Quena Embouchure

[hidancity]

Hello,
I recently recieved a Quena and I'm having a heck of a time playing the second and third octave. Actually, I'm new to world and wooden flutes. The last 6 months I got hooked and started buying transverse bamboo flutes, bonsuri's, whistles, native american and middle eastern flutes. I had never played the flute before in my life but since I had studied trumpet all through college it didn't take me too long to figure out how to play. The bonsuri's took me awile to learn how to play at least two octaves, where to place the flute on my lip, and how to adjust it to get the higher register buy closing the aperture or lower by dropping the jaw. But the Quena placement and embochure has got me stumbed.

When I get to the second octave the sound collapses and I fall back to the lower octave. And the lower octave isn't clear. I'm moving it around to find the appropriate place. I'm pretty sure it's me not the quena. I just purchased a very good quality one from Argentina and I have another one. It looks so easy watching those guys on youtube. Is it placement, aperture? should I expect it to take time like the transverse flutes?

How d

[murchmb]

I can't help you directly, but I can offer some advice. Get in touch with Tony Hinnigan. I've found him to be quite accessible and responsive when I've asked questions in the past. He seems eager to help and definitely has a soft spot for quenas and those that are interested in playing them.

Mike

Hello,
I recently recieved a Quena and I'm having a heck of a time playing the second and third octave. Actually, I'm new to world and wooden flutes. The last 6 months I got hooked and started buying transverse bamboo flutes, bonsuri's, whistles, native american and middle eastern flutes. I had never played the flute before in my life but since I had studied trumpet all through college it didn't take me too long to figure out how to play. The bonsuri's took me awile to learn how to play at least two octaves, where to place the flute on my lip, and how to adjust it to get the higher register buy closing the aperture or lower by dropping the jaw. But the Quena placement and embochure has got me stumbed.

When I get to the second octave the sound collapses and I fall back to the lower octave. And the lower octave isn't clear. I'm moving it around to find the appropriate place. I'm pretty sure it's me not the quena. I just purchased a very good quality one from Argentina and I have another one. It looks so easy watching those guys on youtube. Is it placement, aperture? should I expect it to take time like the transverse flutes?

How d

[Wanderer]

the quena should have a hole in the back you cover with your thumb. Opening that hole will really help you reach the 2nd octave.

You can find a detailed fingering chart here with lots of alternate fingerings for 2-4th octaves here
http://www.kanji.org/kanji/jack/quena/qfinger.htm

[hidancity]

the quena should have a hole in the back you cover with your thumb. Opening that hole will really help you reach the 2nd octave.

You can find a detailed fingering chart here with lots of alternate fingerings for 2-4th octaves here
http://www.kanji.org/kanji/jack/quena/qfinger.htm

There is like 9 different options for G on the second octave and then other notes with even more options. If I am reading his chart correctly, the different fingerings corresponds to different quenas?

Thanks

[hidancity]

I'm starting to think my problem is not my emouchure but the QUENA Makers. I went back and read some past messages on the subject.

I first purchased Erik the Flutemakers Quena for $85. I had some difficulty at first but I can get most of the second octave. But I also noticed the bamboo was curved.

So I decided to be done with it and just find the best quality one I could. So I bought one from Uno Mundo with all the inlays for $160.00. With all his interest in acoustically physics, I thought it was a done deal. But I couldn't make it sound any better or get the higher register any easier than Erik The FluteMakers.

Today, I went into Central Park with both of my Quena's. There is three guys from South America, I think Equador or Peru, that play traditional music and one guy plays the Quena. He plays it everyday and makes a living from it so on their break, I took out my quena's and in my best spanish said, Yo problemo. He didn't speak much english. All three could play the quena and they took both of them and began playing. All three of them had problems with the uno mundo one. Actually, I was getting better sounds out of it. They like Erik the Flutemakers quena better even though it's curved.

the quena player showed me his which he said was from Bolivia and said it was a very good one with good quality bamboo. What I could tell was that it was thicker radius.

I also bought one for $15.00 off of ebay and it's called a Ratna which is a wider radius and a plastic "mouthpiece" and has a really good low register but you have to blow your butt off to get the higher register.

So my quest to penetrate the mysteries of the Quena has been somewhat fustrating. But I did get to watch the guys close up play the quena and the embochure thing ddoesn't seem like a mystery and it doesn't seem like I'm doing too much wrong. There may be some fine adjustments to work on. But I'll start playing with different fingerings.

If the economy wasn't so bad, I'd go out and buy more but things are getting hairy in the world so I'm gonna have to make due with what I have for now. But did go back and read the posts on the Acha. Also the guy in the video that I posted said he makes his own quena's which he would sell to me for $120 but he wanted me to send him a Western Union to Peru. Hmmm, I think not.

[cunparis]

[ Thread revival. ]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm trying to make one out of PVC pipe and I haven't made holes yet, still struggling with the bell note and getting it consistent. If I take it away from my mouth I have to fumble around for that sweet spot.

Take a look at this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=85405

There is an Irish Whistle Low D style whistle with a quena mouthpiece. It's 85 euros which is about $115 US. That sounds like it's in your budget. I've listened to the video and I think it sounds really nice. I've read some experiences from people who've heard him play at a session in Paris and they said it sounded good. So far all the feedback is positive. I'm really curious about it myself but currently focusing on my new Low F which consumed my budget.

[jiminos]

couple of ideas.... i make PVC quenas. had fairly good luck with them.... for the second register, counter intuitively, use less air. the trick is in the focus of the airstream.... quenas have a learning curve, it takes awhile to get any kind of tone... then a while longer to get several tones to happen one after the other... the second register (and third) take time.... if you move from one quena to another, it will take longer.... i've yet to be let down by any of Erik the Flutemaker's woodwinds. He makes excellent quality instruments. I'd be willing to bet his quenas are well done (there is a tremendous amount of S. American influence in his work.) if i were in your sandals, i'd use the Erik and stick with it....

be well,

jim

[gregwhistle]

I just made a PVC quena - or a guess a quenilla. I took one of my early D whistle body attempts that really was using too wide pipe and too thick walls for a whistle. I just converted it by tossing out the mouthpiece parts, cutting off the top of the pipe almost to the bottom of the window, and then converting the window to a notch.

The thumbhole is indeed important :p While I could get into the second octave, somewhat, without it, it was extremely tricky.

[gregwhistle]

By the way ... for some reason quena embouchure seems to come fairly naturally to me, while I struggle terribly with transverse flute embouchure.

I wonder if our natural, personal embouchure "aptitude" - something individual about our lips, muscles, etc. - plays more of a role than we might think?