Hi This is Angel from the Philippines (RP)

Im quite new to the forum so please forgive me when you see any faults in this topic.

I have been playing the Tin/Penny whistle/flageolet for about 2 months now. It is not a typical instrument in RP.

Although we have one instrument that is a Bamboo Flute.

Our Bamboo Flute was reinvented by Dante Ursua about in the 1990's as far as I can remember it was available 1996-97-98 when I was in 6th Grade and during that time The Corrs was definitely a phenomenon.

The distinct feature in this bamboo flute is it is like a recorder in fingering but not in sound.
It has a woody sound and has 7 holes. The fingering in first octave is similar to the recorder but the second octave very much different on the recorder fingering as second octave in a recorder involves thumb manipulation.

I have read that there is a whistle that adds a C hole below the D hole making it 7 holes making you play C and D major Scale, but it is not Chromatic.

The RP Bamboo Flute is different as It does not have a thumb hole but an additional hole on the TOP of the 6th hole, making it chromatic.

See Below the link:

http://www.box.com/s/077a50a8c657fe02ed02

Hear the sound:
http://www.box.com/s/2ec3dd1ea447ac3ec9c2

I have played the Different Major Scales here sorry for the bad quality, but its tolerable, you may need to increase volume.

The RP Bamboo Flute is in C major Chromatic Scale Ranging from C4 to C6 or B5 sometimes.
The cost varies from Php 200-300 (roughly about US$6-7) depending on the seller.

PS: I don't resell

There are 2 companies that are selling here one is Kingflute and one is Maestro flutes.

Maestro is founded by Engineer Robert Ursua son of Dante Ursua
and Kingflute by another Son of Dante Ursua.

For me my Preference is Maestro Flutes as base on Experience the C5 note is accurate, compare to the Kingflute that is a bit flat. The A5 note of Maestro flute is easy on breath control compare to the Kingflute.


Frankenstein Susato Flute

Most of us are questing to have a Chromatic Whistle but not having a thumbhole on it.

I dont know but for me, thumbhole is a bad idea as the thumb is divided into 2 purpose, holding and holing, which kinda confuse our brain.

I think it is natural for you to tweak and sacrifice the life of a whistle so I did made a Frankenstein Susato Flute using my RP Bamboo flute and a Susato M head.

See below:

http://www.box.com/s/06c17df07f0576bdf865


The Flute is damaged already on the fife so I cut it down and made it into a body for the M head adding a tape on in. The bore size is closer to M so i used the M Head.

To my surprise it sounded strong and robust compare to the original sound. It is still chromatic, however, the fingering in the second octave changed as i added forked and cross fingers to get the right key for A5 and B5.

There is a struggle also on Eb and F# you need to overblow it to get the right acceptable tone compare to the original bamboo.

Hear Below:
http://www.box.com/s/5d04df06dc5f5f5f669e

Listen while I struggle to find the right fingering for the A5 and B5. I didn't play the C6 as the sound is piercing already.

The Breath control also changed, probably because the windway/window/blade of M is twice bigger compare to the original bamboo.

I was wondering if Susato can make a 7 hole chromatic whistle. Its easier to drill a plastic polymer than a metal one.

Let me hear your insights.

A couple things occurred to me while reading your post.

First, I am not sure after reading your post what specific single tone is being added by the seventh hole on your bamboo flutes that make it chromatic. Maybe I'm just being dense today but I couldn't dig that out of your post.

There are plenty of designs and fingering schemes available for chromatic flutes, fifes and whistles. And anyone with sufficient inspiration and a few simple tools can make one. It's not quite rocket science, just simple physics and little craftsmanship. Do a search here on "tone hole calculator" and you'll get links to the programs that tell you where and what size to drill a hole. If you want to start from scratch you can try GG Whistles site. There are a couple seven hole whistle designs listed there.

Erik the Flutemaker has used Susato heads on his "irish whistle" for years. It uses a bamboo finger tube but still plays a major diatonic scale. He does offer a number of other scales in his bamboo flutes so he might be a person to talk to.

Susato do offer a bunch of products already. They offer a range of wide-bore recorders. You might have a look at those.

Otherwise, adding a seventh hole to a whistle is frequently done for a variety of purposes. You know about the C natural thumbhole. You know about the D+ type of C natural hole. Others add an F natural, an Eb, a G# hole. It's really a matter of what an individual might need. Drilling an extra hole is easy if you have the tools. Plastics are easy to drill and does not even require a drill. Aluminum is fairly easy too but I would suggest using a drill and clamping the tube. Brass can be a little tricky. A drill press, even a table top model, is the ideal tool. Look around and see if a friend or shop nearby might have one you could use.

If you really want to go fully chromatic I would suggest a ten hole layout similar to what Skip Healy uses for his chromatic keyless flutes and whistle. That is the schema I use and prefer. I does require the use of all ten fingers and placement of the holes should be done for your own individual reach IMO. If you have trouble thinking about the double duty of a thumb this might be more than you can take. But it is worth taking a look at those just to see what is and how it is being done.

Hope that helps a bit.

Feadoggie

For you to Visualize it Better
The fingering of a 7 hole RP Bamboo Flute is this is this Left to Right (Top hole to Bottom)

Codes
X-closed
O-Open
H-Half 9There are only 2 notes that uses Half dont worry)

C4= XXXXXXX
C#4= XXXXXXH (Similar to Recorder) 1st half holing
D4= XXXXXXO
D#4= XXXXXHO (Similar to Recorder) 2nd half holing
E4= XXXXXOO
F4= XXXXOOO
F#4= XXXoXXX (Cross Fingering)
G4= XXXOOOO
G#4= XXOXXOO (Cross Fingering)
A4= XXOOOOO
A#4= XOXXOOO (Cross Fingering)
B4= XOOOOOO
C5= OXOOOOO (Cross Fingering) (Simplified Fingering 5-10 Cents Variance)
C5= XXXXXXX (Blow Harder Fingering) (Alternate Fingering)

C#5= OXXXXXX (Cross Fingering)
D5= XXXXXXO
D#5= XXXXXOX (Fork Fingering)
E5= XXXXXOO
F5= XXXXOOO
F#5=XXXOXOO (Fork Fingering)
G5=XXXOOOO
A5= XXOOOOO
A#5= XXOXXOO (Cross Fingering)
B5= XOXXOOO (Cross Fingering)
C5= XXXXXXX (Blow Hardest) (Alternate fingering)
C5= OOOOOOO (Blow Hardest Super than the first C5)




Ten Hole? That's Over Kill!!!!!!

Regards,

Angel

The fingerings are very similar to baroque fingerings.

I agree a 7 hole chromatic flute makes more sense. I like the baroque recorders, which have already mastered that dimension by offering a 7 hole chromatic flute, with a key over the 7th hole for better chromatic control.

Of course, the baroque flutes cannot compete with the price point of these ones. They're an affordable option for anyone interested in more complex chromatic as well as diatonic music.