The willow flute, also known as sallow flute ( no, seljefløyte, sv, sälgflöjt or ''sälgpipa'', fi, pitkähuilu or ''pajupilli'', lv, kārkla stabule, lt, švilpynė), is a Nordic folk flute, or

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

, consisting of a simple tube with a transverse

fipple The term fipple specifies a variety of end-blown flute that includes the flageolet, recorder, and tin whistle. The Hornbostel–Sachs system for classifying musical instruments places this group under the heading "Flutes with duct or duct flute ...

mouthpiece and no finger holes. The mouthpiece is typically constructed by inserting a grooved plug into one end of the tube, and cutting an edged opening in the tube a short distance away from the plug. Similar but not identical instruments were made by peasants in Poland, usually using a different method described in sources as "''kręcenie''" (that nowadays means literally "rolling", at that time possibly also "drilling-gouging"), "''ukręcanie''", "''ulinianie''" (nowadays literally meaning: "making moulted"). Such instruments are mentioned in folk poems or songs. The willow flute is a type of

overtone flute An overtone flute is a type of a flute that is designed to play in the upper harmonics, typically well above the two or three harmonics that are the practical limit for most woodwind instruments. An overtone flute has either no tone holes,Macla ...

. It is played by varying the force of the air blown into the mouthpiece, with the end of the tube being covered by the finger or left open. The tones produced are based on the harmonic series. Playing the instrument with the end of the tube covered produces one

fundamental Fundamental may refer to: * Foundation of reality * Fundamental frequency, as in music or phonetics, often referred to as simply a "fundamental" * Fundamentalism, the belief in, and usually the strict adherence to, the simple or "fundamental" idea ...

and its

overtone An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...

s, playing it with the end of the tube left open produces another fundamental and series of overtones. Willow flutes cannot play an equal tempered scale. Modern willow flutes are typically made of plastic ( PVC tubing is often used), but the original willow flutes were made from sections of bark cut from green

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

branches. Willow flutes could only be made this way during the spring, and became unplayable when the bark dried out. Noted modern willow flute artists include the group

Hedningarna Hedningarna (''The Heathens'') is a Swedish, and for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of s ...

and

Anders Norudde Anders Norudde (born Anders Stake, 1960) is a Swedish folk musician, multi-instrumentalist, and luthier. After finishing school, Anders took a job at the ironworks in Degerfors, where, in his spare time, he practiced orienteering and played rock ...

of Sweden. Other Nordic groups that use the Seljefløyte in traditional arrangements include

Eivind Groven Eivind Groven (8 October 1901 – 8 February 1977) was a Norwegian composer and music-theorist. He was from traditional region of Vest-Telemark and had a background in the folk music of the area. Biography Groven was born in the village of L� ...

Steinar Ofsdal Steinar Ofsdal (born 4 October 1948) is a Norwegian composer and flutist. Career Ofsdal has since 1967 performed on numerous stages in Norway, and worldwide in different settings. He has performed alone or within one of his many bands, and is ...

Lillebjørn Nilsen Bjørn "Lillebjørn" Falk Nilsen (born 21 December 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was born in Oslo, and is considered by some to be the leading "voice of Oslo", thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from th ...

, Groupa, Bask, Ruumen, Ojajärvi Blom Ojajärvi and Tapani Varis Collective. There is also a Karelian variant of the willow flute that is made in

Finnish Karelia Karelia ( fi, Karjala) is a historical province of Finland which Finland partly ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter War of 1939–40. The Finnish Karelians include the present-day inhabitants of North and South Karelia and the still-sur ...

and the Russian Republic of Karelia. It is made the same way as the willow flute, but instead of willow bark, it is made out of

birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, craftin ...

. The Karelian Folk Music Ensemble, based out of

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

in Russian Karelia, uses this instrument in their music.

References

{{Authority control Finnish musical instruments Internal fipple flutes Overtone flutes Nordic folk music Sámi musical instruments Swedish musical instruments

See also

References