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Exotic flutes. Panpipes, neys, kavals, kenas (quenas) and shakuhachis differ from fifes and other cross flutes in the fact they are all end blown rather than side blown. Native American flutes also have unique features but such instruments are hardly exotic. They will be given special consideration. So will ocarinas and their Chinese equivalents, xuns. These instruments are typically made from clay. I will also devote a separation section to whistles.

Let's start with panpipes, also known as panflutes, as well as Peruvian or Bolivian flutes. Panpipes are typically found in Greece, Romania and Hungary, as well as Peru and Bolivia. Similar instruments are played in Africa as well. In South America, panpipes are referred to as "Zamponias."

Panpipes consist of a series of tubes, closed off at one end and tied together. The tubes are arranged from shortest to longest. Strips of bamboo keep the instrument rigid.

You can make a set of panpipes from bamboo garden cane (tomato stakes). Be sure to get the kind of stake which is about half an inch in diameter and has several nodes. If necessary, buy more than one stake. Garden cane tends to be fairly inexpensive. Cut the stake into several sections, each with an intact node at one end. At best, you will have at least eight sections, enough for an octave. Clean the pith out of the middle of the bamboo using fine-grit sandpaper. You can wrap the paper around a quarter inch dowel and use the dowel to insert the sandpaper in each tube.

Once the tubes have been sanded, it is time to arrange them in order of length. Insert another dowel in the shortest tube, then mark where the top edge of the tube hits the dowel (on the level). Note the distance between the tip of the dowel at the bottom of the tube and the mark. This will be more effective in telling you how long the tube is than just measuring the length from end to end. Measure each tube in this fashion.

You might want to trim each tube so one is proportionately longer than the others. At best, the shortest will be about two and a quarter inches long. The next one will be two and a half inches and each tube following will be a quarter inch longer, until you have eight or more tubes lined up in a row. Now either glue the tubes together with wood glue or tie them. You mgiht want to use strips of bamboo, popsicle sticks or cross pieces to keep the tubes all in line. I prefer gluing the tubes in place, myself.

To play, hold the pipes under your bottom lip and blow gently across the tops of the pipes.

Producing clear tones from panpipes takes patience and practice. I mentioned blowing across soda bottles earlier. The technique is similar, although you are dealing with bamboo tubes, rather than glass bottles. Also, with practice, you might notice you get more than one sound from each tube, depending on the angle at which you hold your panpipes.. This is one of the benefits of playing them. You might want to listen to ethnic Romanian, Hungarian, Greek and South American music, specifically music which features panpipes, in order to appreciate the versatiulity of these instruments.

Neys are Middle Eastern flutes with long histories. There are paintings in Egyptian pyramids depicting musicians playing these end-blown flutes. Neys are commonly found in Middle Eastern countries and are typically made from cane (Arundo donax). The mouthpiece of the instrument is slightly beveled (cut at a slant. There are six finger holes in front and a thumb hole in back. Usually the instrument is made from a piece of cane with nine nodes. The making of genuine neys is such a tradition, the only thing I can suggest is making a model of this particular flute, rather than the real thing. A cane ney has a unique sound which is difficult to reproduce with a model made from any other material.

You can try making a ney-type flute from PVC or bamboo. I've heard of neys being made from metal as well. A ney is about two feet long and the finger holes are arranged according to specific proportions. There are a number of websites which include descriptions and instructions as to how to make and play these instruments.

Kavals are similar to neys in that they are both end blown flutes and feature beveled mouthpieces--though some may debate whether these flutes have mouthpieces at all. But kavals are made from hardwood and feature seven finger holes, along with a thumb hole. Kavals are also made in sections which are assembled. These flutes are or were indiginous to Bulgaria, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia.

I have made what I consider a hybrid flute, which has features in common with both neys and kavals. It has the beveled mouthpiece, along with seven finger holes in front and a thumb hole in back. The flute is also similar to the quena and shakuhachi, both of which I will describe next.

Quenas (or kenas) are end-blown notched flutes commonly found among the indigenous populations of the Andes mountains. The flutes are of simple design: open-ended tubes with six finger holes and thumb holes. The instruments are made from clay, animal bones or bamboo. You can also make them from PVC.

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