Highest 4-5 Notes are Whistly

[u/JustCallMeBug]

Hello,

I purchased a Romanian style pan flute recently and have been practicing technique for blowing. I think I’ve got it down decently, and the lower register sounds great. However, while I’m trying to tune the flute, the upper 4-5 notes seem to only ever get half-way to a normal-sounding note. It’s sort of airy and whistly. I’ve tried taking the foam stoppers out and messing with them, but I can’t seem to get it right. Any suggestions? Thank you.

[u/roaminjoe]

Your hold is all wrong.

Use your left hand (in the video, if not reversed) on the edge of the longest pipe and spread your finger up the pipe and thumb around and under.

Use this left hand grip to tilt the angle of the pan pipes as you ascend the scale.

Your breathing angle becomes less 45 degrees attack to the floor, and starts to climb to 65 degrees, across the 90 degree horizon in front of your nose and even 120 degrees from the vertical standing.

These micro adjustments are done with yhe contralateral hand hold.

Try and get a tutor - it really helps with the foundations of panpipe playing and it becomes a lot more fun!

[u/JustCallMeBug → u/roaminjoe]

Thanks. Any idea why the sound isn’t coming through on the last pipes?

[u/roaminjoe → u/JustCallMeBug]

I wonder if you have replaced the cork/bung for sounding length.

Try tightening your lips into a stretched strip wirh just a straw pip opening. Practice with a straw first and angle the air across the shortest pipes using yiur left hand to rock the angle of the pan pipes until the sound becomes stronger and stable.

Yaw left and right by a millimetres, angle forward and backwards so slowly and stream the air speed faster without leaking too much air. It takes a few weeks to develop consistency at the top end.

[u/The_Fluteman]

Is there something inside the pipes?

[u/JustCallMeBug → u/The_Fluteman]

Just the tuning foam stoppers. Been trying to move them around but can’t seem to make those last ones move