another, going from a maximum wall thickness of about 3.5 mm at the bottom end of the instrument to a wall thickness of about 2.0 to 2.5 mm. Take five wide straws and cut them into varying lengths. However, reaching the central tubes with your finger can be difficult, so again finding a way to keep closed all holes and open them simultaneously is a great idea. Some is a bit larger and some is a bit smaller but 5/8" inside diameter seems to work best. Please make sure that you can cut all pieces from your pipes because it may be difficult to join two pieces together without compromise the sound. I used aluminum instead of copper because it was easier to find the diameter I needed, plus it's lighter than copper so the flute will be lighter too. davido@fourwindsflutes.com. When the glue is dry remove the external carboard with a knife, a scalpel or a pair of scissors. The numbers should, Before I forget it, here's the link to the awsome. What could you use? Copyright 2023 Buggy and Buddy. Variables: L - length of pipe - wavelength d - diameter of pipe Calculation: L = /2 - (0.4) (d) #3 Measure and cut your straws the length of the eight wind columns ( L) you calculated. 5. Try using your Super Easy Pan Flute by blowing across the top of the straws while moving the pan flute back and forth. Baking bamboo produces a very pleasant aroma, somewhat similar to the sweet smell of baking cookies. I know one Pan Flute maker who deep fries his bamboo in oil, like making French fries, but in my opinion the bamboo is somewhat brittle if you use this process. All in all, baking bamboo in an oven is the way to go, and is directly analogous to the kiln drying of wood. Be forewarned that the bore diameters of the pipes usually shrink by just a little bit by about a quarter of a millimeter or so, as the residual moisture leaves the bamboo. Occasionally, a piece of bamboo will crack during baking, but this is actually quite rare; sometimes, small cracks or fissures may appear in a bamboo pipe after baking, but in my experience, these small cracks or fissures do not widen or go anywhere after baking, the bamboo is pretty much stabilized., Step Four: Pipe Selection 6 years ago, So if you look at the general theory, L = v/4f from standard physical principles. Is there any tips you can give us?Thanks,Julian, 4 years ago Load the pieces of rough cut bamboo into the oven when it is cold, taking care to place the racks on which you lay the pieces a sufficient distance from the heating elements above and below. You can load quite a few pieces of rough cut bamboo onto the racks of an average oven. You will load the bamboo into a cold oven, before you turn on the heat, close the door firmly, then proceed to turn the heat on. First, turn the oven up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the bamboo at that temperature for an hour. Then, turn up the temperature to 200 degrees F for a half an hour, then to 250 degrees for half an hour more then turn off the heat and, keeping the door of the oven closed, let the bamboo cool down gradually over a period of several hours or overnight. Its possible to bake the bamboo for a half an hour more at a temperature of 275 degrees F, but not absolutely necessary if you do so, be sure that your oven has an accurate thermostat, and that the temperature does not go over this level. We can calculate the distance of the hole center from the open end using the same formula I've shown in previous step (see first image). This is the perfect activity to accompany a lesson on the science of sound, our five senses, or music. With a Dremel tool you can speed up the process, unless you prefer doing it by hand, but be aware that you will change the sandpaper bit many, many times. Your formula is length (which unit?) SUBSCRIBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2z5oXyl6oiA5Gv8M9h62g?sub_confirmation=1Follow the KSU iTeach Makerbus on Twitter https://twitter.com/iteachmakerbusFollow KSU iTeach on Twitter https://twitter.com/ksuiteachCheck out other projects on MakerTube! From this we can determine all other frequencies using the second formula (second pic, obviously). After assembly, if any holes or gaps between the pipes should remain, these can be filled in with glue in a kind of second gluing, but the better you fit the pipes, the less of this has to be done. Perhaps the simplest way of making a Pan Flute Mold is simply to take a wooden board, hammer two rows of nails into it about 1.5 feet (45 cm.) Make These Super Easy Pen Pan Flutes for a great lesson about musical instruments. Place the longest straw on the tape first, near the left edge. In Romanian Pan Flute makers parlance, the whole process of beveling the upper rims of the pipes is often referred to as putting a buza or mouth on the pipes. The whole purpose of beveling the upper rims of the pipes is to give the pipes a mouth that interfaces more comfortably and intimately with the mouth and lips of the player. The benefits of beveling the pipe rims are: a more polished, refined sound and tone; a better and more sensitive playing response; and an easier and clearer playing of the chromatic notes, which are produced by lipping down on the pipes. Beveling also smoothes things out; just try moving your lips back and forth over the rough, sharp rims of the un-beveled pipes! Beveling the upper rims of the pipes is a highly individual matter, and each player has his or her own preference; therefore, pipe beveling styles can vary widely between different players. Because beveling the pipe rims is putting a mouth on the pipes to fit the players own mouth or embouchure, the basic guideline or recommendation here is that beginning players bevel the top rims of the pipes only very lightly; then, once their embouchure is stronger and more firmly set, they can progress to a deeper or more extensive beveling of the pipe rims, as their natural inclinations lead them. .
how to make a pan flute