History

A new access to music with the Forest-Flute

The "Forest-flute" was created with the idea of developing a musical instrument with an absolutely simplified learning approach. Normally this is achieved, on one hand, by an easy to play- instrument, and on the other hand, by the expression of the player. Simply said- in the beginning the instrument adds perhaps 20% to the performance, and the player has to bring the other 80% with many years of practice. The Forest-flute changes this proportion to 50% instrument and 50% player. That means this flute already carries the bigger part of musical expression, normally manifested only after years of hard practice. Not only the sound but also the “timbre”, which brings life to the sound and personifies it very much like a singing voice, is beautiful. This in itself is not only a sound, but it has a soul.

In the following paragraphs you will find a few of my thoughts concerning musical observations, which culminated in the creation of the Forest-flute.

Many of us might have felt the urge to play an instrument. Unfortunately, it often ended with that thought, or a started attempt was ceased after a while as the beginning hurdles seemed unconquerable. Music though, does not put obstacles in our way; it is we who are building unnecessary hurdles which seem to make the approach to music so difficult. Even for someone who decided to tread on the path of a musician, a deep musical fulfilment is not guaranteed.

Many, if not all musicians, dream of that unique experience of the perfect concert. Some utterances you may have heard are, “it was as if IT played through me”, or “it was as if someone else were playing, and I was the listener”. It is those highest moments a musician strives for all his life. Otherwise the routine is overrules the music everyday, as many professional musicians have experienced.

To study music means to spend hours alone with the instrument for years of daily practice, and later with the ensemble. An all- round theoretical knowledge is necessary in order to understand the musical connections. In addition, only learning to play from music sheets without any mistakes makes it possible to have “perfect command” over the instrument. Then comes the numerous exams at the end of the study, accompanied by insecurity and fears of failing. If you are unlucky and fail, you have to start all over again! Oh, beautiful world of music! Many don’t even dare to touch an instrument since playing music feels to be only for the elite. Others carry bad memories from childhood: the over authoritarian piano teacher, the perfectionist flute teacher and forcing the learning of the notes, etc. This could block the approach to music, even if you carry music inside the very core of your being.

How much more beautiful it would be as a player to be able to reach the musical heights without all these hardships. However, only a very few believe in this, which is a pity. What keeps us from running straight towards the musical dream? It is, above all, our pressure of performance that blocks the way. Let us look at the reverse side of the matter. : Instead of digging our way through hard practice and study, why not avoid all obstructions that stop us from finding the gate to our musical experience which resides inside each of us. It is not the technique of playing music that should form the music, but it is the other way around; music playfully teaches us the handling of the instrument. Music starts with the first tone, not after years of practicing! We should allow ourselves to be led by music, and not allow our ideas of efficiency to dictate our future progress or worries such as, “how many years do I have to practice until I have full command over the instrument?” Instead, we could be happy about what we already have achieved. If we can do that, we realize that in a few days already progress is playfully happening.

An easy to handle instrument supports this approach. Above other things, it is not relevant to have a big playable scale, but rather the power of expressing each tone like a singer who explores each single note. Also, virtuosity has primarily nothing to do with the power of musical expression. I have heard quite a few professional musicians who were not able to play in a very slow manner, so it sounded forced and without any power and energy. It seemed like a nerve-wracking wait before the next powerful part started up. In virtuosity, energy might then appear again (unless it is played as the routine), but perhaps it shows here more the energy of the body power, which is very demanding in virtuosity, yet this has nothing to do with musical expressiveness. Just because nowadays the playing of music has become dependent on efficiency, the important things are out of sight. These inner values have gotten lost . One single tone played with devotion carries a listener or the player much farther than a technically perfect yet soulless performance.

Which Instrument?

If an instrument already carries a strong musical expressiveness and has its own soul, then just a few tones can create an atmosphere, while a faint sounding instrument asks much more effort to bring a message to the audience. To learn to play freely and happily, it is a great advantage if the instrument chosen is not too well known, and therefore does not carry a preconceived idea. (i.e. a violin, a piano, a recorder, etc.). The audience knows how such instruments are supposed to sound if they are played properly. Here we always have a comparison. This linear thinking is a big hindrance for someone who wants to play an instrument freely. A new, unknown instrument does not have this barrier. It is uncompromised. It is within our power to discover music from our inner source, sound for sound. It needs neither music sheets nor musical norms to be fulfilled. Already the first tone is “official”. We do not have to compare ourselves with musicians of well-known musical instruments. There is no competition. This is an ideal opportunity to get a free approach to music. It is not the technique and knowledge over music that should lead, but music itself. We need to open up to music so that it can show us the way.

The difficulty above all is to avoid obstacles ( i.e. music theory ), which hinders our direct approach to music. Again, instead of asking, “How long do I have to practice until I gain full command of the instrument?”, it is better to look at the present and say, “the way is the goal”. This is the answer to play music freely. It is not what we are missing which is important, but rather what we have already achieved. We need to appreciate how fast we have expressed ourselves on the instrument in a way that was impossible just a few days ago. If we tackle it freely, a few tones of a well sounding instrument can do it. A few tones are enough to create an extraordinary atmosphere. It could be said, “each tone is a concert in itself.”

These musical observations have led to the development of the Forest-flute. The development of this flute has taken a good 20 years. The main issue in creating this flute was undoubtedly the power of the sound, not the diversity of tones. These are two different things which cannot be combined in a flute satisfactorily. Simply said, an instrument must either have more tones and a lower sound or fuller sound and fewer tones. This has normally been a compromise in the way of building flutes.

The Forest-flute is an instrument that has been created uniquely or a “good sound”. The Forest-flute has a relatively wide diameter to the length. Also the strength of the wall and the thickness of the wood play an important role. A wide diameter and a thick wall offer more low-tones in sound. Here I would like to mention that the material, wood, is only responsible for 10% of the sound. The construction is crucial. An important part is the sound maker, the mouth piece. A full and lofty sound puts special demands on the mouthpiece so that the wide volume of the flute tube can be fully used for the sound. In relation to the deep sound, the Forest-flute has a relatively short body. This is, on one hand because of the wideness, and on the other hand, because of the construction of the mouth piece. (Because of a specially tipped labium area, the instrument is held lower than expected for its size.) Its many undertone-parts add to it. A shorter instrument allows an ergonomic way of playing; therefore, there is no stress spreading your fingers. This enhances the way of free playing!

Much feedback from owners of the Forest-flute confirm that the flute lives up to all expectations. The Forest-flute is multi-functional for use, in the pedagogic field, for playing in nature, for enhancing lectures and readings, for meditation, therapy, relaxing and naturally for every body’s joy in music and sound. It is appreciated by people who have never played an instrument before, as well as by professionals and music teachers.