0d.1 Choosing a flute for your sruti

What this is and why it exists

A bamboo flute has no pegs and no strings. Its length decides its sa, and nothing about that can be changed afterwards.

So buying a flute is choosing a sruti. This is the one setup decision on this instrument that you cannot undo, and beginners make it by accident all the time.

The vocabulary

• Venu — the South Indian bamboo flute. Also called the pullanguzhal or the bansuri, depending on where you are.
• Sruti — the pitch of sa. On a flute it is fixed by the length of the tube.
• Blowing hole — the single hole near the closed end that you sound the instrument across.
• Finger holes — the row of holes along the tube that change the note.
• Thumb hole — a hole underneath, on flutes that have one.
• Scale of the flute — the note its sa sounds, which is how flutes are sold.

The mental model

Long flute, low sa. Short flute, high sa. That is the whole relationship, and it means your instrument and your sruti are the same decision.

There is a second consequence and it catches people out. A longer flute has its holes further apart. If your fingers cannot cover those holes cleanly, air escapes and every note is flat and thin. Reach matters more than tone when you are choosing your first instrument.

Count the holes before you trust any fingering chart. A South Indian flute has a blowing hole and eight finger holes, one of them underneath for the thumb. Some makers add a ninth at the far end for the lowest note.

The work

1. Decide the sa you want before you look at any instrument.
2. If you will play with a singer, ask their sruti first.
3. If you are learning alone, choose a middle-length flute rather than a long one.
4. Start a drone at that pitch.
5. Sound the flute's sa and compare it with the drone.
6. Do not trust the label alone. Instruments are mislabelled.
7. Hold the flute in playing position and check that your fingers cover every hole.
8. Look for stretching or straining in the little finger. That is a flute too long for you.
9. Count the finger holes and note the number.
10. Check the bamboo for cracks along its length.
11. Buy the one that fits your hand and matches your drone.

What you should now be able to explain or do

Choose a flute whose sa is the sruti you want. Say why the length of the tube decides the pitch. Say what goes wrong when a flute is too long for your hand. Count the holes on your own instrument.

Check yourself