Chiff and Fipple Forums

What make and key whistle sounds the closest to a Quena??? The Quena is in G, but a G whistle doesn't come close to sounding like a Quena. The 2nd octave of the Quena is difficult to play, especially since it has such a small mouth piece. Thanks

You might consider looking at Eric the Flutemakers website. I have some bamboo flutes and a quenacho flute made by Eric, and they have that distinctive bamboo sound. He also makes whistles now, so I’d expect they may have a similar sound since they are also bamboo...I believe.
Just a thought.

Steve

I don't think any whistle will sound anything like a Kena.

Likewise no whistle will sound like a flute (in spite of people saying that all the time).

If a Kena is the sound that's needed, you'll only get it from a Kena.

About the difficulty of the 2nd octave 1) it varies from Kena to Kena and 2) it's a matter of practice.

I have a Kena that has an exceptionally easy 2nd octave. I used to play it quite a bit, my Kena embouchure was pretty good, and if I picked up any other Kena the 2nd octave would seem stiff and difficult.

So if you want Kena, try a number of different ones and you'll probably find one with easy high notes.

Quena come in many sizes and keys. The characteristic Quena sound comes from the way the sound is produced and you can't really reproduce that any other way.
Luckily, the Quena is about the easiest real musical instrument to make. There is no complex head/fipple to make, just a notch. Excellent Quenas can be made from PVC pipe with only simple tools: saw,drill (electric is easier),measuring tape,files. Google PVC Quena and you'll find plenty of simple instructions.
Learning to get a good sound from a Quena is a little tricky at first, but hang in there and you'll get it.

IMO it's not more difficult than the embouchure when playing a flute. You'll get the hang of it. So just buy one if you like the sound.

can anyone who posted on this thread recommend a good quality Kena/Quena to learn on?

Sorry I bought my Kenas over 20 years ago and none are marked as to maker.

As with Irish whistles, it was a matter of actually playing different Kenas and see what they were like.

About my main one, as I recall I was out at some festival and a Bolivian guy had a table of Kenas he had made, cane ones and wooden ones and even some bone ones. I tried them and one was easier to play than the rest.

I'm totally out of the loop, some Googling will show who the respected makers are at this time. (For one thing you can look into what Kenas the professionals are playing.)

You can make them out of PVC pipe for a dollar or so. I've made a couple. I'm sure there are online instructions now, when I made mine it was before the internet was a thing.

These should be good - Mr Ramos also has a YouTube channel where he plays them:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/INCA-GOLD-PROFE ... SwQXlb-0Cs
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vhgc7OGcyks