Flutes are an intriguing musical instrument. Just think about it, it’s a simple pipe, and you can make a mind-blowing sound with it!
Flutes contain various significances too. Significantly, they say a lot about particular cultures. For instance, in oriental countries, flutes are widely used.
If you research, you will see flutes are being played on cultural occasions on a large scale.
Also, you will see people play flute on a daily serenading. Undoubtedly, you are as amazed as us by this instrument since you are here!
We have flutes with fancy designs and enhanced technologies now. But, bamboo flutes are their predecessor, isn’t it?
And, they are the simplest yet excellent ones. For that reason, we genuinely appreciate you for deciding to spend time making a bamboo flute.
Let’s see how to make a flute with bamboo.
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Supplies You Need To Collect
- Bamboo pieces
- Thick wood sticks
- Hacksaw
- Sturdy knife with a sharp point
- Awl
Making Process Of The A Bamboo Flute
The design we are aiming for is a simple one. Thus, the steps are straightforward. However, make sure you have the necessary objects for the project.
Collection of Bamboo And Wood Pieces
If you live in the neck of the woods, you can spend some time in the nearer forest to collect some bamboo pipes and wood stitches. And, if you are in a city, you can visit shops for wood crafts.
When you buy them from a shop, you won’t have to think much about what sort of wood and bamboo you should get. But, it is different if someone is collecting the materials from wood on own. We will make that clearer later.
Sizes Of The Bamboo Pipe And Wood Sticks
The bamboo pipe should be around 1.4 inches to 3 inches. And, the wood sticks are needed to be one size smaller than the bamboo pipe. Wondering about the use of wooden sticks? Please stick with us. You will find it in one of the subsequent steps.
Gathering Bamboo And Tree Branch From A Woodland
If you are buying the materials from a shop, then you can jump to the next step. Anyway, once you find a bamboo stick of your preference, you can use the hacksaw to cut it out.
Also, when you are looking for tree branches to make a wood stick, you need to find some branches which are denser. You can cut some branches of pine, cedar, or redwood tree.
Cutting The Materials With Measurements
Once bamboo and wood stick collecting is done, you can start with the cutting process. Cut the bamboo pipe into your desired shape. And, it’s better if you choose between 1 and 1 ½ feet for the flute.
Once again, you can utilize the hacksaw to cut the bamboo pipe for your flute. And, if you are thinking about cutting the wood stick in this step, Don’t! We will give you direction about it later.
Peeling The Bamboo Stick
You need to peel the flawless skin of the bamboo now. Take a knife and skin the whole bamboo stick thoroughly, and also even out the nodes on the stick. Make the bamboo stick even with all the peeling and smoothing out the process.
Node: The swelled parts on a bamboo tree. You will see branches grow from these parts of a bamboo tree.
Cutting And Peeling The Wood Stick
Here comes the awaited step! You cut a small piece from the wood stick, and you need to peel it as well. And, it will be challenging if you cut it before you skin the stick. And, it creates a possibility for cutting your hand while handling a small piece of wood.
That’s why we suggested not cutting the wood stick within the step where we elaborated the bamboo stick cutting for the flute.
Now, cut the wood stick in a medium-size if it’s long. You will need a piece of a wood stick of 4 to 5 inches to block one of the ends of the flute (knotted end). Hence, peel off the edge of the stick so you can cut it in the target measurement.
Making Holes On The Bamboo Stick
This is a crucial step to make a flute. And, it won’t be a flute anyway, if you don’t make holes in it! You will need the awl in this step.
Make one whole nearer one of the ends of the bamboo stick. With a distance of 4 to 5 inches, you can start to make finger holes. Here, 4 to 5 holes should be enough. Also, measure the distance of the finger placement holes.
Blocking The Bamboo Pipe With A Wood Piece
The wood piece you have created from the wood stick, you can put that in the side where you will be placing lips to make tunes. We can call it the knotted end.
After you put the wood piece in the flute, you can smooth it out with the body of the flute. And, if the wood piece doesn’t seem to fit the opening, then peel it more.
This is the final step, and a flute will be in your hand! You can try making tunes with the flute now.
Tips
- The slimmer the bamboo pipe is, the high-pitched the sound will be. And, wider pipes make low-pitched sounds. You can choose the bamboo pipe’s diameter depending on what type of sounds you would like from a flute.
- You can incorporate some design on the flute’s body if you want. If you live near the woods, you can tie flexible tree skin or leaves on the flute’s body and burn it to make easy and exquisite designs. This is a faster process of adding artistic flair to bamboo objects. Or, you paint the pipe with various colors.
- If you find difficulty cutting the bamboo and wood stick with the hacksaw, you can take out the blade or buy only the blade.
On A Final Note
People who are into making crafts are always amazing objects. And what do people make with a passion for music? They make musical instruments by themselves! And, that’s incredible. It will work best if you read and attempt the steps one by one. We hope our guide has helped you well with the bamboo flute-making process.