Start with the following Overview Video... then continue perusing as you wish.
In this video, you'll hear the bone flute in action. I should record a little more with extra melodies in the near future, etc. Fast forward to about 6:40 to hear a little better tone performance than the first performance.
Andy's Overall Thoughts
Creating this bone flute from a turkey's leg has given me a glimpse of what it may have been like to step into the Paleolithic shoes of our
ancestral cavemen. As I've told a few people about this project, some have questioned whether a bone flute is considered a "tool."
I think that it is on a few levels. If I was a caveman, it is a social building tool with the potential to woo a mate, calm upset new neighbors,
or possibly warn others locally/regionally that danger is present.
Click here to read the final report I submitted to Professor Tolley.
My first steps
Instead of starting out on my limited resource turkey bone, I practiced on other materials first so I had multiple chances to screw up and recover.
Including practice and the final project, I ended up making five working wind instruments in total:
1 turkey bone flute with two finger holes (what you see above)
1 chicken bone whistle with a saw-style finger hole
1 chicken bone whistle without a finger hole
1 PVC flute the same size as the turkey bone for practice
1 PVC modern-style "side-blown" flute similar to a an orchestral stainless steel flute
Since this was a "caveman" project, I'm mostly going to skip the other steps until later and focus on the steps
that were necessary to complete the process of making a working turkey leg bone flute.
Click on a Step I took to create the turkey bone flute or just scroll down.
I imagined what it must be like for emerging artisan cavemen/cavewomen to improve on their craftsmanship utilizing trial and error. The first thing I thought to do was check whatever like-minded instruments I may have around to study to improve my planning process. I have to believe that cave people would have done the same thing...maybe studying another flute-type or whistle-like instrument that existed locally.
Though my primary instrument is piano, I love hoarding musical instruments. I knew I'd learn a lot by checking out my collection of flutes and other similar wind instruments at home. That list includes:
Three lesser quality/novelty Bamboo Flutes
Carrie's Navajo Flute
Animal Printed Flute
Two-Chambered Migwiz
One lesser quality/novelty clear Plastic Blue Recorder
Two modern orchestral flutes
nice Yamaha sterling silver 421 II
medium quality Gemeinhardt sterling silver
One Clay Ocarina
Plastic Whistle
Inspecting these got my wheels turning... a domino effect of physics-related questions surfaced: regarding the placement of the finger holes, how they are tuned, the inside diameter of the air columns, et cetera. I made a spreadsheet comparing/compiling as much data as I could measuring distances from the mouthpiece to the sound holes.
The whole time I heard my professor's voice in my head saying, "Forget the physics, how would a caveman do this?" But I couldn't stop the curiosity...so I continued with my line of thinking. I knew my process would be building a series of flutes concluding with my "caveman-style" flute.
Online and other computer work.
I put this information at the bottom of this webpage so as not to take away from viewing the content on this page. Though online research
was the next chronological event to happen in my overall process, I'm going to save that information for later. If interested now,
click here.
Practice
I'm placing this below since it's not turkey leg stuff. I started out using PVC, a material that is perfectly shaped and much easier to
get an understanding for the physics of air columns, finger hole placement, etc.
Traveled to North Jersey to visit a friend who lives on the south side of a mountain. The north side of the mountain boasts a rock quarry.
Collecting the perfect rocks was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I recognized that just because an area is supposed to have certain types of
rocks doesn't mean that they will be easy to find. Considering all the stone made structures and rock walls, I figured there must be some sample to
take home.
I did my best smashing rocks against other rocks trying to find the best "flaking" candidates. This took longer than I expected...and I probably
didn't cover as much ground as I should have.
I gathered nine rocks in my arms to bring home with me. Considering the whole bipedal advancement
for carrying things in our arms, I grabbed what I could on one trip and left. I later did my best
trying my hand at the flint-knapping process. Luckily, a core chopper, a decent hand ax, and two decent
razor blades came out of the percussive experience. The stone at the bottom of the above picture worked pretty
successfully as my main striking stone.
Collecting Turkey Bones
Driving to Hinck's Turkey Farm in Manasquan, NJ seemed much easier than going out and hunting for my own Thanksgiving turkey. Pre-ordering it cooked was even more of a time-saver.
Pondering this non-caveman approach, I considered how Upper Paleolithic ancestors would have had the time to make this specific hand-crafted tool.
Was it possible that a bartering system was already in place...cultural or village cogs in the machine rather than every biped for himself? Were some people "wealthy" and interested in supporting the arts? Maybe a husband "paid" a crafty wife by supplying her with food, offering her time to design this musical tool alongside the emergence of sewn clothing and shoes in exchange for evening campfire entertainment.
Prepping the Turkey Leg
Happy Thanksgiving
I was psyched at how much bigger this was than the chicken leg. Though I knew that there are ostrich farms around, I could not find a
place where an ostrich leg had the potential to wind up in my hands. I was imagining that would be the largest legal bone I would be able to use for this
project.
Stripping the Turkey Leg
It would have been impossible to get the rest of this off with my teeth and fingers.
I was amazed at how well this core chopper cleaned the rest of the material off of the epiphyses (bone ends).
This was definitely the most effective and expedient tool out of the entire process.
Bone Modification
The above picture is taken after 10 minutes of sawing with a home made hand ax. This fairly fresh femur did not chop up quite the same as the
chicken bones I worked with two weeks prior.
The above image is from 20 minutes of continued circular-sawing trying to remove the epiphyses. It took about an hour per side because I think my rock started going dull.
...And they're off!!
About to notch out a finger hole on the chicken leg bone. The wall of the diaphysis had more time to dry than the turkey leg bone. It was so much easier to slice through the "chalky-natured" dry bone material versus the fresher turkey leg.
Removal of Bone Marrow
Cleaning the marrow with a bamboo stick
Flute Making Process
Deciding where to put the mouthpiece
Flipped the clean diaphysis over to observe which end would make the best mouth piece.
Carving the Mouth Piece
Created Two Finger Holes
I used a repeated twisting motion to eventually wind up with two finger holes. When I continue, I will use the third hole in line with the PVC mock-up, but the fourth hole should be closer to the third hole as it is tuned a little sharp. Happy I made a prototype first!
Playing the Bone Flute
My lower lip is fairly large, and I had a difficult time trying to get the right embouchure.
Though it was never my plan, I tried turning the flute so the mouthpiece faced downward, and using my top lip
as the main friction surface, was able to produce all three of the bone instruments' true tones.
To watch me play this flute, check out the Overview Video. Fast forward to about 6:40 to hear a little better tone performance than the first performance.
Playing the Bone Whisle
I briefly tested this whistle with a dB meter. It registered at 93 decibels after less than a minute of blowing. I'm sure if I kept at it I could easily get that number over 100dB. That kind of call would make for an excellent public announcement.
To watch me play this whistle, check out the Overview Video and fast forward to about 3:20.
Other Observations
Where to draw the caveman line
As I've worked on this project, I keep thinking to myself that I am utilizing so many modern conveniences that cavemen would not have used: Driving to destinations, using electricity for light and heat, boiling water, taking breaks to eat and go to work, keeping notes on my laptop, collecting pre-cut and pre-cooked animal parts, etc.
Considering these things, I wondered what it would be like to truly dedicate myself to purely living a caveman lifestyle, not using any modern conveniences to accomplish my goals. I don't think I would have been able to accomplish what I set out to do: make a bone flute. Granted, I can't expect to adopt a lifestyle to which I'm not accustomed in a matter of days - though I will say living through Hurricane Sandy did give me a taste of 14 days without power in freezing weather without choice. Luckily, my wife and I prepared for a few days ahead collecting necessities and we made it through unscathed. But having to live with others without modern conveniences brought us close to marshal law and socially was very disconcerting.
I digress, but the thought of having to complete this project "in the wild" would have complicated the matter and positions me to truly respect what our ancestors went through to survive day to day.
Supplementary Reference Websites
Online Vids/Tools/Resources
German Hohle Fels Cave Flute in the Swabian Moutains...said to be 35,000-40,000 years old
Asian bone flute...9,000 years old. I love this guy's playing approach. Reminds me more of nature than what we think of as modern song. Potentially an excellent anthropological approach to early music.
Falls-Down-Laughing relays a good chunk of information relating to the making of a flute. Nice description of the "physics" of pitch within a column of air and how frequency is borne from fast airflow alternations between compression and vacuum.
Another approach to making a flute, special attention to a fipple-style mouthpiece. Though I do not believe this type of mouthpiece was being utilized tens of thousands of years ago, I found great value in watching another human make a like-minded tool.
"I am the caveman" - [Professor Tolley's] line caught me from the project instructions...so that was what I recited to myself the last few months considering how to make a flute out of a turkey leg bone.
As soon as you gave me the green light to try this project, the first step I took was getting myself a pair of chicken leg bones to experiment. I knew they would be too small to make a "flute," but I knew that I would derive some valuable bird leg knowledge before screwing up my final project. Did cavemen go through that kind of multi-step planning? I think yes.
Next, I examined all the types of wind instruments cluttering my house: novelty bamboo flutes, whistles, and modern stainless steel flutes. I know that a caveman may not have had exactly those instruments laying around, but I do think that a caveman making a flute was a crafts(wo)man who may have studied what (s)he was trying to create or recreate. So looking at my woodwinds, I thought about each instrument's engineering, and what a caveman would think looking at it. Online research told me that the best Upper Paleolithic bone flute examples are literally found in caves. One of them is Hohle Fels Cave in Swabia/Germany. What a nice place for people of 35,000+ years ago to live and do their work.
Putting myself in their shoes - and from anthropological studies I've read, this time period is right around the time that shoes may have been created - I know I'd be thinking about food regularly. Even still, all sorts of creativity arose on the historical scene during that time; the surface of social interaction and enlightened culture must have had an incredible jump forward. Why would a bone flute have been made all those years ago? I keep settling on two potential reasons. Easing social tension is the first, similar to one of the attributes of today's music (and by today's music I'm referring to the last 500 or so years). Secondly, and I wonder if this preceded the first reason, safety and/or physical positioning. A public high-pitched call would be distinctive and may not reveal the species to local predators.
Aside from all of my speculative wonderment, I'd like to share with you my process in creating this working turkey bone flute. I pre-ordered two turkey legs from Hinck's Turkey Farm in Manasquan, New Jersey, and brought them home. At first I felt guilty, like I really took the easy way out right from the starting line. I was able to drive my gasoline-powered sedan twenty-five miles south to comfortably receive the pre-ordered pre-cooked turkey legs. I doubled-down on my reflections and wondered if any sort of trade or barter may have been set up yet in their society. If language, clothing, and art were on the rise, is it possible that there were "rich" cavemen who may support local artisans? Considering culture as it was growing...I wonder if the music industry, on a different level, existed far before we may have imagined.
Having time to sit around and make a flute took a lot of planning and understanding of tools and the materials being manipulated. Collecting rocks was even a task for me. I had this awesome resource, the World Wide Web, so it was easy to drive an hour north to an area of New Jersey supposedly stocked with crops of rocks growing out of the mountainside. Even though I knew exactly where to go, it was still difficult to find the right types of rocks to take with home me: quartzite and/or Hardystonite.
I tested rocks by throwing them against others to observe their flaking potential. There were a lot more rocks that did not fit the bill as compared to keepers. Gathering nine rocks in my arms, I hauled them back to my Chevy Trailblazer to take home and fashion into the best cutting tools I could. Luckily, I was able to create a core chopper (which did it's job as well or better than any kitchen tool), an okay hand ax, and two "razor blades."
At that point, I had everything I needed. After eating as much meat as I could, I noticed that the turkey leg had a lot more ligaments, tendons, and even bones intermixed that I wasn't getting off with my incisors. Outside, I applied the core chopper and was so impressed with how quickly the tool shed the remaining material.
Cutting off the epiphyses was another story. The chicken legs were pretty fast removals, but the turkey bone was much thicker and not as dry as the little leg bones. I was amazed at how much better a dry bone cut like chalk compared to the more fresh and substantial turkey leg. I bet my tools had dulled by then as well. It took about an hour per end circular-sawing into the same groove until each side finally popped off.
Getting the marrow out of the bones was challenging, and if I was a caveman, this is the one step that may have thrown me for a loop depending on my location. Luckily, bamboo exists around me and worked as a good digging and pushing tool. If I had to use regular sticks, I don't think that would have worked. Probably would have had to use antler, large tooth, or a bone shard knife. The inside of the turkey bone diaphysis was a lot more challenging to clean and took a lot more time. Boiling was a huge help completing this task. I've heard on some YouTube videos that leaving bones outside in a basket would allow bugs to get to and perfectly clean the stockpiling diaphyses while keeping critters from walking away with your stuff.
The next big concern for me was creating the mouthpiece. I didn't understand how this worked until I heard it explained on a flute-making video. The blower's air must be cut by the edge of the flute wall allowing some air to enter the sound chamber while the rest of the air spills out over to the outside. It is not truly the air flow being split in half, but more of a compression/vacuum of the air inside the column. The disturbance of the air traveling into and then out of enclosed space creates a frequency which is then heard by our ears. Depending on which finger holes are depressed alters the length of the air column's frequency response offering higher and lower pitches. This disturbance resonates inside the hallowed diaphysis part of a bone similar to blowing over a soda bottle top. The trajectory angle in which the air is directed is different. I'm amazed that cavemen would have considered this...the trial and error...I can't imagine how that all went down.
Getting two chicken bones for practice was a good choice. Trying different placement of the mouthpiece, I opted for what I thought was most logical. The chicken bones mouthpieces came together in minutes whereas I really took my time fashioning the mouthpiece on the turkey bone. It responded more like how I think ivory would respond. The rigidity of the turkey bone is far superior to the chicken leg whistles, I'm sure it will outlast them. But it also took a lot longer to make, and required more planning as the resource felt like it was worth more.
Researching finger holes on bone flutes, I found two main approaches: sawing a notch, swiveling with a sharp point. The sawing approach was used on one of my chicken bone whistles. I saw this technique on the German vulture bone flute. Most other online examples reveal that a swivel technique was used. That's what I thought would work best for the turkey bone, and luckily I was right.
It took some practice to figure out how to play these primitive instruments. I discovered that my big bottom lip was prohibiting me from creating a solid tone with the turkey bone flute. It occurred to me face the mouthpiece face downward and focus the sound off of my smaller upper lip - success! What a great feeling it was getting some nice tone out of my homemade instruments.
What must other cave people have thought when they first saw and, more importantly, heard these inventive handcrafted tools. It always feels good to be around someone who has nice toys no matter the age, culture, or scenario. A fine instrument today is considered a luxury, I can't imagine it must have been any different then.
~ Andy Letke
Practicing on other materials first
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