Getting started and other good advice, Fingering chart, playing style
The shepherd’s flute’s notes, how to approach it.
To find the notes on the flute, look carefully at the fingering chart. This is of course orientative, because everyone handles folk instruments in a unique way. Still, what’s important is to have the two octaves to start with. This will get you there.
The shepherd’s flute handles:
Shepherd’s flutes were not originally, or rarely, made to be played with instruments, but the ones I have made are tuned to 440 Hz, intonated to precisely tuned instruments, of course retaining the characteristic neutral tones (see: neutral third!) Flutes can start from a different root note, from there they play out a relative major scale, I took the root note as C and wrote my fingering chart based on that. This needs to be transposed to the appropriate model when playing with accompaniment.
Three different transpositions are distinguished. These are used without the octave shift key known on the classical flute. The overblows are the first three harmonics, i.e., the fundamental, octave and fifth. This creates a range of two and a half octaves.
This picture above is meant to show all the notes that the shepjerdflute, sheperd pipe, is capable of producing. However, remember that there is no single way of playing the pipe, or any other traditional instrument for that matter, given the fact that there is no academic consensus on how they should be played. Despite all this, this image is a good basis on top of which we can expand further.
As you can see, the image portrays three blowing forces, which correspond to the first three overtones in the harmonic series. The first level corresponds to the first octave, the second level to the second octave and the third level to the fifth above the second octave.
Important:
the firsd C of first octav is deeply intonate. 1-6
It is good to know that the C of the low octave is rarely used, only in very justified cases, because it is intoned low. Of course, there are times when it fits… I recommend the second octave “C” with the finger open at the top, but this is not sacred, but it does result in a safe transition between octaves and fifths (see “Harmonic playing mode”). Oh, and we’ve got a third that many musicians don’t know what to do with. This is the neutral third, which is a very important characteristic of the instrument. See “The Neutral Third”, but if you’re not a trained musician, don’t bother with that, just blow it.
Usualy we use the secound octavs C note whit octave fracture 1-5
In some situacion also you can undertake this note, do not worried about it …
As you can see, there is a shift between the lower and upper octave that needs to be practiced well. Village musicians have an interesting approach to this, they say that the second C is the middle of the flute. From here there is an octave up and down. If you think about it, try to master this concept and you will easily understand the movements on the instrument.
More details:
Message to classically-trained musicians:
For those who have played classical flute, this may be new because it is solved with a lower change key. Well, it’s just a matter of wind strength here. Anyway, the difference between the two octaves is minimal. Another unusual thing is that here the notes start a notch higher.
The shepherd pipe and the kaval are traditional instruments, and as such studying them should be approached in a very specific manner, which is to be followed especially by classically-trained musicians.
Here are some concepts that these musicians ought to be aware of:
- The shepherdflutes, shepherd pipes, are not chromatic instruments, and as such they are tuned to a specific key. Changing the key means changing the instrument.
- They can’t play halftones. There are some exceptions to this rule, but they are applicable in the context of different dialects of traditional music.
- The unicity of these instruments stands in the existence of some microtonal elements that can’t be found in western European classical music. These microtonal notes, namely the neutral third and the neutral seventh, that are similar to the American blue-note, are a characteristic of the traditional music of the Carpathian arch. Approaching these concepts takes precision and humbleness.
- Neutral third: The tuning of the shepherd’s flute is distinctive, we treat it as a major scale, but the third note is intoned two comas below, this is the neutral third. Likewise, the seventh note falls between the minor and the major in an optional way. The way of playing varies from dialect to dialect, some people help with intonation, a more advanced technique, and others create a distinctive sound. These are known in music theory as quarter tones and in jazz as blues tones. Musicians with a European ear call it falsetto for short, I don’t use it because I find it unprofessional.
- Back in the day the pipe and the kaval didn’t use to be tuned to the international standard frequency of 440-HZ, however pipe makers have started to tune to this frequency in order for the pipes to be usable in an orchestral ensemble. In order to properly intonate the musician needs to know the correct embouchure. These stylistic elements will be discussed in their respective sections.
Getting started and other good advice
When trying to master a folk instrument, always take a few things into consideration. Firstly, folk music is not made up of sounds, it is a specific musical language that our ancestors have been brought up on for generations, and have continually created and shaped this musical world. Not all the instrumentalists in the village are professionals, but they always play those few notes according to their musical world. And we have a responsibility to adopt it, even at beginner level, for authenticity…
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As a first step
When trying to learn a folk instrument, always take a few things into consideration. Firstly, folk music is not made up of sounds, it is a specific musical language that our ancestors have been raised on for generations, constantly creating and shaping this musical world. Not all the instrumentalists in the village are professionals, but they always play those few notes according to their musical world. And we have a responsibility to adopt it, even at beginner level, for authenticity…
Study the fingerings of the notes on the shepherd’s pipe, using the fingering charts provided. This is of course orientative, because everyone handles folk instruments in a unique way, you will never get two data contributors who use their instruments in exactly the same way. What is important to start with is the treatment of the two basic octaves. If you’re a very beginner, I recommend studying by ear and fingering some pentachord tunes you know: ‘I caught a mosquito'(Megfogtam egy szúnyogot), ‘My little kece girl’ (Kis kece lányom), ‘Hey peacock, hey peacock'(Hej páva, hej páva) (if nothing else, you may know it from Hobo…) then move on to tunes that span octaves!
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Step two
Learn a few stylistic elements, depending on how seriously you want to take the instrument and what you want to play. It is very important to break down styles by dialect, so at least get to know the flute dialects of the Carpathian Basin and its surroundings and their sounds, even if you don’t want to play them all!
In my teaching, I have always been very keen to tell you that you should never learn from sheet music to begin with! Continuing the lines in the introduction here, you must understand that you must play the instrument in a folk-music way. And this can be established by mastering the stylistic elements. And style cannot be copied, it must be adopted. There are many ways to do this, the best way is to experience “how the people play” on the spot if you have the opportunity, and with it the characteristic sound world will be engrained in your memory. This should be complemented by a lot of listening to the original recordings, especially if you have the occasion to do so. If not, you can get them. The important thing is that the music of the authentic recorders should be well ingrained in you.
Once you have the stylistic elements in you through a lot of listening and research, try to reproduce them technically and emotionally, so that you feel what you heard on the recordings. If you are a music reader, you can then slowly start to play the music, but it is important to always feel the style.
Step three
Decide at what intensity you want to continue, starting hard or easy and boring… Are you aiming for a professional level or for your family, campfires and close-knit groups? Or maybe you want to hang your shepherd’s flute on the wall?
Overtones on flute and other related instruments:
This is another approach that partially expands on and explains the above fingering chart in its entirety. In essence, you can also approach it as a blowing out of the overtones sounding on the held note. Compared to the two-octave system outlined above, this approach also explains the sounds to be sought above the second octave.
In essence, the overtones of a fundamental sound can be produced with different blowing strengths by the same finger hold. That is, I take a lower C and the next blow strength is the octave, then fifth, G, then fourth, C, third, E-flat, and the overtone sequence would continue, only here it is physically difficult to reach these notes. Starting from a similarly low D, D, D, A, D, F.
But for F and above, this harmonic progression stops quickly, mostly at the fifth. Even if possible, it is only theoretical, because it is no longer used in practice by the data reporters. Otherwise, playing with harmonics is largely theoretical, but from this it is understandable to deduce some of the playing techniques actually used. Thus, the use of fifthshift and octave-shift playing, and some related instruments such as the kaval and tilinka. Although a different type of whistle, this is also the principle of the alphorn.
I recommend a short physical detour to understand the overtones: http://www.mek.iif.hu/porta/szint/human/zene/kaboca01/html/dalla1.htm
Special thanks to translat for our frend from workshops:
Alex Manea and Metz Gyurka Iringo