Recycled Flute

We did a flute from scratch, with cheap and recycled materials that has the ability to sound various notes.

• Cane
• Cork
• Paper
• Something to make holes and cuts, for example a knife.

The first step is cutting the cane to the dimensions we need. In this case we cut 42 cm of cane, because of its relation between frequency and length.

The first hole we made it at 3 cm from the beginning. We need to make a shape similar to the picture.

We need to have a relation between the frequency and the distance of the holes. The next equation expresses this relationship. The distance between the holes must be in a relation with the volume and length of the flute.

f = V/2L where f is frequency, V volume and L length

So the next holes will be at a distance of

34.7

32.8

29.2

26

24.55

21.9

19.5

starting from the end of the cane. The diameter of the holes must be about 2 mm.

We need now to cut the cork, to fit it inside the cane, we need to make sure that it has a little hole so the wind can pass through it. We have to do a similar shape as in the picture. And then the flute is ready to sound.