How to Make a Bolivian Flute
The term "Bolivian flute" typically refers to the Bolivian style of pan flute. A pan flute is comprised of an array of differently sized closed tubes. The longer the tube equals the deeper the pitch. You can make your own inexpensive Bolivian pan flute to create a unique, custom instrument with a distinctive sound.
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Things You'll Need
- 3/4-inch PVC tubing
- 80-grit sandpaper
- 1/4-inch thick PVC sheet
- Hack saw
- Hand-held rotary cutter
- Glue
- Pipe cleaner
- Bamboo, wicker or other rigid binding material
Instructions
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1
Cut the tubing into sections of different lengths. The amount and length of the pipes is a matter of preference, but you should have at least five pipes in order to play a range of melodies. For example, cut the longest pipe to 6 1/16 inches for a C note, the second longest to 5 3/8 inches for D, 4 3/4 inches for an E, 3 15/16 inches for a G and 3 7/16 inches for an A.
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2
Sand the ends to make them smooth.
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3
Place one tube open end down on the PVC sheet. Draw around the diameter of the tube once for every tube. Cut out the outlines with a hand-held rotary tool, such as a Dremel.
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4
Glue a PCV circle to the end of each pipe, to create a closed chamber. This is allows the sound to resonate inside the pipe, rather than escaping from the bottom.
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5
Lay the pipes side-by-side and measure their collective width.
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Cut a length of pipe cleaner to 1 inch longer than the collective width of the pipes.
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Cut two pieces of binding material so they are each twice as long as the pipe cleaner, plus 1 inch.
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8
Put a thin layer of glue on the pipe cleaner and lay it across the center of the tube array, so there is 1/2 inch of pipe cleaner overlapping the edge of the end tubes. Leave it to dry for an hour.
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9
Bend the excess pipe cleaner into a hook. Gently push the pipe cleaner so it forms a gentle curve. This in turn forces the tubes to take on a curved arrangement. This curved arrangement is a distinctive characteristic of the Bolivian pan flute.
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10
Wrap the first piece of binding material around the pipes, 1/2 inch from the top. Knot it at the end. Wrap the second piece around the pipes, 1/2 inch above the bottom of the shortest tube. Knot the end.
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References
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