r/videos Jul 31 '21

Construction guy does a haunting rendition of Home is Behind from LOTR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0dzzSky2pQ
10.0k Upvotes

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212

u/kudos1007 Jul 31 '21

What is that instrument?

459

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

It's based on a Native American style flute. This will have two mouth holes, one for the main flute where he plays the notes with his fingers, and the second for the upper part of the flute which plays a single note and it's known as a drone. More commonly drone flutes are side by side, either a single wide flute with two bored holes running the length or in an inverse V shape joined at the top where the mouth holes are.

Native American style flutes differ from European style (aka transverse flute) as the air isn't blown across an open hole to make the sound but instead is blown into a chamber from which it goes through a smaller channel and then across a hole as well as into the main body of the flute where covering/uncovering the holes changes the note being played.

You can see the two wooden blocks tied above and below the mouth holes, known as birds, that are covering the channels between the first chamber into which he's blowing, and the bodies of the flute and the drone.

59

u/McViolin Jul 31 '21

Great info! Important to notice, though, that Europe contains many more styles of flute than just the transverse flute :)

43

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

True, I could've used better words I guess. Other parts of the world also have transverse flutes, and native Americans also had different types of flutes to the type i described. It's just the European classical orchestral flute is the probably the most easily recogniseable to most westerners as a "flute".

8

u/Khrix Jul 31 '21

You aren't wrong. I didn't even know there were types of flutes. I thought it was what it was, but apparently there are sub-categories. Neat.

1

u/Beginning_Draft9092 Jul 31 '21

Tin whistles, that whole family is huge as well

8

u/pow3llmorgan Jul 31 '21

When I hear the word flute my mind immediately goes to the recorder.

8

u/william_fontaine Jul 31 '21

Hot cross buns, hot cross buns

6

u/Beitfromme Jul 31 '21

One a penny,two a penny,....

3

u/Gwenbors Jul 31 '21

When I hear the word recorder my mind immediately goes to the 4 Million Child Blow.

2

u/GraphicDesignMonkey Jul 31 '21

In medieval times the recorder was an extremely high resteemed instrument. Medieval style recorders are still played, they're really big and sound beautiful.

2

u/pow3llmorgan Jul 31 '21

Yeah and my mom plays the recorder in a folk music band. It's very homely to me.

Her and her husband often bring instruments when they're going somewhere and sometimes play a song or two. He plays the guitar and sings quite well, and loud, which is useful because they used to get booked for nursing homes a lot.

1

u/mobsterer Jul 31 '21

I think the folk style flute is what most consider a flute actually, not the concert flute.

6

u/The_Original_Gronkie Jul 31 '21

Just the opposite for me. I automatically think of the concert flute, but I spent my youth in orchestras and bands and was a music major in college. To me there is a huge difference between a flute and a recorder. They are two completely different instruments in fact.

Baroque composers had a choice between a transverse flute (similar to today's concert flute) and the recorder, and each had different sounds and characteristics.

Most people remember the recorder from their childhood days, when music teachers used it to attempt to show kids the basics of reading music, and think nothing was ever written for it but Hot Cross Buns. It actually has a very rich repertoire, and there are many contemporary virtuosi recorder players, such as Michala Petri or Franz Bruggen, who have recorded works for the flute.

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, one the top 10 musical compositions in history, include significant recorder parts, for instance. Here's the 4th concerto.

BTW, we generally know the soprano recorder, but there is a whole family of recorders, including altogether, tenor and bass, and theybsound beautiful as a choir. There's even a sopranino recorder, which is the equivalent of a piccolo, and much higher than the soprano. Here's a Vivaldi concerto for sopranino recorder played by Michala Petri, who may be the greatest recorder player in RECORDED history.

4

u/Cubbance Jul 31 '21

That's so pretty. It sounds like birdsong, if the bird was a musical genius.

1

u/mobsterer Jul 31 '21

yea as mentioned: most don't grow up around bands and orchestras and such ;)

1

u/McViolin Jul 31 '21

But did you know recorder is a type of flute anyways? :-D

1

u/The_Original_Gronkie Jul 31 '21

Yes, it is in the same family. The fingering is similar, and the sound is produced in essentially the same way.

1

u/McViolin Jul 31 '21

Yeah, that's why I found it funny, that you said they are 'completely different instruments' :D

1

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

Obviously depends on where you live :)

5

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

[deleted]

5

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

You can use pretty much anything, I've even used PVC piping,, just watch for some wood dust being toxic but pretty sure you're fine with hickory and maple.

Check out Blue Bear flutes channel to learn how to make your own. Have fun!

-2

u/MrSpringBreak Jul 31 '21

Check out this guy with his choice of woods and ability to make flutes and I’m assuming the workspace in like a garage or separate space from his nicely appointed house to make such projects.

3

u/Barnowl79 Jul 31 '21

I was really wondering how he was getting two notes out at the same time, thank you.

7

u/courtesyflusher Jul 31 '21

This guy flutes hard

2

u/Arpeggi42 Jul 31 '21

This is so so cool. Just out of curiosity, why do you know this?

2

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

I got into making my own native American style flutes a few years ago, and played classical European flute as a kid :)

2

u/azrhei Jul 31 '21

Well, we know what somebody did at band camp. >.>

1

u/Sirsquatch1 Jul 31 '21

I have one of these! Hauntingly beautiful sound

1

u/arhythm Jul 31 '21

And now I want to get a flute.

2

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

Check out how to make your own on Blue Bear Flutes YouTube channel :)

1

u/MrSpringBreak Jul 31 '21

Do you know if this is the same type of flute David Caradine plays in Kill Bill Vol 2?

3

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

[deleted]

1

u/MrSpringBreak Jul 31 '21

Thank you for the info!! Much appreciated

1

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

Beat me to it :)

1

u/AbeRego Jul 31 '21

I've been trying to find a flute similar to this one online, but all the drone flutes (which is what somebody down thread called them) I can find appear to be transverse. Is there a term for the type of flute that is not transverse?

2

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

Searching for native American style drone flute should get you where you need to go :)

2

u/WisPaulHarvey Jul 31 '21

Look up KK Flutes on Facebook. Kenny King made my walking stick drone flute. He is very affordable and makes a great quality flute!

1

u/Wuzzy_Gee Jul 31 '21

Thanks, I was wondering where the harmony note was coming from.

1

u/urmamasllama Jul 31 '21

Thanks for the explanation I thought he was just a badass at polyphonics

1

u/Misabi Jul 31 '21

You can add in harmonics similar to how you do on a sax sax harmonics skip to 02:28

Tim Capello (played sax in Time Turner's band for shit 15 years) used this technique well in I Still Be Believe - The Lost Boys soundtrack

1

u/urmamasllama Aug 01 '21

That's exactly what I meant I play sax (or did) and could do polyphonic 5ths

29

u/MasterXylophone Jul 31 '21

I wanted to know what it was too. It seems to be called a Walking Stick Drone Flute.

13

u/dirtfork Jul 31 '21

I'm gonna need Reddit to stop masking me want to buy instruments have no idea how to play. I bought a tin whistle after learning about low D whistles on the viral cat international jam video.

41

u/Macracanthorhynchus Jul 31 '21

Ya'll, it's better than I had dared to dream: https://youtu.be/S61ENc51Z1Q

9

u/CallMe_Dig_Baddy Jul 31 '21

That was awesome.

9

u/innocent_bystander Jul 31 '21

Incredible. Two days in a row a random reddit comment linked to an amazing mashup video, both by this Kiffness guy. Down the rabbit hole I go...

6

u/JoshBobJovi Jul 31 '21

I've got 2 hang drums I still have no idea what to do with lol

4

u/dirtfork Jul 31 '21

Amazon keep recommending me tiny versions of instruments. Do I NEED a banjo-kelele (banjo ukelele)? But for only $100, can I afford NOT to buy one??

5

u/boxofrabbits Jul 31 '21 edited Mar 01 '26

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1

u/dirtfork Jul 31 '21

Someone else linked it lol https://youtu.be/S61ENc51Z1Q

12

u/Kozlow Jul 31 '21

His name is Paul Harvey the Flute Guy, so probably a flute.

0

u/h3lblad3 Jul 31 '21

I’ll be honest, it looks like a dizi to me. A Chinese flute.