Last October I was asked to play a piece with the Bel Canto Company, a local professional chorus. They were doing La Muerte Sonriente by Diana Syrse which had a part(s) for Aztec Death Whistle and ocarina. Video from the concert is below.
Tag: flute
Unusual Dushkin Recorder
This is the second post I've made about Dushkin recorders. There's not a lot of information about them on the web. The first post has info I pieced together from what little I could find. If you're interested, just look back a few posts.
Last summer I was contacted by a woman named Sally who sent me pics of her Dushkin alto recorder, and wanted to know if I could help her learn how to play it. The pics were small, but it was apparent it was a very unusual recorder. It had keys, rings and raised toneholes. Now, there are keyed recorders out there. I've got a keyed soprano and tenor. But usually, the keyed recorders are set up like a 6-key piccolo or 8-key flute. I asked Sally to send some larger, more detailed photos. She didn't have a musical background. She had picked up the recorder many years ago somewhere in Ohio because she liked the look of it, and had just rediscovered it in a cabinet and decided to learn how to play it. I wanted to help her out, but after looking at the pics, I wasn't sure how to do that. I sent a 6-key piccolo fingering chart her way, but said it was not going to be an exact match and might be a little difficult to figure out.
A few weeks went by, and Sally wrote again that it wasn't working out and wanted to know if I wanted to buy it. So I sent an offer, and she accepted. Once it arrived, and I could lay my hands on it, it was even odder than it looked in the photos. And it needed work, which didn't really help Sally's endeavors. The pads were shot, the G# key was cracked, there as a broken spring, etc. So I took it to my repair tech for an overhaul and just got it back. I'm still trying to figure out the fingerings. It's kind of a cross between clarinet, oboe, 6-key piccolo and recorder. The first two octaves play pretty well. I think the third octave will probably play well too, after I figure out the fingerings (that uppermost key must do something).
I'm thinking this may be some kind of prototype? I've scoured the net, but I can't find another one like it. If anyone has an information, or has seen another one, let me know. And thank you, Sally, for sending it my way. I'm going to figure this thing out. 🙂
Tonettes, Song Flutes & Flutophones…Part 2
Rivals of the Tonette in the "pre-band" instrument world were Song Flutes by Fitchhorn (later Conn) and Flutophones. I'll also include an ocarina by Waterbury in this section.
The Song Flute is very similar to the Tonette. There always seems to be some debate if the Song Flute is an ocarina or not. I say it is an ocarina. Unlike the Tonette, the Song Flute has a small opening in the "bell". But if you were to close that hole while playing, you still get a tone. So in essence, that hole acts like a tuning hole found on some clay ocarinas. If it were an open pipe, like a Flutophone, when you close off the end, you would get no sound.
Song Flutes were first produced (and developed) by Fitchhorn. At a later point in time, Conn bought out Fitchhorn. So you will find both examples with both names on them. Like Tonettes, the Song Flute came primarily in black. They were also made in much smaller numbers in white and red. Song Flutes from Conn can still be purchased, but the quality isn't very good.
Another popular pre-band instrument used in school systems was the Flutephone by Trophy. Again, similar looking to the Tonette (and Song Flute) but with an open end like a recorder. I would categorize this as an actual flute. When the end is closed, there is no sound. Unlike the Tonette and Song Flute, black was the scarcer color. The primary color scheme for the Flutophone was white with red accents. Flutophones are still being produced, but again, the quality is not very good.
I'm including a ocarina by Waterbury because it's the same vintage and would have been marketed to the same person. It's a heavy plastic ocarina of varying quality. They came in two styles, and you could choose the key of C or the ever popular key of E.
More tonette, song flute, flutophone posts to come......
Recital Videos
I've edited the video from my recent woodwind recital into individual piece videos and uploaded them as a playlist on YouTube. The live stream video is still available as well. There are seven videos in the playlist. The preview below shows the first piece on the program (and playlist).
Recital Time
It's been quite a few years since I've done a recital. This past spring I made the commitment to put together a recital for the end of summer. It was originally schedule August 13th, but I got the dreaded Covid 4 days before. Now the rescheduled date of October 8th is fast approaching. This is going to be a woodwind multi-instrument program. It's my first time doing an "official" non-clarinet only recital.
I figured if I was going to do a doubling recital, I may as well do it right. There are pieces with the traditional woodwind family members....clarinet, flute and sax. But there are also a few pieces for instruments not normally seen in a recital setting. 19 instruments in total. It will hopefully be livestreamed and recorded.
- Sonatina by Darren Lord
- The Cycle of Life (O Ciclo da Vida) by Ricardo Matosinhos
- Geordi Tunes by Peter Hope
- Future Echoes from the Ancient Voices of Turtle Island by William Moylan
- Rainmaker by Philip Parker
- Grande Fantasie de Concert “L’ Eco” by A.N. Mezzetti
- Five Dances for Five Clarinets by Alfred Reed
Brian Blauch - Clarinet/Woodwind Specialist 