| 5 MOST RECENT ENTRIES: |
| 5/13/08: Another picture-- shakuflutchi!
5/12/08: Moving right along 5/8/08: Auction news 5/6/08: Mac, shakuflutchi and Anasazi 5/5/08: Bad news and good news |
| Site Journal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Here at romyb.comHowdy, and welcome to the site. As has been the case for the past two years, the site's most active day-to-day component is the blog/journal beginning just below. Note that although I'm in the business of making and selling bamboo flutes and other wind instruments, there is no price list. Every piece is one-of-a-kind with no standardization of offerings, since I'm more interested in bamboo instruments' uniquely organic, individualistic character. The goal is to fashion each piece into its own optimal instrument, so it's nice not to be pressured by a regular "line" of products. Although I'm willing to make flutes in specific keys or styles when possible, ideally prospective customers will have some flexibility, and in that case we can work with the best available material at a given time. Please do inquire about possible commissions or available completed instruments if you're interested, and thanks for visiting! About the blog/journal below: blogwriting is odd, in that it's a sort of backwards mentality. For a new reader, starting with the most recent entries is akin to reading a book from its last page, in reverse. There's a lot of relevant musical and flute information and pictures in the journal, most of which is buried here and there in the archives. We probably should excavate the archives and get them catalogued and referenced so that useful information--as opposed to silly, self-indulgent role-playing and rants--can be more readily located. Anyway, much of this site's less ancient (non-blog) material is in the information >> instruction category above, including a tablature system specifically designed to work with my minor-scale flutes; this tablature scheme will eventually be expanded to cover other types/scales of flute. The "introduction to bamboo flutes" subsection mainly covers matters of sound production and tonal refinement. Feedback on anything here is welcome; this site is destined to be an ongoing work in progress, and interaction will be helpful in its development. Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your tour! One more thing: When sending an email, indicate clearly in your subject box that it's a pertinent message: about music, instruments, adoration, or whatnot. I get much mindless spam, and am very deft with the "delete" button! If you scroll down from here, the rabbit hole is thataway...
May 13, 2008
OK, here's a shot of the first completed shakuflutchi:  This one is in B minor. I find that a slightly concave lip plate enhances this concept, since it enables the lower lip to smoothly glide forward or back to cover more or less of the hole. As on an endblown shakuhachi, pitch is thus very flexible due to the large opening. This one is in B minor with seven fingerholes plus a tiny eighth hole for the right-hand pinkie. The extra hole produces a slightly muffled minor second (half-step up from the fundamental). Some very shakuhachi-like effects are readily produced by using this eighth hole to advantage, but the extra hole can also be corked and ignored by players who find it awkward to reach. Optional plugging cork included in eventual sale. More pics illustrating this in a day or two, and there's another one already posted in the Gallery. Also, audio samples in an eon or two. Fun! I can hardly wait to make more of these and will soon experiment with even more radical enlargements of the blowhole. --r.
May 12, 2008
The very first New Generation Shakufluchi is completed! Pictures coming up sometime in the next few hours or days. What was I thinking, tackling a second garden two miles from the Shack? It's gonna be a horticulturally high-maintenance summer, that's for sure. Anyway, will add to this entry a bit later tonight. Off to mow the Shack grass now while twilight remains... *groan* --r.
May 8, 2008
I've been conspiring with a customer to buy this flute on eBay; the auction ends in about two hours at this writing, and bidding has surpassed $300.00 so far: PO_Flute (Someone else's crappy picture) We were planning to pay whatever it took to win the flute, up to $800.00 or so. However, last night I remembered that a dedicated customer of mine also owned several flutes by this maker, and sent a note asking whether he'd be able to loan them to me for analysis and evaluation. Fortunately, he replied this morning saying that he'd be glad to send a few of the best ones and that I shouldn't, um, "waste money" bidding on that eBay flute. Much, much more on this soon-- it's the topic we mentioned earlier that's poised to yield several thousand words in the near future. --rb
May 6, 2008
Sure enough, the entry just below did end up getting triple-posted for a while. It's a little strange switching back and forth between Macs and PCs, which I do quite frequently these days. The Mac in particular seems to have periodic fits when it does completely inscrutable and puzzling things, only to reverse course and respond entirely differently to routine commands on the next day. But perhaps that's merely a consequence of my longer experience on PCs... it's probably good to maintain at least a degree of ambidextrousness between the two platforms. I know we've talked about those blasted utaguchis far too much recently, but after making a dozen or so of them I'm finally tackling the true "shakufluchi" concept as described on January 10th-- that is, an utaguchi-bearing flute with a considerably oversize blowhole to facilitate extreme pitch-bending as on a Japanese shakuhachi. Should have some early results this afternoon, so a report will appear this week! Another new thing I've been messing with is the so-called Anasazi flute. This is an end-blown flute with its mouthpiece cut in a style somewhat similar to both the shakuhachi and to oblique flutes such as the nay and the kaval, but somewhere in between-- although its embouchure technique is probably more similar to that of the shakuhachi. These flutes are based on archaeological finds from the American Southwest, and I became aware of them only two or three weeks ago. Fairly difficult to play, but quite interesting and very unique, so we'll get to more on that subject soon. I've made one so far, in G# as described in the foregoing link. For me, this size/key pushes the boundary of playability in terms of arm and hand position, but other that that it responds amazingly well; I'll be making more of these in somewhat smaller keys soon. But or now, we're off to work on that shakuflutchi.... --r.
May 5, 2008
Where does the time go? This week I was supposed to churn out several thousand words about someone else's eBay auction, as was cited and linked a couple of entries down. We'll have to play a serious game of catchup to reach that goal, but who knows-- it may yet happen. For now, it's 9:30 PM and I'm tired out by the demands of Spring, which has finally arrived for real in the Pacific Northwest. Were two separate veggie gardens too much to tackle after all? Well, we'll see... Not to mention that my land-dude at the studio just sprang a 120% rent increase-- what timing, given current macro-economic trends! The upshot is that we'll be forced to downsize radically: I currently rent two different rooms in the building, one about twice the size of the other. The smaller room is devoted to nitty-gritty flute work such as drilling, sawing, sanding, etc., while the larger one is for photography, customer reception, and overflow storage. Since the nitty-gritty grinding room takes priority and I can't afford both at the newly outrageous rates, we'll be forced to give up the larger room-- which merely entails moving about 75% of my 15-year accumulation of Stuff out of the building by the end of May. Besides the trauma of such a massive reorganization, probably the worst aspect of this new reality is the loss of a dedicated photography area-- a big problem, since imagery is so important to this (har) business model. Well, we'll figure it out! You may soon see new flute photos with a background of '70s shag carpet, mossy, dandelion-infested backyards, grimy alleyways, kitchen cabinets or-- ? Come to think of it, that'd bring us more in line with typical bamboo-flute photos featured on the internet. The playing field is being leveled! But hey: there's supposed to be some good news in this entry too. Hmmmm... got it: the good news is that Change is Good, and surely such upheaval will lead to a long-overdue systemic tweaking of this site's overall structure and presentation, including new audio and video! Riiiiighhht. After all, we'll have to do something to compensate for those shag-carpet-backed flute photos. --r.
Posted by Romy
10:12 PM PST
May 1, 2008
As was described and pictured in a couple of earlier entries, the shakuhachi-style utaguchi blowing edge idea has been hot around here of late, but let's not let it get out of control! A recent correspondent who plans to attend the Oregon Country Fair in July and purchase a flute at that time was asking about utaguchis, indicating a strong interest in the idea. Since he wants to survey a sizable selection of flutes at the Fair and pick what most attracts him, my advice was as follows: So far, those utaguchi flutes have been more impressive than I'd expected-- it really does seem to give them a distinctive tonal bite. Not sure whether the intonation is more stable, but some might find that to be the case since the blowing edge is so sharply defined... having said that, I suggest that you NOT decide in advance that you necessarily want an utaguchi model. That feature in itself won't guarantee an infallibly superior instrument, so if you were thinking in those terms you might miss out on something more personally fulfilling without an utaguchi-- especially since the majority of my instruments don't have one-- I'm not going to start adding an utaguchi to every single flute! It's one thing to decide you want an utaguchi flute and order it outright, and of course I'll do my best to make it an outstanding instrument. But if you're planning to meet me in person and choose from the largest possible array of flutes, it's probably best to keep an open mind and not rule out the non-utaguchi models-- one of those might very well be your best match. Just a thought... hey, here's the newest flute off the conveyer belt. It's an E soprano about 21 inches long; historically this has been my bestselling key, especially in the old craft-show days. It's a big enough size to have a nice warm tone, but still small enough to be managable for most people. Need to get back to making more of these: ESop-Rack --rb
Posted by Romy
05:24 PM PST
April 30, 2008
I proudly announced a couple of entries down that our wireless problems had been resolved via the purchase of a USB wireless thingamajig for the malfunctioning laptop. Unfortunately, this newfangled doohickey apparently has less torque, horsepower, RPMs or whatever than the now-defunct original laptop wireless card. Consequently, we're still unable to parasitize the local cafe's wireless network while sitting in the studio, and blog updates have suffered accordingly. I may have to throw in the towel, go over there and actually buy coffee in order to connect from now on... still adjusting to that cruel reality. Update tomorrow... --r.
Posted by Romy
11:22 PM PST
April 29, 2008
I just entered an eBay bid for a bamboo flute by another maker. We should all follow this auction, since it'll provide fodder for several thousand words of commentary over the next week or so, and that's a Good Thing for this blog-- remember those distant days when we averaged about 5,000 words a month? *Sigh* --rb
April 27, 2008
Yes, I'm still alive... been preoccupied with lotsa other seasonal stuff, but we'll get back to the blog this week. Can you believe it's almost May? Arrrghhh, too much to do! --r.
April 16, 2008
Whew-- finally resolved the laptop's wifi dysfunction. Not that we actually got the thing fixed-- I just went out and bought an external USB wireless thingamajig. Now that that's finally done, perhaps we'll be somewhat more regular with, like, adding stuff such as this photo:  Couldn't resist a before/after treatment of this one, since the transformation is so vast. But since I've already frittered away a couple of hours tinkering with the wifi thingy and readying that photo, it's time to sign off for now and go do some blue-collar flute work. --r.
Posted by Romy
11:37 AM PST
April 14, 2008
Sorry to have been so out of touch lately! Vernal grippe seized me a couple of weeks ago, and the resultant frenzy of gardening and related activities relegated this site to sad neglect. We do have a new gallery picture of the utaguchi-in-project shot that was posted recently... it's the second shot from the end on this page. [Gallery updated with still-newer photos, 3/16] Today I slew a mole in our new community garden space, currently pictured near the end of the gallery page linked above. Yep, it was time to move to a place in the sun, so to speak: the Swamp Shack gets half-sun at best and is in a very cool microclimate, so it was time to secure a warmer, brighter space in which to coax heat-loving veggies such as tomatoes and peppers to their full potential. The new plot is just a couple miles up the road from the Shack-- so I'm looking forward to maintaining two fairly ambitious gardens this summer *urk* Have you ever tried to trap a mole? Have I written about that before? I'm telling you, it's getting harder year by year to limit the redundancy: one of my worst fears is of aging into a benignly geezy character who tells the same stories over and over, to eye-rolling effect. But them moles is wily, by cracky! Between accounts of the mole trapline and the two gardens, we hope to post occasional updates on flutes as well. More on that within 48 hours. --r.
April 8, 2008
The current groundswell of cult-like support for the frightening Barack Hussein O-BoogaBama must be quashed, and he must be utterly defeated! Why, you may ask? Well, it's because if he were elected he'd be the first sitting president who's younger than I am. Not ready for that yet, as I'm sure you'll understand. We've temporarily suspended our normal rule against politically oriented postings in order to bring this important issue to your attention. We're still pulling for Mike Gravel, since American politics badly needs a bracing dose of overt surrealism. (Link to video) [This entry may be deleted soon if cooler and more sober heads prevail.] --r.
April 5, 2008
We've had another slow stretch here for the last week-plus, but I have my laptop to blame. It's a 18-month old HP Pavilion dv6000, and the wireless card conked out. A little web research revealed that this model is notorious for losing its wifi-- now you tell me. It's amazing how much less time I spend online without wifi capability; it had become so routine that I now feel practically helpless without it. No longer can I sit at the studio and parasitize the cafe across the street... come to think of it, this may actually be good for productivity. Here's a shot of the newest flute in the works. Yep, we've been making good progress in the flute department. About time those winter production doldrums were vanquished! Anyway, more flute updates soon. --r.
Posted by Romy
12:37 PM PST
March 27, 2008
[April 8th: comments closed due to extremely persistent and annoying Cialis spam.] Well, I did it: put up an eBay listing for a bass flute, which runs for three more days. Decided to try something I haven't done in a long time, and started the auction at a laughably cheap price just to spur some action. That can be a risky strategy if the right people don't happen to see the listing, so I figured it'd be prudent to get the word out, hence this paragraph. I suppose I could get an accomplice to "buy" the flute if it's in danger of selling for way too little... surely eBay would approve of that innocent strategy! Anyway, it's over there until Sunday evening. Why bother with a link? It's easily located if you're inclined to do so. I'm trying to plug away on flute production and slowly build up an inventory for the one major show of the year, coming in July. The plan is to NOT suffer through a mad, frenzied rush over the last couple of pre-show weeks, as has been my historical pattern-- that way I could theoretically begin the event in a relaxed state. What a concept! Hope it works. What this means is that there'll be quite a few ready-made flutes available over the next few months, since I can't just hoard all of them for the show. In fact, as of now we have several, and just off the top of my head there are an F major and a D major, as well as minor-key flutes in C, C#, A alto, and a few others I'm not remembering. We'll try to keep a running tally while the inventory grows, and as usual inquiries are welcome. --r.
Posted by Romy
02:24 PM PST
March 25, 2008
 I visited the local Audubon Society shelter this morning to check out the new turkey vulture in residence, but the vulture was temporarily out of public sight, being prepared for a medical checkup. However, a great horned owl was sitting in the outdoor cage and this shot sprang to mind. It's a play on the LOLCAT internet phenomenon; I added digital bricks to the background and there you go... The birds permanently displayed at this shelter have various injuries which prevent their being re-released into the wild; I'm not sure whether this owl is destined to stay indefinitely, but his current confinement inspired the prison metaphor. He did seem rather content and well-fed for the moment and uncorked a few resonant hoots. --r.
Posted by Romy
08:46 PM PST
March 23, 2008
Since completing that first flute with an utaguchi a few weeks ago I've been rather obsessed with the concept. Just finished two others: a six-hole A-minor alto and a seven-hole D major. The A alto has an acrylic utaguchi, but on the D major I tried something different:  The utaguchi on this one is made of reportedly-sustainable gemsbok horn from a Botswana game park. Horn is one of the original materials used by the Japanese for shakuhachi utaguchi before the advent of synthetics, so it was fun to succeed in this first horn-utilizing attempt. Yep, it's an exceptional flute-- perhaps even the "best" D major I've ever made! As for the seven holes, in addition to the typical six topside holes of a major-key flute this one has an added thumbhole for the minor seventh. It's a nice addition, and makes playing in the key of G major a snap, among other advantages. In fact it's long been my opinion that just about any simple (keyless) flute should have at least one thumbhole, which is just as advantageous on a major-key flute as it is on a minor. So, anyone interested in checking this one out? --r.
March 17, 2008
Today's St. Patrick's Day, and I barely remembered to throw on the green sweater before dashing out the door this morning. I've complained about this before, but it still drives me absolutely barmy to see businesses advertising their "St. Patty's Day" parties. You may call it St. Paddy's Day, and if you insist, you may even call it St. Pat's Day. However: you must never, ever write it as St. Patty's Day! This point is simply not subject to debate, and next year I'm organizing a boycott of any businesses in town that ignorantly use the wrong spelling in their publicity materials. "Patty" = Patricia Paddy = Pádraig, which is of course the original Irish name-- Anglicized as "Patrick." By the way, I just saw this headline, which made me laugh out loud. OK, I'm off now to finish a D Major flute in honor of St. Paddy. Better get the project close to completion before cracking that first Guinness, if you know what I mean... (A few hours later) OK, that D major turned out so well I can hardly believe it! Perhaps the spirit of St. Paddy teamed up with St. Pan to inspire an especially remarkable flute... so let the Guinness flow! --r.
March 13, 2008
It's been pretty quiet around the site for over a week. Must have been the weather: we've had a pleasant stretch of mostly-dry, springlike weather that's kept me occupied with other stuff, such as moving the annual huge pile of topsoil into the backyard via wheelbarrow. I'm also working on a stretch of bamboo fence, an exciting project: it's gonna look totally kewl and will nicely frame the backyard bamboo grove, which is poised to really take off this year. Will post fence pics when that's finished, although it may take several more weeks; it's likely that I'll have to visit Seattle in order to procure the large Moso bamboo poles we'll need for the dramatic, ten-foot-high entry gate. It'll somewhat resemble those traditional ranch gates, but be more Eastern-looking. Need to sell a few flutes soon too-- still haven't settled all the bills for March. What a job! Fiddling with bamboo while creditors fume... Back later today or tomorrow; it's supposed to be rainy. --r.
March 3, 2008
We have a rare C major flute on hand at the moment. As you may know, I make very few major scale flutes in general, and when I do D is usually the largest major size/key produced. The holes on a major-scale flute are considerably farther apart than those on a minor flute -- especially for the left hand -- and even a D can be quite challenging or indeed impossible for some people to play. There are ways around this to some extent, and many bamboo flutemakers make radical acoustical compromises in order to bring the holes within reach. A huge bore combined with big differences in hole size (that is, making some holes much larger than others in order to shuffle their relative positions and bring them closer together) is a commonly seen tactic. I refuse to stoop to that, preferring to stick with a smaller bore and moderate differences in hole size. This results in a brighter, more penetrating tone, better range and response throughout two octaves and beyond, and more balanced timbre and volume from note to note. Don't coddle the player-- make the flute play better, and if you can't reach the holes, tough luck! Get a smaller flute in that case. Anyway, I made the currently available C major on special order-- and sure enough it came back as being too difficult to play. I'm 5'-10", and although my hands and fingers are about average in span, long experience at covering the holes in all sorts of flute configurations is a big help: that is, a person with hands of the same size but no bamboo-flute experience would likely find it extremely "difficult" to cover holes that are no problem at all for me. You have to get those ligaments loosened up and the fingers trained, folks. Having said that, C major is my personal comfort limit: it wouldn't be practical to play anything bigger. In fact, I've probably made only three or four C major flutes in the past twenty years! So, if you're an NBA center or an experienced bamboo flute player who's at least five-ten or so, we have a C major for you. It'll probably go on eBay later this week if nobody speaks up to claim it sooner. Nice flute, too. [SOLD as of 3/7 or thereabouts.] --r.
February 29, 2008
What did you do on Leap Day four years ago? Darned if I can remember what happened on Feb. 29, 2004; will have to look in the Archives and see if there's anything there. Congrats to anyone out there who was born on this day-- I saw a human-interest profile in the local paper this morning about several such people, and one of them mentioned a perk that had never occurred to me: you know those restaurants that offer a free meal on your birthday? In three out of every four years, leap-year babies can claim two such freebies merely by visiting different restaurants on Feb. 28th and March 1st. How could they justifiably refuse service on either day? It's almost hot for the last day of February here in Portland, OR: mostly sunny and pushing 60 Fahrenheit. The daffodils have begun to bloom, so we'll get the annual daffodil photo up soon. See ya then! --r. |
