where should i put the holes on a recorder?

September 27, 2007 5:04 PM

how can i figure out where i should place the holes and how large they should be on a bamboo recorder i am making?

i am trying to make a bamboo recorder, and i have done everything up to the point of placing the holes in the correct spot. the recorder plays an "e" right now and is 25 cm long. the bore is 2 centimeters in diameter. can anyone tell me how i could figure out where and how large the holes should be? is there some sort of equation?
i have visited this site http://www.webspirit.com/fluteman/book/simple_bamboo_recorder.htm
but my recorder does not have the right dimensions for the diagram there.

posted by KaeporaGaebora to media & arts (6 comments total)

Have you seen these directions? And this page lays it all out in pretty good detail too, or so it seems to me. $29.95 for an ebook? Wow.
posted by iconomy at 5:11 PM on September 27, 2007

thanks a lot, i think i can use that to figure out where it should be!
posted by KaeporaGaebora at 5:53 PM on September 27, 2007

You have to be careful to distinguish between a flute and a recorder. A flute is "open" on both ends, so the physics are different from a recorder which is only "open" on one end.

To calculate the holes for a tinwhistle (like a recorder but without the thumbhole or right-hand pinkie holes) this is your best bet:

http://www.kingsmills.us/twcalc/twcalc.htm

You can probably start with this and make an educated guess on the missing holes. But you should probably be aware that there's a lot of "tweaking" to get a good design.

This page:

http://www.mimf.com/link.htm#flutes

has some recorder links, but I don't see off-hand anything that will calculate hole placement.
posted by srt19170 at 7:06 PM on September 27, 2007

Here's a pattern for a whistle made from PVC. You will have to scale the measurements to your own overall length. Read the rest of the page, too; it's wonderfully informative.

If you put a hole a little too high (making the note sharp) I believe you can correct it a bit by enlarging the hole.
posted by eritain at 10:03 PM on September 27, 2007

Hmm. Your guy's saying that enlarging makes the note sharper, in which case that's what you do if the hole is too low. I guess I better go ask a woodwind player tomorrow.
posted by eritain at 10:06 PM on September 27, 2007

This book teaches how to do it with a divider compass.
posted by hortense at 11:59 PM on September 27, 2007