26634901 My Pan Flute Journey Preview Alex Diaz

8/8/2019 26634901 My Pan Flute Journey Preview Alex Diaz

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My PanFluteJourneysomeone said once “a journey



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to everyone who ever wanted to learn something, toeveryone who ever wanted to teach something, and to

whoever once said When the student is ready, the “ master appears .”

My deepest gratitude to everyone who make this ebookpossible



TABLE OF CONTENTS

About The Author.............................................5

About Me! My Pan Flute Journey

Discovering Pan Flute........................................7

Discovering Pan Flute

The Myth Of Pan

Practicing Pan Flute.........................................10

Blowing Notes

Playing Staccato Notes

Reading Music ...............................................13

Types Of Notes

Rests

Pan Flute Techniques ......................................15

Slides Or Bent Notes

The Tunes......................................................17

Greensleeves



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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About TheAuthor

ello there, my name is Alex, I am 27,at the time I wrote this e-book and I

keep counting!H

About Me! My Pan Flute Journey

I still remember the first time I took up a pan flute one morning at

my home in Spain, I was so happy to open the box it came in, and

started to blow some sounds,

at first not much came out, but

I was so enthusiastic about it

that even the lowest note

sounded nice to my ears.

After the time I learnt all the

bits and skills I needed to do

my first songs, what I liked and

still love about the most it's the

whole experience about

learning and taking up an

instrument, you don't actually

stop learning. I am very happy

nowadays to have taken up an instrument to entertain myself in theevenings or any time I thought it conventional, what is your life

without a bit of music in it? That has been around 5 years since, and I

am still learning of course.

I want to encourage you by following the instructions and information

that you can find valuable in this e-book slowly at your own peace.

In every page of this e-book you will see the header and footer

including links to the table of contents as well as indicating the

chapter and part of the book, use these links to navigate through and

find your way most conveniently.

Congratulate yourself for having taken the steps and time to decide to

learn and enjoy everything about this expressive and beautiful

About The Author ● 5 /19

mailto:[email protected]?subject=I%20want%20to%20join%20your%20newsletter































instrument.

I always wanted to write a book, so I thought this would be my better

way to express that part of me which I don't seem to include in my

own melodies.

Take the reading of this book as a journey, a journey of self-

discovering and a journey to develop your own artistic creative

endeavors and leanings, and joys.

You don't have to be a pro musician to play good, you just have to

enjoy what you play and others will discover you.

Please do not hesitate in dropping me an e-mail

[email protected]

for any questions regarding the content of this e-book, you can also

check out the my blog where I further post about pan flute stuff :

www.panflutejourney.com

Have a good journey.

About The Author ● 6 /19




































INTRODUCTION

Discovering PanFlute

hen I first heard the sound of a Panflute, a smile showed on my face

meaning , I had just heard a shootingsound I had never heard before, itreminded of the wind blowing through acrack in far remote cave in someunknown woodland, really the theme justfell in place with what I was listening andwhat I had always been dreaming with ,Ithink really liked the sound of it, it wasfrom a new age relaxing music CD that Ihad and I still keep, I really loved howperfectly well this simple thing blends with

W

a Rhodes piano or synthesized sounds.

I quickly fe l t transported to a world of calmness, mysteries, and lotsof things to d iscover, and I am sure this has happened to anyone who

has ever attempted to p lay the instrument

Discovering Pan FluteThe sound of this exotic tubes has a haunting quality, a little bit

breathy and with a distinct characteristic hollow tone giving the pipes

the individual sound.

I think everyone can recognize the sound of panpipes when you hear

it.

This depends of the kind of Pan flute, as there are some variations

depending from where it comes from, also the woods being used and

the form in the construction, the number of the pipes and the range

of the Pan flute too, so, as you can see there are many aspects

involved in this wonderful instrument, and yet it’s such a simple

thing.

Pan flute is with no doubt one of the first woodwinds known to man if not the first, because of the simplicity of it, basically it’s a set of

pipes, where each of it produces a note, (well I should say two) as

you can play flats and sharp giving you a chromatic range.

Basically the sound is produced when the air from your mouth rubs

Discovering Pan Flute ● 7 /19
































and hits the edge of the pipe, thus creating vibration and a sound

which is resonated along the whole pipe, the stopper found at the

bottom, prevents the air to leak, otherwise no sound will be

produced.

And this simple mechanism is found in nearly every woodwind, aflute, a recorder, a quena or a shakuhachi, after all a sound can be

produced when the vibrations run along a surface which in an

ultimate instance, the waves reaches our ears and we interpret it as

musical notes.

What it gives the

different pitches is the

size or length of the

surface where the waves

vibrate, the longer the

pipe the lower the sound

and the other way round, this is important for you to know as you will

notice that depending on the number of pipes found in your Pan flute

you will have a certain range of notes, and also a certain resistance

when playing.

To me, Pan flute is intimately related to nature itself, first of all

traditionally most of the pan flutes are made out of wood though I

have seen them in plastic recently in some music shops like an

instrument for kids, depending what wood is used, a different quality

is found.

Bamboo is by no other choice the preferred for many professional,

because of the soft and clear tone it creates, it’s also very haunting

too, but there are panpipes, made from maple, cherry, pear and even

fine expensive wood like African Blackwood!.

And then when you play it, it’s like you make the tree speak, as this

quality of sound is unique due to the material used, if you don’t knowwhat panpipes to choose, ask the maker or make sure you know what

wood it’s been made of, so you can get an idea about what to expect,

some will sound warm and sweet, others will sound bright and light.

There are also different types of pan flutes, in Greece is called Syrinx

due to the myth or for instance a Rumanian Nai, is a pan pipe

traditionally constructed in the key of G, and it’s made out of

bamboo, the curved shaped is distinct and characteristic to it, there

are South-American panpipes which date back before the Spanish

invasion, and these are straight constructed and the edges aren’t as

soft and smooth like the European ones, you can also find a Chinese

Pan flute called Pao-Xiao, which has a curved style but done in a

semicircle with the

pipe in the center

being the longest one

giving an unusual

disposition of the

notes.

And within the south-

American panpipes

there are several

types, some of the

































names are rondador, zampoña, siku…

A siku has two rows of pipes attached together, one set higher than

the other so you move your chin to play the other row, a rondador,

has different pipes with different lengths and it’s constructed in one

set straight…. As you can see, many styles and traditions within theancient ethnic music has given different features to the instruments

just like nature has different variations of the same species,

depending on where part of the Earth is found.

Panpipes were born in many cultures all over the world, different

names and shapes, but still the same instrument, you may have

heard about the myth of the God Pan, yes indeed, the name of the

pan flute derives from this myth, and Pan, the God of nature and the

forest, traditionally represented as a fawn with a

panpipes made and created by him.

Did you know that the word panic

comes from Greek?, and it also derives

from the story related to this particular

God, legend says he used to scare

lonely travelers who ventured in the

forest with his flute, a pan flute, by

doing strange sounds with it.

The Myth Of PanThere was a certain nymph, whose name was Syrinx, who was much

beloved by the satyrs and spirits of the wood; but she would have

none of them, but was a faithful worshiper of Artemis, and followed

the chase. You would have thought it was Artemis herself, had youseen her in her hunting dress only that her bow was of horn and

Artemis's of silver. One day, as she was returning from the chase, Pan

met her, told her just this, and added more of the same sort. She ran

away, without stopping to hear his compliments, and he pursued till

she came to the bank of the river, where he overtook her, and she

had only time to call for help on her friends the water nymphs. They

heard and consented.

Pan threw his arms

around what he supposed

to be the form of the

nymph, and found he

embraced only a tuft of

reeds! As he breathed a

sigh, the air sounded

through the reeds, and

produced a plaintive melody. The god, charmed with the novelty and

with the sweetness of the music, said, "Thus, then, at least, you shall

be mine." And he took some of the reeds, and placing them together,

of unequal lengths, side by side; made an instrument he called

Syrinx, in honor of the nymph.

































“P AN IN MYT H

PAN , TH E GO D OF WOODS AN D FIELDS, OF FLOCKS AN D SHEPHERDS,DWELT IN GROTTOS, WANDERED ON TH E MOUNTAINS AN D IN

VALLEYS. HE WA S FOND OF MUSIC, AN D AS WE HAVE SEEN, TH E INVENTOR OF THE SYRINX, OR SHEPHERD 'S PIPE, WHICH HE

HIMSELF PLAYED IN A MASTERLY MANNER ”

Pan, the god of woods and fields, of flocks and shepherds, dwelt in

grottos, wandered on the mountains and in valleys, and amused

himself with the chase or in leading the dances of the nymphs. He

was fond of music, and as we have seen, the inventor of the syrinx,

or shepherd's pipe, which he himself played in a masterly manner.

Pan, like other gods who dwelt in forests, was dreaded by those

whose occupations caused them to pass through the woods by night,

for the gloom and loneliness of such scenes dispose the mind to

superstitious fears. Hence sudden fright without any visible cause was

ascribed to Pan, and called a Panic terror.

Sylvanus and Faunus were Latin divinities, whose characteristics are

so nearly the same as those of Pan that we may safely consider them

as the same personage under different names.

PRACTICING PAN FLUTE

Practicing PanFlute

racticing Pan flute can be a enjoyableexperience, the sounds you can

produce with it are haunting and relaxing,the instrument is forgiving, and it's nothard to play , it's responsive.

P

You don't have to practice every singleday to become a master, this is a

misconception widely spread, you just

have to be constant, and above all havefun with it, any bad habit you may havepicked up will come to review to younaturally, it's all a process and a learning

Practicing Pan Flute ● 10 /19

































experience, remember to think in stepsinstead of mistakes.

Blowing NotesI will explain to you how to make a clear single note in any panpipes,

it’s like blowing on a bottle, and once you’ve learnt, you’ll never

forget just like riding a bike.

But first of all, there are some important things you must remember,

some sort of rules which apply to every pan flute of the world. As a

general rule , you say ta or ka, to tongue a note, to play a note with asharp clean attack, if you say fa or la, the note is softer, this is done

for articulation

The longer the piper, the lower the note will be, thus it will require

more air pressure and a bigger opening from the lips, and so the

other way round with the high notes and short pipes, higher notes

require more pressure too, remember that it’s not about breathing

harder, or straining yourself, always play relaxed and natural, and it

will save years of frustration and bad practice, trust me.

Once you have learnt to make a sound in a pan pipe, experiment in

the other ranges, not only in the middle one, this is the easiest one,

the high range is the trickiest but the notes are the most beautiful,

the pan pipe sound is good enough so as not to sound too shrilling

even if you play a very high b note.Now, assuming you have

understood and read those rules, you are ready to make a sound,

here is how it goes.

• Step 1.Put the pipe corresponding to the note G below your lip,

not too close not too far, just touching the lower lip, andtouching the scoop of your chin.

• Step 2. Shape your lips in a flat serious expression and pull the

corners to the sides, kind of like a smile but in a straight line, a

Cheshire smile let’s say, imagine you’re doing this will help you.

• Step 3. By saying “ta” or “pa” blow downward or if you prefer,

put the palm of your hand in front of you, and try to direct the

air stream until you don’t feel any air, changing the angle to a

90 degrees one basically.

When blowing in any woodwind instrument, try to do it by pushing

with your diaphragm, pushing your belly out and relaxing the

shoulders


































You aim to produce a clean single note and a full round sound as well,

this takes a bit of time but it’s worthy, also remember it takes little air

to make a clean sound, if you find yourself you’re struggling, then

you’re not blowing correctly.

You can use this line below as your first exercise

Once you’ve learnt how to make a clear single G, congratulate

yourself for the achievement and try on the other pipes, but don’t

rush as learning something fully is real progress even if it takesyears,(which it won’t be this case don’t worry!) otherwise you will

have to unlearn bad habits later.

One thing you will notice is that it takes a larger opening from your

lips to the lower lips, and a smaller opening to the higher notes,

specially the top one, these are the trickiest ones, but with time you

learn them too, every pipe requires a certain amount of opening and

of pressure from your breath, this is an important key in playing as

you have to adapt yourself to every pipe as you play different notes.

Playing Staccato NotesStaccato notes are notes that are blown in a way, they sound

accented, emphasized, they’re written like this note below.

Staccato notes don’t sound like a

normal blown note, in fact they are

meant to be played shortened and with a chiffy sound, when you play

staccatos, evenly and correctly, the note is shortened a quarter of its

value.

In order to do that you say “tu” or “ka” or any other syllable that it

forces you to blow extra air in just one shot, tones are started with

the tongue hitting the front of the back teeth, with an staccato, try

doing the same but draw back the tongue back as quick as you start

the note, this makes the note short ,you blow like spitting something

down on the pipe, if you hear it, then you know perfectly what I

mean. Staccato is an Italian term, and it means like “stabbed” since

the notes done in short quick attacks, whenever you see that dot on a

note you would play staccato.

Adding staccato notes to your playing is certainly a enriching way to


TIPS TO R EMEMBER

● Focus the airstream to the middle of the pipe

● Tongue is used to start notes

● Try different syllables and use the one you think it sounds best

● After you hit your tongue at the back of your front teeth, move the tongue back

● Keep practicing even after you think you have mastered it

































your style of overall playing, now you can play in two different ways,

normally you would just blow and and do the notes all of them the

same way,you will certainly sound boring after a time, you can add

more interest to what you “say” this is like way of pronouncing

syllables in every language, in music this is called “articulation” it’s

like saying things in a different ways.

The opposite of staccato is called “legato” another Italian term, which

means linked, so you would play the notes slurred and smooth,

whereas the staccato are separated by short time, just opposite

characters.

“Once you understand the theory behind i t , i t wi l l become more fami l iarto you to know what you’re real ly doing”

Here is some sheet music to practice along staccato notes, rememberthe shorter the value the trickier it gets, but it’s worthy, you will also

enhance your sense of rhythm if you attempt to play sixteen and

eighteen notes with dots on the top:You can start playing this

exercise at a slow tempo and then build up speed from there, this is

relatively easy.

When you think you master it, you can go on to the next level, how

about playing eighteen notes or even triplets?

Remember these exercises are useful to learn how to play these

notes, whenever you encounter them, they will also enrich your sense

of timing, always remember to start slowly and build up tempo from

it, at your own pace, when you think you can play them with

definition, then you're ready for the next set: slurred notes.

READING MUSIC

Reading Music

here are lots of people in the worldwho don't know how to read music

scores and still are wonderful musiciansand so the other way round, howeverlearning how to read basic music scores

will help understand and improve yourmusic experience not only in the contextof playing a pan flute but for playing anykind of instrument. You can also have alook at a musical score and quickly get an

T

Reading Music ● 13 /19

































idea what the song will be about

Types Of NotesHow notes are written on a staff play a major importance, first by

looking at them you know what know to play, how to play and for

how long to play it.

In a staff, there are symbols as well as text, all this, is just

information that you need to know before playing, but notice that I

said information, there is the knowledge you can only acquire by

playing and listening to the song again and again.

Here are the types of notes you may encounter and its corresponding

value:

Starting from the left: whole note (4 beats) half note (2 beats)

quarter note (1 beat) eight note (¼ beat) sixteen note (1/16

beat) and so on...

“Everyone with a b i t of knowledge of music knows the re latedequivalence between every di f ferent note and how i t f i ts within the

beat and rhythm.

That's it, every note has a value which fits within a given rhythm:

1. First you look at the very left of the staff and you will see the

key of the song

2. Then look at the two numbers appearing 4/4, 3/4,2/4, 6/8 or C

and so on.

C is another way to write 4/4 times, which is a common rhythm, the

notes are fit within the spaces and lines of the staff, every gap or line

is used for a note along the scale, and the note tells the duration of it

RestsNow have a look at these symbols:

Starting from the left:

whole rest,half rest, quarter rest, eight rest, sixteen rest,

thirty two rest.

They are called rests, which is a time in the song where no sound is

played, there are several types of rest, each one indicate a note

Reading Music ● 14 /19

































value, they are counted in the same way as a note.

Once you know the names of these symbols, you may want to know

what notes you have to play if you see a score!, but don't panic, learn

slowly

You will start learning the notes on the treble clef with a simple way

everyone has used after a time it becomes second nature.

1. Remember this word: FACE

2. Also these phrase, Every Good Boy Does Fine

Or any other catchy phrase which can help memorize the notes.

Now as you probably are guessing, you can read a whole score!, all

you have to take in consideration is the position of the note which will

will tell you what note to play and how it is played along the main

beat.

Learn more reading music skills in the whole copy of this book

PAN FLUTE TECHNIQUES

Pan FluteTechniques

an flute like any other instruments hasits own quirks and techniques, it's no

exception, in fact there are quite a few,pan flute is expressive by nature,therefore you can vary the way it soundsin some ways.

P

The techniques require practice like with everything, but they're easy

to master once you know the facts about them:

Here is a list of the techniques I have learnt with the years:

• Slides or Bend notes– This is used in Celtic and new age music

a lot,or any style of music and it's basically a decoration, but

Pan Flute Techniques ● 15 /19

S















































you can use it in any part along the song, as it sounds nice

when performed in the right note, it's basically a slide in the

pitch as the notes starts, to do this you tilt the pipe to cover

the hole with your mouth and play a note while at the same

time, tilt the pan flute back to normal position, this makes the

pitch go up in a slope.

Bear in mind that you don' t have to learn a l l of them to sound l ike agood player, in fact with what you h ave learnt so far, you are more

than ready and sound good enough to p lay any song, but If you wantto draw the most out the instrument,then i t 's worth to check out this

techniques used by most pan f lute p layers.

Slides Or Bent NotesAfter you have learnt the value of chromaticism or playing sharps and

flats, a technique called slide can be developed, it's based on the

principle of starting the note already flatted, then move the pipe to

normal position.

It's just the other way round but the effect produced is such ,that it

can be included as a new technique, use it here and there, it's more

an embellishment than other thing and it can add certain grace to

your playing, use it in blues, or in Celtic music.

You can play slide with the pitch going down, or the pitch going up,

experiment is the key.

1. With the pipe in a tilted position, tilted so as to cover the whole

pipe, blow and and tilt the pipe slowly to normal position

2. What you hear then is a note starting from being flat to being

natural

3. You may not want to put the pipe too inclined, just 30 or 45

degrees is enough, try in all pipes and then try playing some

notes and one with a slide.

You can also bend the note by going down in pitch, or tilt the

pipe up or down to hear a wavering pitch to decorate.

4. Practice this technique but it's highly recommended to have

learnt how to play and sharps first.

Here are some exercises to put into practice

You can also learn other new techniques like playing

chromatically or diaphragm vibrato,or hand vibrato all this and

more in the whole book.

Pan Flute Techniques ● 16 /19

S















































THE TUNES

The Tunes

fter you have practicing and learntyour skills with your pan flute, you

probably want to start learning somecommon songs. Here are some basic

known tunes that can help you to practiceall what you have learnt, remember tostart slowly and have fun.

A

Some things you may want to consider before you start playing these

song

• A metronome set at a slow tempo will be a great help to you,

since you learn slowly and measure by measure.

• Take your time and don't rush even if it takes days to learn the

song, it will be worthy the effort

• Try to play songs that you can easily remember and adapt

The Tunes ● 17 /19

S















































easily to the level you are playing

• It's a good idea to print the page and mark down manually

where you can take a breath, it's usually written with “,”

symbol, called breathing mark

• Enjoy

Here is a list of the tunes

• Greensleeves

• For more tunes to play on your pan flute click here

A quick reminder!:You can have a look at more tunes to play inwhole ebook, this is a sample copy, join for free thenewsletter to receive updates and info about how to get thewhole ebook.

I HOPE YO U HAVE ENJOYED READING THIS SAMPLE COPY OF MY EBOOK, I WANT TO HEAR HO W IT WENT FO R YO U, SO PLEASE DO

NO T HESITATE IN SENDING ME A QUICK E-MAIL

[email protected]

Mean while keep practicing and playing for fun that is how you learn,

enjoy your journey.

Alex


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http://www.panflutejourney.com/sheet-music


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GreensleevesA famous melody originated in the medieval period, even today it's

still heard and played all around the world






























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26634901 My Pan Flute Journey Preview Alex Diaz