Proto 1 Auto Slide Flute Due for Production

Here I am holding the original Proto 1 auto slide flute. The long tube is the air tube into which you blow to play the flute. The air tube is held in a ring of the wire that goes to the slide rod in the flute. The slide moves back and forth with your head movement to change the pitch and determine the note you are playing.

My Top Secret, keep the lights burning project for the summer has been a whistle project with David Whalen from Scotia, New York. David approached me on the phone with the idea of making a slide whistle that he could play by moving the slide with just the movement of his head. The whistle would also have to be easy to blow, have a nice deep sound, and be easily cleaned and maintained. In addition to that, the cost should be as low as possible so a lot of folks could afford it in all kinds of countries and economic situations.

WOW! You have to love a project and challenge like this!

David further explained that he was quadrupelegic from a skiing accident and wanted very much to play the slide whistle. His idea was to make a slide whistle that many people could play and have fun with, sound good, be inexpensive, be non-electrical, and be portable. He and a group of friends and family had done exploratory work on the music project and knew there would be lots of interest in the whistle if it could be made to work.

I was really excited by the concept of the slide whistle project. I knew from working with my nephew Kevin on the original slide flute, that the number of folks who would benefit from the project would make up a very large and enthusiastic group of people. I told David it was a done deal and I would develop the whistle and he would be the tester. I also cautioned him that it might take longer to get the whistle right and playable than we both could anticipate.

Sometimes you just get lucky and that's what happened next. The Penny Whistle Auto Flute has been throughly tested and played by a large group of folks, many with disabilities that hamper breathing or mobility. Soooo...I turned the flute upside down and made a clip to hold the clear vinyl tube used to blow the flute onto the original mouthpiece. I made a wire bending jig to make a heavy wire loop to hold the mouthpiece tube and an extension to hook it to the fiberglass slide in the flute. All you do then is put the tube in your mouth to blow the whistle and move your head back and forth to move the slide. Now you can play music! I added some clips to hold the flute to an 18" piece of rod that can be held in place by an appliance bar and you can then play without using your hands.

The day David received the slide flute, he called at six in he morning to tell me he had gotten up early and had already learned three tunes to play. And then he played them for me over the phone. What a great feeling to hear him play and know everything had worked out okay!

David has been testing the flute for about a month and a half and it works very well. I dubbed it Proto I (for first prototype) and while David is testing, I have developed Proto 2 which is built on the Symphony Slide Flute. Proto 2 will be tested over the next few weeks and hopefully a production model will be decided on to begin production before the end of October.

Proto I has proven to be reliable and fun to play. Sound is very good. Cleaning is easy and quick. Sets up easily. Windway can be cleared simply and overall the flute works as well as hoped for. With a few changes in geometry and the wire bending apparatus, I feel confident we will be making this model on schedule.

The slide flute does require the care giver to be able to do some easy cleaning of the instrument and some minimal setup with the appliance bar. I am writing an easy to understand set of instructions and the illustrations necessary to take the flute apart and assemble it correctly.

We are very excited about this project and would like to hear what you have to say about the development so far. If you would like to email, send your message with the Subject line on your email as "Regards Proto I" to rodbrewer@jaybrewer.net.