Flutes can be divided into sub-groups: straight flutes (with or without a notch at the mouthpiece) and transverse flutes. What all these flutes have in common is that the air breaks on an edge of the instrument, although the edge is unlike the lip plate on a recorder.
The straight flutes are open on both sides, whereas the transverse flutes are closed at the side where the mouth opening is. This is often the natural knot in a reed. The straight blown flutes can also be separated into two distinct groups as regards the mouthpiece: either there is no notch on the edge or there is a clearly visible incision. The instruments without incision should be held in a slanted position against the lips so that the airflow can be broken on the edge of the instrument. The instruments with an incision can be held straight since the air is broken on the notch at the edge. These incisions are in the shape of a U or V. The angles of the U-shaped notch can be rounded off or rectangular.
Generally, flutes are made from dried, naturally hollow stems, often from young bamboo or other plant varieties that grow quickly. The instruments are very frail due to their thin vegetal material, and therefore as a result often have cracks near the ends or around the finger holes. In some cases, the cracks can be repaired by binding the instrument with a string. However, in many cases it is simply a matter of making a new instrument. New instruments are often conceived as copies of the old, thus preserving more or less the same tuning. A piece of stem of equal length is sought out, and the finger holes are positioned in the same place. The finger holes and any notches in the flute are made with a red hot poker leaving visible black marks around the edges of the holes. The finger holes are always circular and vary from 2 to 5 in number; preferably 2 or 4, which are always aligned on the opposite side to the mouthpiece.
The pitch range varies from 3 to 10 tones, depending on the number of finger holes and the player’s technique of over-blowing, where the playing of the tetra and hexachord is the most frequently found. What is striking is that no semitones exist on this scale. The use of the upper third is most important in forming the melody line. On the rhythmical side there is complete freedom due to the improvisational nature of the playing, but the rapid execution of the melody is a recurring trait.
The long transverse flute, side blown and provided with three to five finger holes is mostly used by the pastoral tribes. In this sense they have a connection with the folk traditions in Europe, where the flute was also used primarily as the instrument shepherds played to herd their flock, pleasantly pass the time or to warn unwelcome visitors that the herd is guarded, and to keep predators or robbers at bay.
In Africa, these characteristics can also be found, but playing the flute can still take on yet another dimension. It is also used as a recreational device to entertain a small group of listeners, who understand the melody that is played. The flautist chiefly plays a melody in two registers, to be interpreted as the masculine (natural blowing) and the feminine voice (an overblowing technique, therefore with higher tones). In this way the musician plays a melody that is in fact nothing more than a musical translation of a dialogue between a man and a woman (generally a domestic quarrel) providing a great deal of amusement for the listeners who are fully aware of its content!
Transverse flute
A wind instrument not normally found in Africa is the simplified version of the transverse flute which is familiar in Western musical culture. In both Central Africa and West Africa this type of transverse blown flute was found which had been cut from a bamboo stick where one growth knot had been left intact, closing that end of the flute, whilst the other end is open. Even though this instrument is referenced in earlier sources, we must nevertheless note that its presence in various African musical cultures is now a thing of the past. From these earlier sources and from our own fieldwork, it seems that the playing of the transverse flute was reserved for the relaxation of the chief, provoking the warriors for the fight and, lastly, complementing other instruments such as the xylophone and the drum in ensembles that accompany the dance. We can of course wonder to what extent the sound of the transverse flute could compete with instruments such as the xylophone and/or the drum and whether the listener/dancer would still be able to identify the sounds of the flute.
This type of instrument is used in recordings of our sound archives made with the Congolese peoples mentioned hereafter where it appears with the following vernacular names:
Lî (Lendu), Lokenge (Batwa), Luma ((Wa) Lese, Efe, Mbuti, Pygmées), Mulizi (Shi), Ndere (Hema), Nyabulera ((Wa) Nande), Nyamulera ((Wa) Nande, Nande), Nyamulire (Hema), Siku - bampuela (Kongo), Tsidyo (Lendu), Zeke (Usseke) (Ndo)
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