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Air Spirit flutes
These flutes range from simple starter flutes to highly individual personal and concert-quality flutes made only from premium English hardwoods including oak, ash, hazel, silver birch, cherry, beech, holly, yew, alder and rippled sycamore. All are shaped by hand, with lathe work to give ornate barrel shapes, grooving or refined mouth ends as required. There are options for inlayed end-caps (eg English walnut, ash, or exotic woods), barrel-inlayed woods, and decoration by pyrography, painting or carving. However, the main theme of the English series is to offer flutes where the patterning of the wood grain, its colouration and its feel provides an instrument of distinctive beauty. To this end all the wood for these flutes is carefully chosen and worked to show its best qualities. The outer finishes used on these flutes vary considerably; some are left with the barest of treatment such that the true feel of the wood is under the hands and fingers, while others are given layers of treatment with natural oils and waxes to give a highly polished sheen. Some of the images below enlarge into new windows if clicked.
PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE SEVERAL SPECIAL AIR SPIRIT FLUTES ON THE CUSTOM AND GATHERING FLUTES PAGES.
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Two basic flutes, the upper one a G in English Ash with a tapered mouthpiece and small triskele inked decoration, the lower one a Lime F# with simple burn rings and a bell mouthpiece. Click to enlarge the images. |
The sounds that these hardwood flutes give are also very different from cedar flutes. The shaping of the voice box area, flue, block, fipple and SAC exit holes are unlike the traditional NA designs; notes are rich, resonant and clear, and all the flutes are capable of a range of very distinctive sounds, timbres and intonations.
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English rippled cherry in F with Kingwood endcaps and a carved Dolphin block.
Click HERE to see a video of this flute being played by Peter Treichler at his meditation centre in Italy. |
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English Yew in F, Celtic themed and tuned to pentatonic mode 5; and for any flutemakers thinking that you cannot get the first three notes (F, G, A#) with the bottom two holes that close together, I would say just three words: variable wall thickness! |
Furthermore, there are both 6 and 7 hole versions of the flutes, the latter giving a fuller scale range, which is particularly suited to playing the music and songs of this land. The 7 hole range is under continuous development in a quest to produce a concert-quality range of flutes that reflect the paths of our ancestors in Britain. Click here for a popup page on the design and playing of these flutes.
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English oak 7 hole in G; shaped barrel, flat nest, carved woodpecker on cherry block with bark, and hand-pyrographed cherry twigs, leaves and fruits. A beautifully rich resonant sound with a full one and a third octave scale range. |
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English spalted beech 6 hole in low E; the veining is caused by fungal growth which also changes the density of the wood giving it a wonderful resonance. Walnut bird. |
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English walnut in low E; beautifully patterned wood which makes some of the best sounding flutes, but is sadly becoming quite rare now. Lacewood bird. |
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Detail of a high B English lacewood flute with inlayed bead wrap. The heartwood looks like snakeskin. The wrap is laid into a lathed groove flush with the flute body. The wood is extremely hard and makes for a beautiful bright sound. |
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English yew 7 hole in F; beautifully patterned shaped barrel, low nest with yew bird. The 1" bore and re-designed voice box give a wonderful, deep resonant, almost clarinet-like, sound. The playing hole positions have been designed for easier playing - click here to popup the details. |
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Rippled sycamore in F#m; a double slow air chamber, a very precise cut and shaped sound-hole, sycamore block, banded grain markings and a high wax finish make a beautiful looking and clear-sounding flute. |
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These flutes are available in keys from low E to high D. For lower keys, please see the Earth Spirit series page.
Please feel free to call or email if you would like any more details on the above flute range. And remember, this range can be customised to your own requirements.
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The Owlhouse • Milford • Surrey • UK • dc@secondvoiceflutes.co.uk
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© Second Voice Flutes 2018 |
