I’m starting this thread to try to avoid thread hijacking the “Recorder with a flute embouchure” thread, but there is a lot of overlap.
This could be of interest either to flute players who are curious about vertically held flutes, perhaps for ergonomic reasons, or to low whistle players who are curious about a whistle with a flute embouchure, perhaps to give more control over volume balance across octaves and the improved expressiveness that comes with an embouchure controlled vs fipple-based instrument.
So what is this “Selkie” flute?
Well, it is a kind of hybrid flute that has a cylindrical body and a tone hole lattice like an Irish low whistle, but instead of having a fipple head, it has a flute embouchure based on that of a Chinese xiao flute.
The xiao has a notch, kind of like a quena, but the end of the xiao is mostly closed off, whereas on the quena you need to use your lower lip and chin to mostly close off the end (see pictures below).
The xiao embouchure is more similar to the embouchure of a transverse Irish flute, but still different enough to require some adaptation. But ultimately, it gives you the same kind of control over volume, tonal and pitch control that you are used to as a flute player.
This means that, in contrast to a low whistle, for example, you can play both sweet, quiet high notes and loud, in tune, low notes. Basically you have control over pitch and volume across the range, once your embouchure is developed.
Geoffrey has prototypes of this design in both low D and low F right now. My experience, pictures, sound samples, etc are all with the low F.
And I should probably have added in the beginning, that I have no financial involvement in this. I’m just a willing participant, guinea pig, etc.
OK, so here are some pictures:
This one is made from maple wood, I believe, although I’m not 100% sure. Maybe pear. I’m also not sure if this wood was stabilized or not.
It is a prototype, but it is beautifully turned and finished. It is very thin walled, and incredibly light in the hand. It only weighs 43 grams, or about 1.5 oz! So you don’t have to grip it very tightly to stop it slipping from your grasp!
Suffice to say, Geoffrey, who makes world class xiao flutes used by some professional players, really knows what he is doing with this kind of flute.
How does it play/sound? Well, in terms of power and volume it is surprisingly loud and powerful. It easily rivals any transverse flute I own for volume, if you want to play it loud. It can be played much louder than any of my whistles, but it can also be played much quieter, which is especially nice in the higher notes of the range. That is really just a benefit of having direct control over the embouchure.
Its tone holes are large enough to enable half holing for accidentals, more easily than can be done on a transverse flute, but also small enough to support Irish ornaments. In the slow air sound sample below I play a tune that has quite a few Eb notes (or what would be Eb on a D flute), and I am trying to play these by half holing the last tone hole, which is very hard to make work well on most keyless Irish flutes. Also cross fingering Cnat, and trying to linger on some high notes, and linger on various notes a bit longer than would be ideal, but the idea is to explore the sound and response of the instrument.
In the other sound sample I’m basically just experimenting with how the thing responds to a faster paced tune and some ornamentation. It is a bit repetitive because I was literally learning how to play this instrument in real time.
Both these sound samples were recorded the same evening that I received the flute, so I had less than 1 hours experience with it. And I’m not a xiao player either, but I do have some experience playing around with different rim blown flutes, so the adaptation wasn’t too hard for me.
Anyway, I include these sound samples just to give you an idea of the kind of potential this design has in terms of tone and response. They were not really captured with the intent of sharing with anyone other than Geoffrey, so there is a lot of room for improvement in the playing, for sure.
The samples were just recorded in my living room on a portable Sony sound recorder, with no sound effects/processing added. The room itself is quite a live/reflective space though, so nice to play in, but not ideal to record in.
I maintained a constant distance from the mic, so you can get a good idea of volume balance between low and high notes, which range from low D to high B (D flute terminology).
Now, one thing that I will say that needs some adaptation from the player is the ergonomics, not so much in terms of stretch, which is basically just like a low whistle of the same key, but in terms of keeping hold of the instrument, and keeping it steady. Specifically, keeping the position of the flute head against the lower lip stable. You can probably hear this in the recordings. I found that I didn’t dare fully relax my hands, because if I did I experienced some variability in lip pressure and embouchure control, which affects the tone, pitch and volume. And of course, if I didn’t fully relax my hands then my rhythm and timing was off. So you’ll probably hear both of these flaws. The wavering is partially me experiencing and exploring those aspects in real time.
I think the ergonomics is something that will take adaptation from the player. A thumb rest, perhaps an adjustable one, might help. Or it might not be necessary once you get used to it. Part of the issue is that movements of the hands vertically translate to movement of the embouchure in a way that seems more sensitive than with a horizontally held flute, and definitely more sensitive than with a whistle.
I will say, though, that it is a lot of fun exploring something a bit different like this, which is both familiar in some ways, but new and challenging in others.
Enjoy!
