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Origin
of the Flute
The
Indian Bamboo Flute, one
of the oldest musical instruments of India,
developed independently of the Western flute. This ancient
instrument
was
very common with Lord Krishna and religious music of the
Buddhist. The Hindu god Krishna
is traditionally considered a master of the instrument. It has
various names such as bansuri, venu, vamshi, kuzhal, murali and
so on. The Indian flutes are very simple instruments when
compared with their Western counterparts. These are made with
bamboo and are keyless. The flute is widely used in classical
music due to its flexibility of tone and range that is similar to
the human voice and represent the vocal quality of Indian music.
It is also an integral part of folk music and modern film music
in India. There are two main varieties of Indian flutes that are
currently in use. The first is the Bansuri, which has six finger
holes and one blowing hole, is used predominantly in Hindustani
music, the music of north India. The second is Venu or
Pullanguzhal, which has eight finger holes, is predominantly used
in Carnatic music, the music of south India.
Description of the Flute
Flute is
a wind instrument. It is a simple cylindrical tube made of bamboo
of uniform bore and associated with Indian music since time
immemorial. Being an instrument of great antiquity, its
construction remained constant over the years. The flutes made in
India are of different kinds and their lengths and number of
holes vary. The length can vary from eight inches to two and a
half feet. There is a mouth hole in every flute. In addition to
it there are 6 to 8 holes arranged in a straight line. The range
of the flute is about 21/2 octaves. Long flutes have a rich, deep
and mellow tone whereas in small flutes the tone is high pitched.
It is handled in oblique position and air is blown with the upper
lip into the main hole to produce sound. Different octaves are
produced by covering the holes with the fingers.
Parts of the
Flute
Body
– The body of flute is also known as
Dandi. Flute may be fashioned from a variety of materials, but
reeds, canes and bamboo are the most common. Ideally the flute is
designed in such a manner that it tapers towards the embouchure
or mouth hole and larger at the open end. This arrangement gives
an extended range to player.
Opening Hole
– It is
called garbha randhra also. This is the opening of the flute and
should remain unoccluded at all times.
Blowing
hole
- It is also known as mukha randhra and embouchure in technical
terms.
Finger holes
–
The
finger holes or swar randhra are the holes that are used to play
the melodies. These holes are opened and closed by the musician
to produce notes.
Twine
- The body of the flue tends to crack as it is made of bamboo or
reed. The twine is used to tightly bind the body of flute to
reduce or eliminate the cracking.
Playing the
Flute
The flute is handled in
oblique position and air is blown with upper lip into the main
hole. Thumbs are used to hold the flute in position while the
fingers are used to manipulate the finger holes. Usually the
three fingers of the left hand, apart from the little finger and
the four fingers of the right hand are used to manipulate the
finger holes. When the player blow air in to the mouth hole a
vibration occurs and a column of air is created inside the tube.
The length of this column can be varied by closing or opening the
holes. At the same time, keeping a hole half-open helps in
getting a flat note. The higher and lower octaves are played by
changing one's embouchure. The flat portion of fingers, and not
the tips, are used to cover the holes as this gives better
control and ease while playing the half-holes. Flutes of
different sizes are used to play different octaves. The longer
flutes with larger bore are usually used for lower octaves and
the slimmer ones for higher octaves.
Care and
caution
1. The flute
should never be stored in direct sunlight or near a heat source,
and should be protected from extreme dryness (low humidity
environments).
Leaving a flute in a car on a hot, sunny day will
result in damage!
2. If your flute
is cold to the touch, allow the flute to warm up to room
temperature for a few moments by itself before playing, or sudden
cracking may
result!
3. Cracks are
common with wooden wind instruments and flute is no exception,
but these cracks are usually not fatal to the playability,
structure and
cosmetics of the instrument. When the wood gets wet
and dry, it becomes brittle so keep it oiled, oiling make the
wood suppler and it can remain
flexible forever.
4. Always wipe out your flute thoroughly
after playing. Otherwise, the moisture from your breath can also
harm it.
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