Chiff and Fipple Forums

@ceolmochroi has just tweeted a few photos of Séamus as a sweet-looking little boy. He could be generous, but he had his character flaws.

Welcome. The angels will rejoice over your return to the fold.

Did I understand correctly that you're referring to the Jeff Barbe video? The website indicates that it's a bone flute, and that he's playing the original. The colour would appear to be due to ageing. As far as I know, "Charavines" is used loosely among non-archaeologists to refer to all t...

Thanks for the warning re authenticity, Yuri. I added the link as an afterthought just to illustrate how much music one can get with just three toneholes.

Caveat auditor!

Here's a clip I found while searching for more information on medieval bone whistles: http://www.apemutam.org/spip.php?article80 . The musician is a flute-maker specialising in "non-standard" instruments, and the clip is on a site dedicated to medieval instruments. The flute is side-blown ...

Updates and corrections. The ring was examined by the museum in Geneva but was returned to the owner. The inscription is on the inner surface, in "Gothic" script, but is in French: it says "vous me tiens" (spelling to be checked). The other noteworthy find of which I was unaware ...

I strayed into the post-structural pub and found this link to a podcast. viewtopic.php?f=10&t=100203

Cross-posting here for those that might have missed it.

Thanks for that link. Bitter-sweet, painful memories, but glad Catherine and Christopher Ennis were willing to let them be recorded and broadcast.

Dale has said it all far better than I could.

"Walden" always remained calm, kind and considerate, a worthy witness to his beliefs, always ready to help where he could.

Thanks, Pancelticpiper. Your comment reminds us about the need to avoid bringing too many preconceptions to the party. The fact that the whistle I described is not in a recognised pentatonic mode illustrates this, even though it is clearly a fipple flute and its notes are close to notes of the stand...

Thanks, Yuri. You're a mine of information.

The cousin has now arrived and I'll show him what we've learnt so far and see what additional information he may be able to add.

I can tell you from experience, Brian is a wonderful tutor. But sure you probably know that already.

Does that mean that the one I have is of medieval pattern or not? The fipple end is where the external dimensions of the bone are greater. The wall gets thinner as it flares out at that end, but seems to be of pretty much the same thickness from the window to the bell end. quite honestly, I was surp...

Thanks, Yuri. What you've given me has been most helpful, no need to hunt further. So far, all I have used is a ball of bread white which I rolled between my fingers to fashion a plug, as he showed it to me during a meal and that was the only material to hand. The bone appeared completely clean, onc...

Making a modern replica (German commentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW1N-qahBxc Interestingly, this is from Switzerland. Tools range from a hand-bowed drill to a Swiss army knife. The Benny Hill accelerations are deliberate. He uses a whittled wooden Clarke's-style plug, which he says shoul...