A New Instrument... the Pianoflute! (Anyone want to make it?)
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 9:47 am
What if there was a flute / whistle that could be played using a keyboard layout, and was chromatic?
I created the design for such an instrument - I call it the Pianoflute! - and I'm curious what you think of it, and whether any Maker would be interested in trying to make it.
Here's an overview of it:
The tube allows you to be perpendicular to the body of the flute, so that the keyboard can be in a traditional layout in front of you.
Here's a sideview of how the key / hammer action could work.
The spring tension would need to be balanced to be strong enough to cover the hole up quickly for fast note runs, yet also not be too strong such that it's difficult to press down.
For myself, I love the sound of wind instruments (but don't play any), and have a background playing piano. So I designed the Pianoflute for myself and many others out there with my background. I personally like that with it you can:
1. play in every key / mode / scale
2. can play very low notes + high notes (depending on how long you make the body)
3. you don’t have to learn special fingering patterns for it, you can play it as easily as you play a piano
Some challenges that I foresee would be:
1. The holes would be in slightly different places than a traditional flute, since it is made with a one key = one hole = one note. As far as I know, no other flute/whistle does this, due to humans being limited to 10 fingers. So some experimentation would be required to find proper placement.
2. It has more moving parts due to the keys. Fortunately they don't need to be too complex, just levers with springs and pads.
3. Getting the air hitting the fipple / hole correctly coming out of the tube to produce a clean tone.
What do you all think? Interesting? Would you play it? And, would anyone be up to the challenge of making it?
I created the design for such an instrument - I call it the Pianoflute! - and I'm curious what you think of it, and whether any Maker would be interested in trying to make it.
Here's an overview of it:
The tube allows you to be perpendicular to the body of the flute, so that the keyboard can be in a traditional layout in front of you.
Here's a sideview of how the key / hammer action could work.
The spring tension would need to be balanced to be strong enough to cover the hole up quickly for fast note runs, yet also not be too strong such that it's difficult to press down.
For myself, I love the sound of wind instruments (but don't play any), and have a background playing piano. So I designed the Pianoflute for myself and many others out there with my background. I personally like that with it you can:
1. play in every key / mode / scale
2. can play very low notes + high notes (depending on how long you make the body)
3. you don’t have to learn special fingering patterns for it, you can play it as easily as you play a piano
Some challenges that I foresee would be:
1. The holes would be in slightly different places than a traditional flute, since it is made with a one key = one hole = one note. As far as I know, no other flute/whistle does this, due to humans being limited to 10 fingers. So some experimentation would be required to find proper placement.
2. It has more moving parts due to the keys. Fortunately they don't need to be too complex, just levers with springs and pads.
3. Getting the air hitting the fipple / hole correctly coming out of the tube to produce a clean tone.
What do you all think? Interesting? Would you play it? And, would anyone be up to the challenge of making it?