Arabian Triple Drone flute (A4 Hijaz scale)

Here is a video of how this flute sounds

 

And how it can sound with reverb 

 

This flute is beginner friendly and easy to play! Holes are raised, so they are easy to feel and spacing between holes is made small, so it is suitable for people with small hands!

 

Instrument is not very loud, so it doesn't annoy pets and neighbours.

 

This flute is tuned to an A4 (440HZ) Hijaz tuning and is made in a style of native american flute.

 

To play just blow slow and gently (like you are trying to put fog on a window) with all holes covered and then lift finger one by one from bottom to top to get all notes.

 

I strongly recomend using the 3mf provided, because it's tested and set to make the flute print reliably.

 

Silk PLA is recomended for material as it gives smoothest finish, so flute doesn't get clogged as frequently during playing. Other filaments should also work fine as long as they are dry. Wet filament can produce stringing, which makes flute play worse or even not play at at all

 

After printing remove brims and supports. With supports removed detach mouthpice support inserts by first pressing down on their tip and then wiggling them left and right, so they are easier to pull out. Check gif bellow to see how supports inserts are removed

 

Assemble parts as shown on the diagram below

If parts fit together loosely add a layer of tape around the joints (as shown in the picture below). Alternatively you can glue all the parts together

Here is the diagram for finger positions and notes:

 

 

 

Possible problems and troubleshooting:

 

- If sound is squeaky and inconstistent it mean on or more holes is not fully covered. Make sure your fingertips completly cover the holes.

 

- If parts don't fit together very tightly add small layer of clear tape or a tiny bit of blutack at the joint. Parts can also be glued together if you don't need to take the flute apart for compactness 

 

- During playing flute will periodically  get clogged with moisture. When that happens ligthly cover the sound holes (as shown in picture below) to prevent flute from making very loud sound and then blow strongly into the flute. This should clear it very quilcky and you can continue playing. Slik PLA is least prone to clogging while Matte PLA cloggs quite fast 

- If your fillament is slightly stringy it can prevent air from flowing smoothly and producing sound. To fix it you can try to put a piece of plastic or folded papper inside of the air track and move it back and forth to try and get rid of the strings (as shown in gif below). However, this doesn't always help and stringy filament should be avoided if possible for better sound quality

 

Boost MeMaking flutes takes a while, so a boost would be greatly appreciated :)

Hope you have fun with it! Happy playing!