Simple Flutes: A Guide to Flute Making and Playing, or How to Make and Play Great Homemade Musical Instruments for Children and All Ages from Bamboo, Wood, Clay, Metal, PVC Plastic, or Anything Else

Book Description

Simple flutes of bamboo, wood, metal, plastic, or clay can be a joy to play and make. This book gives you the basics of simple flute playing, then offers guidelines for making flutes of your own from a variety of materials. It even includes a handy chart for "where to put the holes." Simple Flutes is a must for simple flute players and makers!

Download Description

Also available in paperback!

Mark Shepard is the author of How to Love Your Flute: A Guide to Flutes and Flute Playing, featured in The Next Whole Earth Catalog and called by Paul Horn "a model for our times." He was a professional flutist and simple flutemaker for many years.

Reviews

"Contains the essence of a tremendous amount of experience." -- Sam Hinton, Sing Out

"An excellent overview for those interested in learning more about simple side-blown flutes." -- Monty Levenson, Tai Hei Shakuhachi

"A slim, elegantly presented, and highly practical guide to crafting simple flutes and making music with them. Flutes of bamboo, wood, clay, metal, and plastic are authoritatively discussed. Simple line drawings and easy-to-understand instructions enhance and round out this first-rate, 'user friendly' guide for anyone with a fondness toward simplicity in their own personal music." -- Midwest Book Review's The Bookwatch and Internet Bookwatch, Aug. 2002

"This thin volume contains a wealth of information." -- Linda Dailey Paulson, Dirty Linen, Oct.-Nov. 2002

Contents 1~Playing

The Sound
The Hands
The Notes
Second Octave
Sharps and Flats
Breath and Tonguing
Making Music
Flute Care

2~Making

Flute Qualities
The Flute Tube
The Mouthhole
The Fingerholes
Tuning
Stoppers
Finishes
Plastic
Bamboo
Wood
Clay
Metal
Other

Resources
Sample

Here are the two most important rules for tuning:

A hole will give a higher note if it is placed closer to the mouthhole. It will give a lower note if placed farther away.
A hole will give a higher note if made larger. It will give a lower note if smaller.

These rules mean you can "raise" a note by enlarging the hole or by placing the hole closer to the mouthhole. You can "lower" the note by using a smaller hole or by placing the hole farther from the mouthhole.

It also means you can change the hole size and its placement without changing the note. A larger hole could be placed farther from the mouthhole, or a smaller hole placed closer to the mouthhole.

Customer Reviews:

It's alright but more how to would be nice.......2007-09-10

Personally, I liked the book, but perhaps some more pictures on how to do things would be nice. For example, on how to make a wood flute it says a shell auger can be used to make a flute. Some step by step directions would be nice.

wonderful.......2007-07-29

this is a great book to give the BASICS of creating simple instruments such as flutes. its very short and gives some great base ideas for begainers. i do wish it was more detailed however it will have you making flutes quickly

Review of Simple Flutes by Mark Shepard.......2006-12-20

My interest in flutes began years ago by making several pan flutes from Bamboo and acrylic tubing. After a trip to Peru in 2004 I became interested in quenas...end blown Andean flutes. My ambitions then carried through to wanting to make transverse flutes. I have found the book Simple Flutes perfect for my initial foray into trans-flute making. I am impressed with the economy of words that conveyed much information. It is a good doorway to other references. The G flute described in this book was easy to build and works very well. More detailed data for other sizes would have been welcome. However, more ponderous book might discourage the neophyte into not carrying through with making one's first flute. Mark's book and instructions made it easy to be successful, which then whets the appetite to get more involved with flutes in other keys.
A great, simple to read handbook for someone starting in this fascinating hobby.

A source of joy.......2006-10-29

I have just started making flutes as a hobby, because I thought it would be interesting, and to knock out a few cheap Christmas presents for a myriad of nieces and nephews. I did not anticipate what a source of joy making flutes would be for its own sake. This book got me started and will remain the most senior of my teachers as long as I do this. What you do not find in its lines, you will find between them as you grow in the experience. I am sure there are many more advanced books out there, but they will be useless without the foundation that this book provides.

Basic stuff for makers, players & listeners.......2005-02-25

The book only contains about 35 pages of large type text, so don't expect much detail. The 5 or so pages on playing are really basic, only helpful to someone who knows absolutely zero about flute playing. The book only gives exact mathematical dimensions for making a pvc flute in G, which you can find at the author's website (www.markshep.com/flute). All other flute dimensions are given as 'about' & 'generally'. Nonetheless, the book provides a foundation for someone with a trained ear to be able to start making simple flutes, refining thier skills through trial & error. Overall the information in the book is more than worth the price. As a half hour read it is well worth reading by everyone interested in making, playing or listening to flutes. The knowledge gained versus the money & time invested ends up being a real bargain. The book also provides resources on where to go for more and more detailed information.

Creative music for children,: A plan of training based on the natural evolution of music, including the making and playing of instruments, dancing--singing--poetry,

Average customer rating:

Creative music for children,: A plan of training based on the natural evolution of music, including the making and playing of instruments, dancing--singing--poetry,
Satis N Coleman
Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Making and playing bamboo pipes
Margaret C Galloway
Manufacturer: Dryad Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

Making and Playing Musical Instruments
Jack Botermans , Herman Dewit , and Hans Goddefroy
Manufacturer: Univ of Washington Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0295969482

Average customer rating:

Making the Grade (Start Playing)

Manufacturer: Omnibus Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Craft and music: The making and playing of bamboo pipes and recorders
<flûte à bec>

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Craft and music: The making and playing of bamboo pipes and recorders
Irene Bennett
Manufacturer: The Dryad press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Making and playing classroom instruments

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Making and playing classroom instruments
Marcelle Vernazza
Manufacturer: Fearon Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

Making and Playing Musical Instruments
Afke Den & Margot De Zeeuw Boer
Manufacturer: Univeristy of Washington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VBAC5G

Average customer rating:

Making and Playing Musical Instruments
Jack Botermans Herman Dewit Hans Goddefroy Afke Den Boer
Manufacturer: Univ of Washington Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORLS5U

Book Description

What makes a sustainable house a sustainable home?

NEW SUSTAINABLE HOMES will address that question by presenting a wide range of projects where the architect and client have made a conscientious effort to incorporate sustainability into the design of the home and construction materials used in its execution. The result is a home that is less toxic to live in, is cheaper to operate, and often gives back to the environment rather than taking away. Also, and this is the most important consideration for many, it is a great looking, highly livable home that not only retains its value but has been shown to increase in value more quickly than more conventionally conceived houses because of cheaper operating expenses. These designers and their clients are not on the fringe.

NEW SUSTAINABLE HOMES will show readers will learn about the many materials and techniques that make up today's sustainable house, including:

1) the use of pervious concrete on driveways that allows water to seep through to the water table below.

2) using bio–fiber panels in lieu of plywood for interior finishing

3) using organic, green roofs that improve insulation, absorb sound and manage storm–water runoff

4) solar water heating systems

5) use of high thermal performance windows

6) photovoltaic electrical systems

Customer Reviews:

Not much technical information/resources.......2007-03-19

I purchased this book in hopes of finding some solid examples/information on sustainable/green systems for residential projects. With the exception of a couple of projects, the sustainable qualities of these homes are somewhat questionable. Do not expect much technical information.

Environment-Friendly Building.......2007-01-21

This is a great book for people who want to build unique, beautiful homes and, at the same time, avoid wasting or damaging our natural resources. It showcases ten different homes (inside and outside) in ten U.S. locations and is beautifully illustrated. It explains how each craftsman used only environment-friendly products.

Living Plans: New concepts for advanced housing

Average customer rating:

Living Plans: New concepts for advanced housing
Klaus-Peter Gast
Manufacturer: Birkhäuser Basel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Design & Construction | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 3764321849

Book Description

Over the past two decades international housing has undergone a radical transformation from standardised systems and well-defined styles to unconventional, individual solutions in which the floor plan and spatial concept have assumed a key defining role and influence on the archtectonic design.

In Living Plans Klaus-Peter Gast introduces, classifies and analyses concepts, functions, strategies and solutions for a variety of types from classical single-family housing through luxury villas to high-density terraced or town houses and cost-optimised elementary apartment housing, addressing the issues of space economy and counteracting urban sprawl. 100 ground-breaking built examples, documented in numerous floor plans and drawings produced exclusively for this book, make Living Plans an indispensable reference work on modern housing.

Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living

Average customer rating:

Eye-candy -- but also brain-candy
Examples of Truly Innovative Design
Stunning spaces!

Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living
Michiko Rico Nose
Manufacturer: Periplus Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decoration & Ornament | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 079460398X

Book Description

Japan has always intrigued the world with its deceptively simple blending of architecture, landscape and design. Zen temples, the famous tea ceremony, formal gardens, the use of wood, paper and other materials in the form of screens and floors all have evolved over the years to create a varied, yet indisputably unique style. Of the 40 homes profiled in this book, each home represents in its own way the changing face of Japanese interior design and architecture.

Customer Reviews:

Eye-candy -- but also brain-candy.......2006-01-31

I've long been interested in the Japanese approach to design of all sorts, but especially architecture. Coming from a much different tradition, the solutions to problems and needs for shelter are often very different than those arrived at by architects with Euro-American tastes and training. Some of the examples depicted so beautifully and discussed so shrewdly in this volume are rooted strongly in Japan's history, such as an old farmhouse relocated to Tokyo and fitted into an urban neighborhood. Others are playful, like the house with a lawn on the peaked roof, watered by a sprinkler system on the ridgepole, and with the courtyard floored in clay roof tiles. There's a two-story "miniature" house with a footprint not much larger than two parking spaces, but which still manages to be a very comfortable environment for actually living in. And, naturally, there are structures *so* experimental, you might not realize they were houses if you weren't told. There are homes in this collection I would love to live in, and others that would probably give me nightmares, but all of them are fascinating.

Examples of Truly Innovative Design.......2004-04-24

This book provides total eye candy for design enthusiasts. Not your typical formulaic shoji screen stuff. Very original solutions to design problems from a Japanese perspective. I find it very inspiring and look at it all the time.

Stunning spaces!.......2002-02-08

This book is filled with page after page of stunning rooms and living spaces in Japan. A must for anyone who believes all Japanese live in cramped, dark, unattractive homes. An excellent conversation starter and coffee table book.

Weekend Utopia: Modern Living in the Hamptons

Average customer rating:

Warmed Me Up on Winter Weekend
Historical Monograph
Don't let the cover mislead you
Don't shoot the messenger
An interesting if sad look back

Weekend Utopia: Modern Living in the Hamptons
Alastair Gordon
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Home & Garden | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1568982720

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

The beach house was "the sonnet form of American architecture," writes Alastair Gordon. "This was where the revolution began." In his gracefully written, stunningly illustrated book, he shows how the evolution of summer housing on the once-rural eastern end of Long Island, New York, heralded key developments in architecture.

By the late 1920s, the sprawling Southampton mansions of Stanford White and others were passé. The new style was a modernist box, raised up on supporting columns for protection and a better view, with a sun deck and floor-to-ceiling windows. (See Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis or Palm Springs Modern: Houses in the California Desert for a West Coast version of modernist vacation home design.)

After World War II, the Hamptons became a favorite destination of New York artists, architects, and writers, who ushered in a period of fanciful experimentation. Then came the deluge. Gordon's own family, who bought their prefab beach home in the '50s, was part of a trend celebrated by Life magazine in 1959, the year Nixon and Khrushchev held their Kitchen Debate at a Leisurama house.

Gordon vividly describes the innovations of the '50s and '60s, from the stunningly pure Blake House (two square, ground-hugging sections with a central breezeway framing the ocean view) to the proud verticals of the Gwathmey House, clad in vertical cedar siding approximating the look of carved concrete. In the '70s, as ocean-view lots became scarce, some architects ignored the natural setting, creating imposing sculptural statements craning to isolate an elusive view. Others, including Robert Venturi and Jack Lenore Larsen, gave vernacular styles a postmodern twist.

Rightly decrying the neotraditional behemoths built in the '80s to satisfy the insecurities of the megarich, Gordon takes the long view. Each wave of newcomers remade this flat land in their own image, yet "something about it resists change." --Cathy Curtis

Book Description

The Hamptons, New York's fashionable summer beach resorts, are well known as weekend havens for city-dwellers who relish their idyllic setting on the Atlantic shore. Once quiet agricultural land, Eastern Long Island first became popular among artists, architects, writers, and society patrons in the 1920s, when it served as a breeding ground for modernism. From the avant-garde influence of luminaries like Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, and Willem de Kooning, to the high modernism of Le Corbusier, Philip Johnson, and Richard Meier, new ideas about art, architecture, and modern living transformed the Hamptons and ultimately made it the destination of choice for those seeking respite from the battles of Wall Street and Madison Avenue. In Weekend Utopia Alastair Gordon traces this fascinating and complicated trajectory, both in architectural terms-looking at modest beach houses and modern mansions alike-and in the life stories of the world-famous artists and designers, whose influence is felt on "The Island" even today. Over 175 photographs and illustrations detail the architecture, interiors, and nuances of these beautiful weekend homes, and provide an intimate portrait of the people who inhabit them. This engrossing book combines architectural history with a broad social perspective and paints a comprehensive picture of an area that in many ways shaped modern American culture.

Customer Reviews:

Warmed Me Up on Winter Weekend.......2002-02-24

Finally got the chance to sit and read Gordon's excellent text in Weekend Utopia. The book goes way beyond an illustrated coffee book. Gordon manages to weave together stories about the characters who shaped the place (like developer Carl Fisher who created Montauk to be the "Miami Beach of the North")with stories about the flamboyant architecture, post-war artists like Pollock and Motherwell and his own personal memories as a boy spending summers there. While the book has a large format with hundreds of illustrations it is most readable and explains so much about how a rural American landscape was transformed into a resort for show-offs. I loved it and can't comprehend what reviewers from Hong Kong and the Netherlands were talking about. It is neither trying to be a professional book on architecture nor a cheap gossip book about pseudo-celebrities. It is an intelligent cultural history that also happens to be well designed and illustrated. It warmed my soul on a chilly winter weekend and made me want to go to the beach as soon as possible.

Historical Monograph.......2001-10-11

Wonderfully written and researched. Architecturally lacking photographs, drawings, or any substance for inspiration or idea generation. Cover and size of book suggests more pictorial content, but fails to deliver.

Don't let the cover mislead you.......2001-08-15

When i saw the cover of this book i thought this would be a great book. I wanted to find pictures of beautiful decorated houses,nice gardens and offcourse the habitants of the mansions. Well, that's not quite what's inside this book. For the most only pictures of houses taken in the 50's and 60's and a lot of text!! I want pictures of Aerin Lauder and the Miller sisters!!

Don't shoot the messenger.......2001-07-05

I'm a bit mystified by the comments below that seem to implicate this book and its author in what the Hamptons have become. To the contrary, Weekend Utopia celebrates happier days pre-mega mansions: when culture and architecture and some fascinating characters created some truly exceptional houses, most of them modest in scale. In fact, today's Hamptons home-builders could learn a lesson or two from this book (like small can be very beautiful), and stop the further despoilment of what the Hamptons used to be: something Weekend Utopia shows with great clarity and style. This wonderful book is certainly no apologia for the mess that awaits you at the end of I-495...

An interesting if sad look back.......2001-06-28

I agree with the reviewer who said that the Hamptons were ruined long ago -- by the very succession of waves of development that this book touts. I do love looking at some of the quality design of the past that this book shows, but the new reality is overbuilding and, even worse, tasteless building. The feeling of getting away to a charming, easy-going, and low-key place with rural roots is gone forever in the Hamptons. We left because of the continuing intrusion of the nouveau riche who are more interested in showing off than in quietly relaxing-----peoplewho have now made the Hamptons a decidedly UNCOOL place to be.

The New Moderns: Architecture and Design for Living

Average customer rating:

Room for improvement

The New Moderns: Architecture and Design for Living
Jonathan Glancey , and Richard Bryant
Manufacturer: Soma Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Style | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1579590365

Customer Reviews:

Room for improvement.......2000-04-16

Various aspects of contemporary living are discussed here such as the mastery of space & light; functionalism of kitchen & bathroom; the usage of stair as a piece of art, decorative tool & as a functional equipment to get people from one place to the other; the significance of furniture & fitting; the usage of colour & texture rather than resorting to white colour all the time (the book even went into such a trouble of elaborating to the readers why white is still rendered as the timeless colour in a modern living setting); modern house as a gallery & how it's transformed into a jewel piece in the nite time; how to blend past with the present; outdoor assimilating with indoor. I would not categorise this book as a must have in understanding the concept of modern living but it's indeed a valuable book to reinforce our view of what modern living is all about. The authors could have used MORE examples of prominent architects from diverse background & cultures but more emphasis is put upon modern living in England, USA, & Japan. In other words, when discussing modern living, we should discuss it in context of its universal appeal which this book fails to address. Many quality pictures are included in this offering but I couldn't help noticing the pictures are taken from the same setting but simply from different angles, something like selling sizzles but no steak. Otherwise, this is a user friendly reading book to have especially on a cold & wet nite. Some readers might find the directory of architects, shops, galleries, & suppliers at the end of the book handy for their usage though.

The colonial house then and now: A picture study of the early American house adapted to modern living

Average customer rating:

Underwood-A true American artist.

The colonial house then and now: A picture study of the early American house adapted to modern living
Francis H Underwood
Manufacturer: C. E. Tuttle Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Underwood-A true American artist........2001-02-26

This is a wonderful and beautiful book. It not only depicts Underwood's creations, but also traces the various forms of colonial homes in America.

Underwood was very meticulous about his art, and the book illustrates the depth of care he took with "his" homes. It is well known that he would revisit (and change if necessary) his homes year after year, making sure they still looked as perfect as the day he created them.

Product Description

Oversize hardcover written in Engish and Swedish. Volume has many color photos of swedish architecture.

Contemporary Decorating: New Looks for Modern Living

Average customer rating:

Disappointingly dated
Part of my favorite collection
Simply one of the best authors on the subject.
One of my favorite decorating books

Contemporary Decorating: New Looks for Modern Living
Elizabeth Wilhide , and Joanna Copestick
Manufacturer: Soma Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Style | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1579590098

Book Description

This useful book explains how to create a refreshing alternative to outdated period styles and countrified nostalgia. Much more than stark white walls and minimalist decoration, it is about interiors rich with color, texture, and smooth, clean lines. Focusing on the home's principal elements — walls, floors, windows and doors, furniture, storage, and display — Contemporary Decorating offers 14 projects that sample such possibilities as glass brick walls, concrete floors, and metal doors. 200 color photographs are featured.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointingly dated.......2003-04-15

What a disappointingly dated book. i am amazed that amazon is selling this. Had i realized it was this old, I would not have bought it.

Part of my favorite collection.......2000-10-26

A book I turn to for ideas again and again, Contemporary Decorating is a gem. This is truly a classic in this genre. As for Elizabeth Wilhide, I own several of her books. You will not be dissapointed!

Simply one of the best authors on the subject........2000-03-17

Ms. Wilhide has written yet another wonderful book on contemporary decor. Her style is eloquent, simple and beautifully stated. The photography is wonderful and the items pictured are not beyond the reach of the average person. I came away with a much broader knowledge on the topic, full of ideas, and very importantly-how to put it together. If you enjoyed this book, I would suggest Ms. Wilhide's "Lighting: A Design Sourcebook". My next purchase from Amazon will surely be a book by or co-authored by this author!

One of my favorite decorating books.......2000-03-03

This is one of the better coffee table decorating books I own. The photos are superb and the book gives in depth descriptions of material choices for floorings, wall coverings, and windows. It is both a beautiful book and a useful reference.

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