Why the Modular Irish Flute

My passion for Irish music started in 2015, when I joined a Bluegrass and Irish folk music band. At the time I was playing electric bass and double bass, and slowly I developed a love for traditional Irish music. We mostly played bluegrass, with a few Irish songs sprinkled in, like Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye, Whiskey in the Jar, Finnegan’s Wake, and Drunken Sailor. We had a lot of fun. The band broke up after a few years, but the passion for the music stayed with me. 

A couple of years ago I finally got a proper wooden Irish flute from McNeela. It was great, and I loved it for what I knew at the time. Having worked in the 3D printing business for the past seven years, I asked myself: how hard would it be to make a 3D-printed flute? It turned out that making a flute is not that difficult, but making a flute play well is exceptionally difficult. It is like making a carbonara, everyone can make it but to make a good carbonara you need good ingredients, knowledge and skills. At first, the idea was to make a traditional flute, but the frustration grew because I wasn’t satisfied with the results. Then one day I had a thought: why am I insisting on tradition when I have 3D printing? So I started experimenting with many headjoint geometries and hole shapes. Most of them were unplayable or simply didn’t work, but from time to time there was something promising. Eventually I ended up making about 20 good different headjoints, later reduced to 12. 

The flute evolved naturally into a modular system, so I decided to keep going in that direction. I really wanted to make a couple of whistle headjoints, but it was far harder than I had imagined. It became clear that my understanding of the physics was lacking somewhere. Fortunately, I came across an article that explained sound propagation inside the flute tube, which helped clarify what was needed. With that knowledge, the design process became fairly straightforward, and I was able to make the two whistle headjoints play well. 

It became clear to me that the flute had a life of its own, so I needed to continue along the modular route. The next steps are keyed sections and many other headjoints, mostly because I find it fun! 

I’m curious to see what it is going to evolve into.