All about Pan's flute

Woodwind is one of the most ancient musical instruments. Ancient flutes (or their prototypes) are found by archaeologists in different parts of the world. They differ from each other, have design features, but still not so significant that it was impossible to track the general trend. Almost always it is an empty tube in the form of a cylinder, flat or widened downward, with an open bottom hole, side and top. An interesting representative of this series is the Pan flute.

The flute got its name in honor of Pan, one of the gods of Ancient Greece. The images of the hero were often accompanied by a syrinx - an instrument very similar to just such a flute. The flute appeared in the Neolithic era, a beautiful legend tells about this.

Syrinx - that was the name of the most beautiful girl in the city, who was once met by Pan himself, the god of the grove and forest. She fell in love with him so much that he lost his peace and began to literally pursue her. But the girl of such persistence of the boyfriend was not happy: he did not like him. Once he chased after Syrinx, but she managed to hide from him in the forest, which hid the girl with its thick branches. And it seemed to him that he even managed to grab her hand, but when he looked around, he realized that in his hand was not the brush of his beloved, but a thick reed.

He grabbed an armful of cane, angry with it, and cut it off with a knife. But this land hid the beautiful Syrinx from him, turning the fugitive into a reed. Then Pan understood what he had done with his beloved. He carefully collected the reeds, began to feel sorry for them, kiss them. The breath of the unfortunate Pan penetrated into the reed sections, and music arose in them. And so this instrument appeared, sounding like a light breath of the breeze, like the breath of a young man with a broken heart.

In the Neolithic era, people guessed that the longer the barrel, the lower the sound (and inverse relationship), they began to connect pipes of different lengths, and this is how the instrument arose. Unless, of course, the romantic version of the legend is discarded.

Such a flute consists of several hollow tubes, the minimum number of which is 3. The lower ends of these components must be closed, of different sizes. The length can be either 10 cm or 120 - there are no strict restrictions. The tubes are arranged in steps, which makes it possible to reproduce the instrument with sounds of different heights.

What panflute is made of: classically - from reed, as well as from bamboo, metal or bone. Sometimes you can even find a plastic Pan flute, but this option, of course, is far from the noble original. The sound quality definitely depends on the material of manufacture.

Today the panflute is tuned with a special piston device. And once they did this: a piece of wax was sent into the barrel, it was squeezed until the desired tone was found. Of course, the setting was dependent on the air temperature, and therefore the method was not ideal.

I must say that the process of making a panflute can be called difficult: skill and knowledge of the matter are required. Tubes must correspond to a certain diameter, their length must be accurately measured. Grinding, gluing, and adhesion of the tubes on the bracket, and varnishing are important. But this process is noble and will be crowned with success for anyone who takes seriously the manufacture of the instrument, which first sounded in the work of Mozart.

For those who are not afraid of possible difficulties, the manufacturing process will not seem particularly scary. But in October (the most suitable month) you will have to walk behind the reeds, that is, wander along the banks of the reservoirs. During this period, the reed is already mature and suitable for making an instrument. It will take a collection of even reed stems, as equal as possible in diameter.

If you make a tool according to the master class presented below, you can do without drawings. The main thing is to choose the right source code. And, of course, you need to know exactly what the original instrument looks like, determine the length and diameter.

Let's say the reed is harvested and sent for drying. The plant should dry out well, and at least a couple of days (or even a week) should be given to drying. A battery, hairdryer, oven - not an option, the reed should dry naturally.

The dried material must be examined: it is obvious that the plant consists of tubes, which are connected to each other by "knees". There should be 5 such tubes (for this MK). They must match in diameter and length, and the length is also important from the outset. The master himself will correct it.

Let's take a step by step how to make a panflute.

• Separate the reeds. A knife or jigsaw is suitable for the case. The reed must be carefully cut exactly in the middle of the elbow. It will be seen that the resulting tubes have membrane protection on both sides. So, they should be pierced - with a nail or a knife.
• The core of the tube is to be freed from the "pulp". This is done simply by taking a straight stick, slightly smaller in diameter than the reed. Of course, you can use a file, but this kind of work requires more delicacy.
• The inner walls of the hollow tube should be smooth, this is extremely important for the sound... The tube (each) should be blown out.
• The first tube will become the longest, it will be along which the length of the next four will be measured. The length of the tubes decreases by decreasing, the measure will be the width of the master's thumb.
• It is worth remembering that the panflute is a folk instrument, therefore, rigorous engineering calculations and jeweler's precision are unnecessary. The ends of the tubes obtained must be cleaned from irregularities with sandpaper.
• Now you can check the sound. You need to pinch one end of the tube with your finger, and blow in the other. Only you should blow not like an ordinary tune, not like a ball, but as if in passing. This technique helps here: remember what the half-smile of the Mona Lisa looks like, try it on yourself, lean the free edge of the instrument against the lower lip in an upright position and blow.
• If everything is checked, the sound is what you need, it's time to connect the tubes in a row. If you do everything in the classical way, it will be difficult and take a lot of time. But there is no way out: all the tubes will have to be tied first in pairs, then together with the help of a thread. And the final fastening will be all the same reeds, only split in half. There is another mounting option - cold welding, you can try that too.
• In the finished tool, the lower holes should be closed. You can do this using ordinary plasticine, you can take the same cold welding. After the plugs are made, the instrument can be considered completely finished. But if you want full compliance with the aesthetics, the tubes can be varnished.

Yes, the process is not the easiest, but still real to do. It is very important to really clean the tubes from the inside with high quality, making their walls smooth. This is the only way to hear how the instrument sounds and make it fit for music.

Pan's flute has its own timbre, which is easy for a musician, even a beginner, to identify. It has its own characteristics that should be studied at the very first lesson of training.

What is the difference between panflute:

• a standard instrument is 3 octaves, which can be learned to work in about a year;
• the timbre has an even change over the entire range;
• dynamics on one sound, since there are no whistles on the instrument (there are also samples with them, but extremely rarely);
• several resonators are used in a panflute, therefore dynamic nuances are widely available;
• you can play with timbres, but only in the soprano range;
• it is a loud instrument, it almost never needs to mute;
• it is easy to learn musical notation on it - that is, mastering the game with the help of a self-instruction manual is really real and not so difficult.

And now about how to practically master this musical instrument.

Here are the basic rules.

1. You need to get up or sit down, your back is straight, but relaxed.
2. Hold the tool with both hands. The long side should be in your right hand - like a squeeze. The tool should be vertical, parallel to the body. Hold the short side with your left hand.
3. Hands must be relaxed, this is the only way you can easily move the flute back and forth and blow into the pipes.
4. This is followed by the formation of the correct ear cushion, that is, the positioning of the lips and mouth, which will help control the air flow. First you need to make a smile, and then compress your lips a little, there should be a small hole between them.
5. The flute is positioned against the lower lip, air is directed into the tube according to the "blow into the bottle" principle. For the difference in sound, you need to pronounce different letters, the basic playing position is "T", but "P", "B", "D" are also used.
6. The pan flute should be played with altered notes. You can do it like this: pull your jaw back, pull your chin back, directing air into one of the tubes.
7. You can play tremolo, play staccato notes, play vibrato, or even chat your tongue as you play to create a trill sound.

After playing, the inside of the tubes is wiped with a soft, damp cloth for cleaning. The dried instrument can be sent in a case. The flute should be stored in a case with a clasp. If a crack appears in the tube, it must be repaired quickly as it affects the sound quality.

Enjoy playing music!

The sound of Pan's flute is in the next video.