How to Make
BAMBOO FLUTES

( the art & science )

by Craig Rusbult, Ph.D.

Mother Earth News has two articles ( 1 and 2 ) about making bamboo flutes
with a 9-hole fingering system, invented by me, that lets a musician play three extra
notes (3-flat, 4-sharp, 7-flat) which cannot be played on a traditional 6-hole bamboo flute,
plus my strategy (by modifying the interior shape of the flute) for tuning the low and high octaves.

I.O.U. — Eventually, maybe by mid-2009, I'll write a summary (here) of the two articles.

These articles were written in 1982 by Marc Bristol (the founder and current
editor of Blue Suede News) based on information provided by me.  However, one
thing I told Marc, but it's not in what he wrote, is that much of what I know about
making bamboo flutes was learned from Joe Kasik of Springfield, Oregon, who sold
flutes with high quality (musically & artistically) at the Saturday Market in Eugene.


 Above, a LINK is page-adding, opening a new page in a new window.
 Below, a LINK is page-replacing, opening a new page in this window.

 Making flutes, which was a 3-month project during a break between my
graduate studies at UW-West (in Seattle) and UW-Midwest (in Madison),
was one of my first major experiences in using design method,
which is related to scientific method and is summarized in
An Introduction to Design Method.

The Science of Music (and other Arts)

for ideas about making music with a flute or
another instrument, or by singing or whistling,
Musical Improvisation (creativity + music theory)