Share it with us! So, finding a way to open and close the tubes at wish will give us an extended range: for example, if the original range is C4-C5, the final range will be C4-C6. However, reaching the central tubes with your finger can be difficult, so again finding a way to keep closed all holes and open them simultaneously is a great idea. Anyway, you can use any material you wish, the only difference will be in the timbre (the kind of sound the instrument makes). Encourage children to measure and cut their own straws. I have two questions. Because for as long as I can think about, I don't seem to find a reason to give you my name. Next place the middle length straw right in the center. From this we can determine all other frequencies using the second formula (second pic, obviously). A general purpose hand-held sander with various sandpapers ranging from at least medium to fine String. We can see this fact from two formulas in the first image. Simple: creating an hole in the tubes. OK, then. La = 10 cm We can calculate the distance of the hole center from the open end using the same formula I've shown in previous step (see first image). Intro How to make a PAN FLUTE! All we need to do is take the frequency of the pipe, double it two times and calculate the value of L. For example, the D4 has a frequency of 293.7 Hz, so the D6 has a frequency of 1174.7 Hz. This is due to harmonics produced by the section behind the hole. The next one I will make will be a D-whistle, the traditional Irish tuning for this instrument. this pan flute kit from Discount School Supply, 28 Days of STEM and STEAM Activities for Kids series, 15 Meaningful Earth Day Activities for Kids, STEM for Kids: Straw Rockets (with Free Rocket Template), Earth Day Craft for Kids: Cupcake Liner Daisy, Science for Kids: Dissect a Bean Seed (with free printable recording sheet). amzn_assoc_region = "US"; Im here to guide and assist you on your world flute journey in any way I can. Please write me at: A long straw produces a low note. Then repeat with F#/Gb, G#/Ab and A#/Bb tubes. Hi, I seem to be having a problem with calculating the length. I'll mention various options you can use in each step below. Now you should have three partial pan flutes: one with 8 tubes, one with 2 tubes and one with 3 tubes. Pan Flutes for beginners and professionals, hand-made and beautifully crafted. I'm here for this! If you want to add two or more holes for each tube, than the things became complex. With some duct tape, maybe a colored one, cover the edge to avoid any air fugue. We placed them on the tape in this order to better space them out equally, but it might be easier for younger kids to just put them on the tape from longest to shortest and not really worry about spacing. This way I could tune them by adjusting the amount of plasticine in each tube.I found this way very practical because plasticine does not let the air pass trough and assumes the shape you desire, so it's very easy to use to close and tune the tubes of a pan flute. Step Twelve: Oiling and Finishing the Pipes Make an easy straw pan flute using a few drinking straws and tape. Take one of your pen tubes and measure from top to bottom half-centimeter increments on the pen tube. We had our very own pan flute concert! on Step 1. I've noticed that if you have a round bulb with a hole it is possible to play an octave range by just blowing from different angles and making the hole smaller by covering it with your bottom lip. Actually, an open tube requires a correction factor that depends on frequency and inner diameter, but the difference should be barely noticeable. If you like the finiture of your tubes you can skip this step. Then repeat for another tube, until you have no tube open. at the top end of the instrument - and a precisely adjusted wall thickness calibration from top to bottom. In addition to the pipe bore diameters being precisely calibrated, the pipe wall thicknesses should be as well, so that the outer diameter of the pipe above at its top rim should be ever so slightly narrower than that of its lower neighbor and so on up the scale, until you get to the very small pipes up at the top end of the instrument. How to make your own Pan Flute. Check out my book. They must have a medium thickness and constant diameter throughout the wall. The Pan Flute is a precision instrument, and that means that the wall thicknesses of the individual pipes should be precision calibrated to be even and consistent with one another, going from a maximum wall thickness of about 3.5 mm at the bottom end of the instrument to a wall thickness of about 2.0 to 2.5 mm. (We cut ours into the following lengths: 6 inches, 5.5 inches, 5 inches, 4 inches, and 3.5 inches.) :), Reply As I mentioned before, the speed of sound depends on a lot of factors, like altitude, temperature, composition of air, and so on. The pan flute instrument is based on the closed tube principle which consists of many pipes stacked together to form one singular unit. Also, a slightly more detailed explanation of what number gets plugged into which symbol and the relation between the two formulae would be appreciated. When the glue is dry remove the external carboard with a knife, a scalpel or a pair of scissors. 13 drinking straws (You might not really need all 13 straws. If doing the 8 straw method, youll obviously need longer strips of cardboard and tape described in the steps below. Using the first formula shown in the previous step we obtain the list of length: 31.69, 29.91, 28.23, 26.65, 25.15, 23.74, 22.41, 21.15, 19.96, 18.84, 17.78, 16.79, 15.84 rounded to second decimal digit, measured in centimeters. Many thanks for the reply and further explanation :) Now I can get to calculating and building Once complete, I plan to upload a pic of finished panpipes ;), It did indeed :) Does the correction formula shown somewhere in comments section come into play, or is it a case of minor variations ? - How to make a CATAPULT - https://youtu.be/rv16MGSfmsoHow to make a FLIPPIN FLYER - https://youtu.be/u5akHnwyPosHow to make a KAZOO - https://youtu.be/sMBgme_npRAHow to make CARDBOARD CONSTRUCTORS - https://youtu.be/8P9B3--80e0How to make a PAN FLUTE - https://youtu.be/q1fcmvOioBEHow to make an ORIGAMI HEART - https://youtu.be/HGRS-PWB-swHow to make a LIFESAVER LAMBO - https://youtu.be/eyNAurHdmRQHow to make a PAPER PUPPET - https://youtu.be/PyfNF5hIedoHow to make a RAINSTICK - https://youtu.be/cYH6KegK_j8How to make a NATURE DISPLAY - https://youtu.be/PN7q73ga_2gHow to make a LAVA BOTTLE - https://youtu.be/6E4ldbu90V4 1 pair of scissors 1 ruler 1 roll of tape Step Nine: Framing or Reinforcing the Pipe Bottoms A pan flute is a mere group of tubes with a closed end (called closed cylinder, even if one end is open). It needs to have one end open, and the other end closed by a joint. This is the perfect activity to accompany a lesson on the science of sound, our five senses, or music. First we find the frequencies of all notes we choose. Please help me! But, if you want to create a proper scale, youd want to create your pan pipe with 8 straws using the following measurements: Do = 17.5 cm The general rule is: if the discarded part starts with a digit less than 5 then you left all unchanged; if it starts with a digit greater or equal than 5, then add 1 to the last digit of the remaining part). Be sure to head over and check out all the other creative ways to encourage a love of science, technology, engineering, art and math in kids! Musical craft ideas can be a great learning activity for kids. Art:The pan flutes can be decorated to express your childs creativity! Perhaps the simplest way of making a Pan Flute Mold is simply to take a wooden board, hammer two rows of nails into it about 1.5 feet (45 cm.) or slightly heavier placed over the top of the arch to flatten it. Thick, heavy books also work well as weights. While the pipes are being trussed or weighted down, as the case may be, the gluing of reinforcement strips should be done to the inside curve for the former and the outside curve for the latter. Then the curvature or arch of the pipes is set, and the rest of framing can proceed as normal., There is a considerable degree of flexibility to which the various sub-steps of framing the pipes can be arranged, within certain limits and considerations. The first goal of the framing process is to remedy and set the correct arch or curvature of the pipes if marked or significant warping has occurred since assembly. The second goal of the framing process is to provide sufficient strength and structural reinforcement to the arch of the pipes and their curvature, so they are set. A highly recommended first step in framing the pipes is the laying down of two to three layers of epoxy and fiberglass sheets on the very bottom of the instrument; often, this alone is sufficient to set or stabilize the arch or curvature of the pipes after they have been weighted or trussed. However, the gluing of the front strip(s) in the case of a tight warping or the back strip(s) in the case of a wide warping is also recommended to set the arch or curvature even more firmly., To cut the reinforcing strips of wood for the front, back and bottom sides of the frame, I have found that taping a sheet of heavy brown paper, like from a shopping bag, to the front and/or back of the instrument and tracing the curve of the bottom of the pipes onto it, then cutting out that curve with a pair of scissors, works very well. You use the same exact curve for both the top and bottom edges of the same strip(s), with merely a wider distance between the two edges at the bottom than at the top. For example, a distance of 3 cm. Youll want one end of the straw hanging about 3/4 inch over the side. How to Make an Easy Pan Flute from Any Metal Pipe Pan flutes can be made from a whole range of materials, from drinking straws to bamboo, but here's a more unusual version that's made from metal plumbing pipe. Understand that the flute is weaker than your other current instruments and it's primary use is to stop the others from burning out from overuse. SUBSCRIBE - / @ksuiteach Show more Try. From what you see on the left above to what you see at right above only takes a couple days of relaxed labor to produce. They also have the opportunity to write and record their own music. Copyright 2023 Buggy and Buddy. Place the remaining two straws onto the tape. Finally repeat with the 3-tubes pan flute. Teach yourself Pan Flute. Allow to dry. Blow a steady, strong stream of air through your embouchure into one of the pan flute's tubes. also remember to look at the most recently cut straw so that you know where to cut (it does not need to be perfect.) I will try making one, the information which you have given is something fantastic. 4. 2 Scour for bamboo. An assortment of drill bits ranging in diameter from 2mm to 1.5 cm. Although bamboo can be harvested in the wild, from the grove, for most people, ordering bamboo from a bamboo dealer, or going there in person to buy the bamboo or select the poles, is the way to go. Bamboo poles in the diameters usually used for Pan Flutes generally comes in lengths of 6 to 8 feet long. For a standard size Alto Pan Flute (G to g), select poles from inch in diameter down to 5/8 inch to inch to 3/8 inch. For the lower pipes of a Tenor Pan Flute, you will have to buy one inch diameter poles as well, and for the lowest pipes of a Bass Pan Flute, you may even need to go to 1 inch or 1 inch. Some bamboo dealers will let you select individual poles to buy if you go in person, whereas others will deal in bamboo by the bale, which is anywhere from about 25 to 50 poles or so. To be sure, you wont be able to use all the bamboo you buy, but if you can use even half of it, you are doing well usually its more like a third of the bamboo you buy that is usable for quality pipes. (Try PVC pipes or cardboard tubes.). He's made books with seasonal themes, or vehicle themes, a math book and even one for our dogs! This activity can be done with just a few basic materials: Straws (paper or plastic) Tape Scissors Decorations (optional) Both paper and plastic straws will work for this activity. Two tubes of equal length, but one closed at one end and the other completely open, produce the same note within two adjacent octaves. So the hole center must be 7.06 cm from the open end. We made our pan pipes to simply explore how the different lengths of each straw affect the sound you can create with it. My local store sells only 1 or 2 m long tubes, and with 3 short (1 m) tubes you can do every pipe. A rotary tool (Dremel) with a cutting wheel and various sanding and grinding bits. Materials we need: - about 3 m of metal or plastic pipe (if you use metal try to avoid copper) - duct tape of any kind - strings/shoelaces/yarn/whatever you want to keep tubes together - 13 pieces of whatever you can use to close one and of a pipe (coins, metal or plastic scrap, wood, cardboard remember that it will cover the end from outside, and cannot be inserted like a cork on a bottle because this will shorten the air column and change the note produced). Since the process depends also on what you have choosen as cap, those can be only general directions. Could you build a pan flute on a larger scale? OK, if you're reading those words you want to know more. Again, the answer came from physics. To optimize the space and to use only three 1 m pipes, we will cut each pipe as follow: 1st pipe: 31.69 cm + 29.91 cm + 22.41 cm + 15.84 cm (low C + C#/Db + F#/Gb + high C, about 2 mm left) 2nd pipe: 28.23 cm + 26.65 cm + 25.15 cm + 19.96 cm (D + D#/Eb + E + G#/Ab, almost nothing left) 3rd pipe: 23.74 cm + 21.15 cm + 18.84 cm + 17.78 cm + 16.79 cm (F + G + A +A#/Bb + B, less than 2 cm left) As you can see, I wrote also the note corresponding to each section. Step Eleven: Tuning the Pipes When you find the right place, take a piece of yarn and wrap it around the ends of the first group of five of tubes (C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E). Please check this carefully and don't wear your pipes since although this is a cool representation of wave physics, I don't want you ruining your panflute :). Please make sure that you can cut all pieces from your pipes because it may be difficult to join two pieces together without compromise the sound. is the best one to use. Nevertheless, different instruments, all of them of fine quality, will display a certain degree of variation in the relative tightness or openness of their curve or arch, within limits. The arch or curvature of the pipes is mainly an ergonomic consideration, to facilitate the moving of the instrument back and forth as the player moves around rapidly between its low and high ends. In other words, the arch or curvature of the pipes facilitates this up/down movement of the player by utilizing the natural rotation of his or her shoulders and arms around the central pivot of the head, neck and spinal column. Different players are of different sizes, some with wider shoulders and others with narrower ones, so there is no absolute uniformity of curvature among different quality instruments. If the arch or curvature of the pipes is too tight or great for you, you will notice a certain muscular constriction or tightness under the shoulder blades when you are at the top and/or bottom ends of the instrument; conversely, a curve or arch that is too wide will induce undue stooping forward and downwards of the head and neck as you play. You must feel that the instrument comes to you, and not that you have to go to it. I highly recommend that you first test how the arch or curvature of the pipes feels to you before you adjust it with the remedial measures I have recommended, and certainly before you begin framing the pipes. Walkthrough for pan flute in Little Alchemy 2 water + water = puddle fire + fire = energy earth + earth = land earth + fire = lava air + lava = stone puddle + water = pond earth + land = continent pond + water = lake fire + stone = metal continent + continent = planet stone + stone = wall After the slats of the adjacent or adjoining pipes have been thoroughly fitted to one another to your complete satisfaction and you have the slatted pipes exactly how you want them, it is time to assemble the pipes by gluing them together. I emphasize here that you must be totally ready and satisfied with all your work on the individual pipes up until this point before undertaking the assembly of the pipes because the step of assembly represents a critical turning point, the river Rubicon of Pan Flute making if you will, after which there is absolutely no turning back. The essential heart or core of a Pan Flute is its particular gamut or lineup of pipes, from top to bottom, and after you glue that lineup together, this essential heart or core of the instrument is set, and there is no turning back at least not easily, at any rate. Before assembly, you are free to substitute one pipe for another and wonder which particular lineup or assortment of pipes is best but not after assembly. After assembly, the essential heart or core of the Pan Flute is finished, and all the steps that follow are merely those of finishing up the instrument., Because pipe assembly is such a critical step in Pan Flute making, I recommend that it not be approached lightly or hastily, but rather with a methodical seriousness, dedication and preparation. It is always a good idea to do a dry rehearsal or run-through of the assembly process, from bottom to top, at least once before the real event. It also goes without saying that you need to have all the pipes, from bottom to top, all lined up in a row on a table top outside the Pan Flute Mold so that, once the assembly process is started, you dont have to waste any time hunting around for pipes, or, even worse, to glue one pipe to another that is out of its proper sequence. You must be in a calm, focused mental state for pipe assembly and not hurried, rushed or distracted in any way if you are intent on doing a good job of it. Also, it is helpful not to assemble the pipes if your stomach is too empty or at a time when your blood sugar is critically low, because this can disturb your focus and concentration. I have found that the best time to assemble the pipes is in the evening, so that the glue can dry overnight. The assembled pipes are a great thing to wake up to in the morning., For assembling the pipes, I recommend a good, high quality furniture or wood glue that is of high strength. Assembly proceeds from the bottom pipe all the way up to the top, with the topmost or uphill slat of the pipe below receiving the glue and the pipe above being placed onto it. As you glue each pipe up the scale to the one directly below it by placing glue on the pipe below, there are three basic parameters or dimensions that must be checked well as you go. First of all, is the tilt or pitch of the pipe from side to side correct? In order to get the right tilt of the pipes, I recommend that, during rehearsal, lines be drawn with a pencil connecting the edges of the bores of adjoining pipes at their closest point, at least for the bottom five pipes, which set the basic orientation for all subsequent pipes. A correct side-to-side tilt of the adjacent pipes will produce a line connecting them that is unbroken and intact. Secondly, are the top rims of the pipes pretty much lined up flush with one another? I say pretty much here because if there are minor discrepancies in the flushness of the top pipe rims, this can be remedied in the first step of beveling the pipes, which is to flatten the top rims of the pipes with a large flat rasp. And thirdly, is each pair of adjoining slats thoroughly glued and affixed, from the tops of the adjoining pipes to their bottoms?. If you are not interested in all the math and physics behind the project, you can jump directly to the practice section. Your formula is length (which unit?) Blow air into the pan flute. The inner diameter should be not too big nor too small: a 1-1.5 cm of inner diameter is fine. Here is the meaning of various symbols: - L is the length of the tube - v is the speed of sound - f is the frequency Fine. Im attempting to make long tubes made of wood similar to a pan flute. As you blow across the straw, the air in the straw vibrates. Every time you cut a piece of pipe, file down all burrs, inside with a rounded needle file, and outside with a flat side. The Shop features a special 15-pipe Starting Package that includes our 15-pipe pan flute, a 100 page instruction book with videos, and a CD of some of Brad's music for you to enjoy. The process of fitting the slats so that the pipes interface well with each other is one that can be done in either a quick and perfunctory fashion, or in a more precise fashion whatever level of painstaking precision, or relative lack thereof, you choose to select, there needs to be a relatively high level of consistency and uniformity in the slatting depths of the pipes from top to bottom. You shouldnt have one pair of interfacing slats be cut very deeply with the ones immediately above or below it being cut very shallowly, for example. The slatting depth between pipes, which is measured by the closest that the inner bores of adjacent pipes come to each other at their narrowest point, is merely one dimension of pipe slatting and fitting. The slats need to be angled inwards ever so slightly towards the players side so that the surfaces of adjoining slats fit together perfectly on the Pan Flute Mold. Also, when viewed from the tops to the bottoms of adjacent pipes, the pipes and their slats need to be fairly uniform in width from top to bottom. Twisting or skewing of the slats from top to bottom should also be eliminated. Medium to fine String to harmonics produced by the section behind the project, you can skip this step work... Behind the project, you can skip this step adjacent pipes will produce a line connecting them that unbroken! To fine String Irish tuning for this instrument general purpose hand-held sander with sandpapers. 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