Fun stuff

James Connelly · Post by **James Connelly** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 12:59 am

I know you've all read about the discovery of the Neanderthal flute. (1996, 43,000 to 82,000 years old in Sloven, made from the femur of a cave bear). Well just for fun I would like to make one. I would want it to play too. I don't have a cave bear femur, but around here we have deer, turkey, cows, and there's a buffalo park where they sale buffalo steaks maybe I could get a leg bone from them. I need to know the hole size, spacing etc. which animal bone would be best (I hope it's the buffalo) and how to prepar the bone (its fresh) Maybe someone has already done this (besides the Neanderthal) I don't want a nice, finished flute, but a real bone flute. The Neaanderthal look also fits my skill level. E-mail me the info, serious enquires only!!

CHIFF FIPPLE · Post by **CHIFF FIPPLE** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:45 am

James Connelly wrote: Maybe someone has already done this (besides the Neanderthal) I don't want a nice, finished flute, but a real bone flute. The Neaanderthal look also fits my skill level. E-mail me the info, serious enquires only!!

Bear's more to this then Meats the eye.
To think that just because it was done long ago makes it easy now is Folly

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:07 am

I know in South America they traditionally made quenas out of the femurs of llamas or people (maybe a trip to the neighborhood morgue?

). I've never seen a bone whistle though.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:24 am

TelegramSam wrote:I know in South America they traditionally made quenas out of the femurs of llamas or people (maybe a trip to the neighborhood morgue? ).

Sam,

Maybe you should become a whistlesmith - your first product could be the Hannibal Lechter model.

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:55 am

An interesting article here:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/aaas-2000/ ... lutes.html

And I think this page: http://www.primitiveways.com/boneflute.html

is a taster for what's in the book/CD on the primitiveways.com front page...not sure.

hth

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 8:19 am

Is a bone whistle the same as a.......ah.....never mind.

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 9:30 am

vomitbunny wrote:Is a bone whistle the same as a.......ah.....never mind.

Bad boy! Bad, bad boy!

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 9:39 am

On further reflection, I reckon the bone flute would require a fair amount of trial and error where hole-placement is concerned. The bore's not going to be true, neither cylindrical nor conical, and wall thickness will doubtless be variable as well. That'd pretty much throw out all the 'standard' calculations (such as the flutomat, for example).

I remember reading an article about the Chinese bone flutes they found, some of which were still playable. The article mentioned a small hole or two drilled near the tone-holes to correct for pitch on certain notes.

I do think your most likely source would be 'survivalist' type publications (with no disrespect to those whose passion is "going primitive"), especially where 'treatment' of the bone to render it (pardon the pun) suitable for use as a tool (in this case, an instrument).

And Vomitbunny, don't be rood!

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:15 pm

Bloomfield wrote:
vomitbunny wrote:Is a bone whistle the same as a.......ah.....never mind.
Bad boy! Bad, bad boy!

I had to double check the author. I thought it was Amar!

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 2:14 pm

I think you have an interesting idea, but I don't think current hole size and spacing will be sufficient (unless you get a bone in the perfect bore size of a modern tinwhistle). It'll be all trial and error and it'll never be totally in tune with anything modern.

whamlyn · Post by **whamlyn** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 2:50 pm

I've never seen a bone whistle though.

I've got a track of Paul McGratten playing a whistle made from the fin-bone of a whale. Too cool...

All the best,
Wes

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 4:29 pm

blackhawk wrote:I think you have an interesting idea, but I don't think current hole size and spacing will be sufficient (unless you get a bone in the perfect bore size of a modern tinwhistle). It'll be all trial and error and it'll never be totally in tune with anything modern.

So, you don't think a bone whistle/flute could have a tuning slide?

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 5:54 pm

Darwin wrote:
blackhawk wrote:I think you have an interesting idea, but I don't think current hole size and spacing will be sufficient (unless you get a bone in the perfect bore size of a modern tinwhistle). It'll be all trial and error and it'll never be totally in tune with anything modern.
So, you don't think a bone whistle/flute could have a tuning slide?

No reason it couldn't, other than there'd be a lot of machining necessary and I'd expect that you'd ruin more than a few bones trying to do it. Plus the more you fiddle with it, the less it'll have the primitive look the thread starter wants. Actually, I wonder how much machining you'd have to do in the name of uniform wall thickness.

BoneQuint · Post by **BoneQuint** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 6:39 pm

I'd love a bone whistle too. If the buffalo park can get you bones, maybe you could give me a contact for them? I'd like to get rib bones, if possible, I've never tried Buffalo, but I hear they work well.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 8:17 pm

BoneQuint wrote:I'd love a bone whistle too. If the buffalo park can get you bones, maybe you could give me a contact for them? I'd like to get rib bones, if possible, I've never tried Buffalo, but I hear they work well.

Are the rib bones hollow?

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