BREATH FLUTE

This is one of a series of Agitation Flutes I’ve made. Agitation Flutes are instruments in which a broad-spectrum noise with no clear frequency is introduced into a flute-like air column. The air column selects for and reinforces its own natural frequency. The ear recognizes the air-column pitch, but the tone is still awash in the surrounding noise. In the Breath Flute, the turbulence is created by blowing over the end of the flute from a slight distance in a way that does not set up the traditional well-defined flute tone. Pitch is controlled by tone holes. A tiny microphone picks up the resonated sound within the air column. Of the breath flutes shown in the photo on the left, the ones on the left are configured more or less like traditional flutes, while larger one on the right employs a blow tube and a keyboard for opening and closing toneholes, similar to the system described for this instrument.