I just got mine, direct from Erik’s bamboo garden and I am totally in love with its sound. I bought another one some years ago from some other flute maker and this one is far superior in sound and finish. Thank you for all the love and dedication you put into it. The drawings, notes, history and recommendations on how to play it are also amazing. Such a special instrument and buying experience!! I’ll buy another once I master this one, thank you! regards from Spain!
I own the Oriental Flute made and signed by Erik. I really love playing this flute. It is easy to play and has lots of variability to play with the notes, as Erik demonstrated in this video such as bending the notes. Of all my flutes it is my favorite one to play. It can be loud, or soft. I usually connect with an amplifier, speaker, and microphone with reverb. I highly recommend this flute to anyone whether beginner or experienced flute player. You will love it.
I have this flute and it is super easy to play and the tone is very rich and warm. I have to admit that I have several of Erik’s flutes and they are all easy to play and perfectly tuned. I had never played a transverse flute and it was fun to learn on this one along with the Egyptian. BTW: You learn by just picking it up and experimenting a little at a time and the next thing you know you go from hardly making a sound to playing your own songs.
Erik, I enjoy listening to this type of music for many years, lately gotten interested in learning to play. Would you help guide me in obtaining a flute ? Thanks and keep up the education and inspiration.
Rocky The Native American Style flute he sells called the Kiowa Love Flute is the absolute easiest and sounds wonderful as well. Sorry, I know you were asking Erik who really knows but I hope I gave you a few ideas.
Here is what I do to fix it. All you need is some wood glue and rubber bands, sand paper, kitchen oil. Squeeze glue into cracks. Try and not make the crack any longer. Apply glue. Cover the cracked area with rubber bands tightly. Wrapping string firmly will work too. Clean off excessive glue with paper towel, rag or fingers. Next day, take off rubber bands, sand and oil with mineral oil, kitchen oil or coco nut oil.
Hey guys, first time commentor on here, i just wanted to get some opinion. I bought this flute and i can make a sound (finally(, but i feel like the sound of the flute - in all 5 notes) sounds very different from how it sounds on these videos, even when i record it on my phone and relisten, it seems like it is tunes differently, doesn anyone have any thoughts as to why that might be? whether i'm blowing incorrectly, or i need to clean out any dust or something. Any help would be much appreciated, thank you x
Hi Dominic: No dust in your flute we remove that as we build it. And a bit of dust will not hurt the sound. Perhaps you are hearing reverb on the video and no reverb when you are playing natural. Playing in great acoustics is always inspiring. Or adding reverb as you record. If you pucker it will sound airy, so remember a soft grin is best to play well. And make sure you are covering the holes well. Erik
HI Kent My side blown Oriental is pentatonic. And the 5 hole native flute is pentatonic. So I would say go for the side blown Oriental at eriktheflutemaker.com
Does anyone else have trouble getting the octaves? I can get a perfect octave on the lowest note, but if I try it on any notes above that, I get screechy, dissonant noise at best--and just an impotent puff of air at worst. I know the issue is my technique (or lack thereof), just not sure where to go and wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Also--is it typical to have to blow harder when playing the higher notes? I feel like they just peter out if I maintain the same airflow and move from lower notes to higher.
Hi Ragnar: Might help to look in the mirror to see if your relaxed lips are forming a line and not a pucker. A pucker will get you dizzy and the voice of the flute will sound airy. I also had an interesting breakthrough on playing the second octave. The last 2 holes on many of my Oriental flute sound much better if you close the first 2 holes from the bottom. Regards, Erik the flutemaker
Thank you for the pointers my friend--Alas, doing my very best impression of 'flute lips' and still getting mostly yowling cats in a wind tunnel. If nothing else, I can at least appreciate the aesthetic value of my new decorative bamboo stick.
Hi Ragnar: I have recently found that the second octave can play much better on most of my Orientals and Kung Fu Flutes when you close the lowest 2 holes when you want the upper octave on the top 2 notes. I was very happy to discover this. Erik
