Handmade Wood Headjoints in Grenadilla
(And Other Exotic Hardwoods)
I have always enjoyed playing wood flutes. After years of contemplation and many wood flute experiements, opportunities came about to realize my ideas. The current headjoint design is a reflection of my personal experience and is influenced by many of my good friends who are wonderful flute players and fellow flute makers.
My two favorite flute makers, Louis Lot and Rudall Carte, made wooden flutes using only grenadilla (African blackwood) and cocuswood. Renaissance and Baroque woodwind instrument makers had a larger selection of wood, ranging from European boxwood, ebony, cocus, rosewood and softer woods such as pear and maple. I make my headjoints in grenadilla, cocobolo, cocuswood, European boxwood, mopane, pink ivory, Mohican rosewood and kingwood. I enjoy the visual beauty and workability of these woods, however, it is the acoustic and ergonomic design that gives the voice to the headjoint. Every headjoint is handmade and slightly unique.
Grenadilla (Dalbergia melanoxylon), or African Black wood, is a classic wood of choice for making Boehm flutes. It is a very dense wood and easy to turn, carve, file and cut. Its grain structure is very tight and a smooth finish can be achieved quickly by sanding. The bore is sealed, but there is no finish on the outside of grenadilla headjoints. The oil from the player’s hands would eventually be absorbed into the wood and gives it a fine sheen. The color of grenadilla ranges from black to a dark chocolate brown.
Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa) is a dense wood from Central America. It is orange brown in color with distinctive black straight or wavy lines throughout. The color darkens in time. It is a very beautiful wood and takes a mirror finish. However, I choose a warmer satin finish for my cocobolo headjoint. This wood is stable in a high moisture environment.
Cocuswood (Brya ebenus) is a very dense tropical hardwood. It comes from the West Indies and supplies are very limited. Long pieces that are suitable for making a whole flute are almost impossible to find. The color is a brownish black and turns very dark after repeated handling.
European boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) has been used in flute making for several hundreds of years. It’s not as dense and hard as grenadilla and has a very fine grain structure. This lighter wood allows a mellower voice than the denser woods. The natural color is pale yellow; many pieces have dark lines. Acid staining will turn the wood into a more uniform orange brown to dark brown color. The picture above shows a natural finish.
Pink Ivory (Berchemia zeyheri) is a very rare wood from southern Africa. It is a very hard and dense wood. The color ranges from light to dark pink and will darken in time. It will take a high polish, but again, I prefer to give it a satin finish. The look of my pink ivory headjoint on a silver flute is striking.
My wood headjoint design is simple: Make a taper that would work well with an embouchure hole and a comfortable lipplate to direct the air into the right place. It is the geometry of the bore and the embouchure hole that determines the characteristics of a headjoint. The desired sound is achieved by hand cutting the embouchure hole. The voice of the headjoint slowly emerges as the wood is carefully cut away a little at a time. Priority is given to response and character of sound.
There are two main styles of embouchure holes that I make: square (top) and slightly oval (bottom). Square embouchure gives a brighter sound and is easier to control for some players. Oval embouchure sounds more mellow and woody and stimulates an intimate feeling. The preference is personal. I often choose the oval for playing Bach and Handel. The above headjoints are fitted with plain crowns.
The tenon is made of silver and can be fitted to a 0.014 or 0.016 barrel joint of a silver flute. I take pleasure in making the crown and offer many decorative styles. The actual weight of my wood headjoint is about the same as a silver headjoint. For people who would like to use my headjoint on a wooden flute, I offer to custom make an adaptor to acommordate the union.
Please check here for a price list.
For more information please call (978) 461-0705 or e-mail david@sideblown.com
