Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

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Uni Flute
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Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

Post by Uni Flute »

Season's greetings everyone. :) I have uploaded a sound sample of my Simpson Boxwood flute onto Soundcloud. Please follow the link below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-69701534/si ... wood-flute
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Owardlaw
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Tell us something.: Mostly a whistle player but I am looking to start flute soon. I have made a few PVC ones but can never get the tunning right!

Re: Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

Post by Owardlaw »

Just out of curiosity what are the tonal differenced between boxwood and let's say Blackwood. It's very hard for me to hear the differences unless I play the flute in person and I have never seen a boxwood flute at a session.

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Uni Flute
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Re: Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

Post by Uni Flute »

Generally, Boxwood flutes have a more mellow sound than instruments made out of Blackwood or Cocuswood. It may be the lighter density or slightly more porous nature of Boxwood, whatever it is, there is definitely a perceptible difference in tonality. They are a little bit thinner on the ground, especially antique examples with larger tone holes.
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mendipman
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Tell us something.: I play flute and stringed instruments and enjoy playing in sessions and for step dancers and teach music part-time. My flutes are a new Gilles Lehart blackwood keyless in D, a c.1820 Clementi 'Nicholson improved' English boxwood single key in F and a simple-system 8-key English blackwood flute made by Richard Weekes of Plymouth, Devon c.1840 both in beautiful, pristine condition. I also have a wooden c.1880 English keyed flageolet. My home is in North Somerset a short distance from where my family come from at Blackford in the Mendip Hills and my repertoire are the tunes that are local to my area. That is the rural vernacular English music from when ordinary working people simply played and danced to their own rhythm with little concern for that which lay beyond a day's walk.
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

Post by mendipman »

The two flutes I play fit this divide; one is a modern blackwood (Lehart), the other a c.1820's boxwood. There is a big difference in these flutes. I can only attempt the impossibility of putting tone into words and describe that the boxwood flute has a more 'airy', 'open' sound, though still with plenty of volume.

But how much is down to the wood or due to other features I'm not qualified to say. The modern flute has a lined head, the boxwood doesn't; the modern flute has largish holes, the boxwood is a Nicholson-style 'improved' that has an embouchure hole and 4 and 5 holes that are larger than are typical in many other flutes of that period.
Uni Flute
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Re: Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

Post by Uni Flute »

mendipman, you are quite right to observe that a lot of Boxwood flutes are often constructed in a different manner to Blackwood & Cocus flutes, as Boxwood flutes typically have smaller embouchures and toneholes. Either way, Boxwood flutes certainly have their own distinctive sound. I believe Boxwood Nicholson Improved flutes are very rare, and I would greatly appreciate it if you could say more about your instrument. I have played a couple of Nicholson's Improved flutes (both large and small holed models in Cocus and Ebony) and have always been incredibly impressed by them.
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mendipman
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Tell us something.: I play flute and stringed instruments and enjoy playing in sessions and for step dancers and teach music part-time. My flutes are a new Gilles Lehart blackwood keyless in D, a c.1820 Clementi 'Nicholson improved' English boxwood single key in F and a simple-system 8-key English blackwood flute made by Richard Weekes of Plymouth, Devon c.1840 both in beautiful, pristine condition. I also have a wooden c.1880 English keyed flageolet. My home is in North Somerset a short distance from where my family come from at Blackford in the Mendip Hills and my repertoire are the tunes that are local to my area. That is the rural vernacular English music from when ordinary working people simply played and danced to their own rhythm with little concern for that which lay beyond a day's walk.
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

Post by mendipman »

My boxwood flute is one of those made for Clementi & Co, London with the approval of Nicholson and marked 'Improved' under the maker's stamp. These are not so uncommon, though I'm very fortunate that mine is in perfect condition, no cracks or warps or other issues. In their day these flutes were not at the expensive end of Clementi's catalogue, but do still play and sound beautiful.

Comparing this flute with earlier examples by the same maker and other companies it is easily noticeable that the embouchure 2,4 and 5 holes are all of increased size. The joint design are simple turned style, with the strength at the tenons deriving from the bulbous shape at the joints.
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radcliff
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Re: Slow Air and Jigs on Boxwood Flute

Post by radcliff »

mendipman wrote:My boxwood flute is one of those made for Clementi & Co, London with the approval of Nicholson and marked 'Improved' under the maker's stamp.
Oh, that's interesting. I used to have one with similar feautures. Can you add a picture?
I never tought that "'Improved' could be related to Nicholson. The one I owned had "Patent" too under the main stamp.
Francesco - Rome, Italy
TransverseWoodenFlutes.com
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