New flute!!

            This year has been a quiet one for my flutes and any playing for a host of many reasons. One is due to the constant busy my schedule is and how much I am doing. The other deals with the fact that the facial hair I have grown is making an embouchure much more difficult and therefore that playing is considerably tougher. So the flutes took a back seat as the classical guitar came out. Still, I find myself still trying to get some decent sounds out of the flutes! Then, a few weeks ago a fella in our flute group saw my Ellis Pueblo flute up for sale (made of maple) and wanted to discuss a trade. Up for offer was his Ellis (https://www.ellisflutes.com/) shakuhachi, also of curly maple.


  So, yes...this was certainly a trade I could do and within a few weeks, the new shakuhachi was in my hands. Amazingly, I was able to get some rich sounds from this flute and lo and behold, apparently the facial hair had grown long enough to allow it to lay flat enough and make an embouchere work, even on Hideo, my beloved bamboo shakuhachi!

                                               Here are a few pics of the new arrival!!

                                                         













This delightful flute is incredible and while no, it is not bamboo, it has qualities that the latter does not. Especially it's stability as regards cracking. I will be playing this flute now and then as it will never replace my Hideo . but what a welcome addition to the collection!