My collection of 15 Traditional Flutes from 6 of the 7 continents (as far as I know,
no one has ever made a musical instrument in Antartica). From left to right:
- Native Flute from North America
- Nose Flute from Hawaii
- Wooden Flute from Africa
- Wooden Flute from Mexico
- Native Flute from South America
- Quenas from Peru (2)
- Fife from Scotland
- Bansuri Flute in A from India
- Wooden Flute from Nepal
- Dizi Flute in F from China
- Shakahachi Flute from Japan
- Bansuri Flute in D from India
- Dizi Flute in D from China
- Digeridoo from Australia
(OK so this last one is not a flute but you do blow into it)
FLAUTI DOLCI (AKA Recorders, Blockflote, Flute a Bec)
My collection of 18 Dolci Flauti (recorders) from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, England, China and Japan,
in the 5 most common sizes for these instruments. They are made of Cherrywood, Rosewood, Ebony, Boxwood, Pearwood, Maple,
ABS resin and Ecodear plastic. My favourites of each size from this collection are:
- Sopranino made by Kung in Switzerland
- Soprano made by Moeck in Germany
- Alto made by Aura in the Netherlands
- Tenor made by Yamaha in Japan
- Bass (Basset) made by Zen-on in Japan
(Sorry, Mollenhauer, you make some fine instruments including a soprano in this collection,
but you didn't make it on this list of favourites)
ROCK, JAZZ & ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENTS
My collection of 9 band & orchestra instruments:
- Trombone by Jupiter
- French Horn
- Piccolo by Yamaha
- Concert Flute by Gemeinhardt
- Alto Flute by Jupiter
- Clarinet by Selmer
- Soprano Saxophone
- Tenor Saxophone by Keilworth
- Xaphoon pocket saxophone
My main performance instruments are the Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Alto Flute, Soprano Saxophone and Clarinet
HARPS & ZITHERS
My collection of 6 string instruments that are either plucked or hammered to produce a sound:
- Guzheng from China, the forerunner of the Japanese Koto
- Santur from Persia (Iran), a form of hammered dulcimer
- Psaltry from Ukraine, a plucked or hammered zither
- Lap Harp from Mexico, plucked with a plectrum
- Celtic Lap Harp from Canada, 22 strings
- Celtic Lever Harp from the USA, 26 strings
I use the Celtic Lever Harp for performance. Because it has 26 levers, one on each string, it can be set up to play
in 8 different major keys and their relative minor keys (Eb to E natural). In other words, from 3 flats to 4 sharps,
plus C major. It can also be set up to play in harmonic minor keys, which I use extensively when playing Hebraic melodies.
STRINGS & FRETS
My collection of 6 string instruments with frets:
- Acoustic Bass by Fender
- Ukelele by Nova
- Classical Guitar by Raven
- Resonator Guitar by Alabama
- Charango from Peru (made using the body of an armadillo)
- Lap steel guitar by Morrell
(OK the last one doesn't have any frets but it is a guitar)
MALLET & MIDI INSTRUMENTS
My collection of 9 mallet and MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) instruments:
- Malletkat electronic xylophone
- Wooden xylophone
- Glockenspiel
- EWI4000 Electronic Wind Instrument by Akai
- 88 key MIDI keyboard by Maudio
- Axiom MIDI 32 key keyboard by Maudio
- Qmini MIDI 32 key keyboard by Alesis
- PSR290 synthsizer by Yamaha
- DD-5 MIDI Drumpads by Yamaha
To make a sound with any of the MIDI instruments, my Proteus 1xr synthesizer is an essential
component, with 512 sound patches available.
PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
This collection of 28 percussion instruments, many of which belong to my partner Penny Winestock, includes:
- Large and small tambourines (timbrels)
- Cajon drum (on which you sit to play it with your hands)
- African style Djembe drum
- Small Cuban ricardo conga drum
- Irish Bodhran drum
- Set of Wooden spoons from Newfoundland
- Bongo drums
- Doumbek drum from the Middle East
- Set of Tabla drums from India
- Ocean drum which sounds like ocean waves when you tilt it
- Small Djembe drum
- Small and tiny hand drums
- Cuban clave percussion instrument
- 4 sets of Maracas
- Madal double headed drum from Nepal
- Large and small Frog woodblocks
- Avocado, Tomato, egg and skull shakers
- Castanets
- Set of shakers on sticks
SACRED AND RITUAL INSTRUMENTS
This collection of 8 instruments belonging to myself and my partner Penny Winestock
are used for ceremonial and ritual purposes in a wide variety of spiritual traditions:
- Small frame drum used in North American First Nations ceremonies, for healing and for rites of passage
- Shofar, a ram's horn trumpet used in Jewish rituals and ceremonies, such as on Rosh Hashanah,
in Tashlikh rituals, and at other times on Yom Kippur
- Heart center gong often used to end meditation practice
- Bell & Dorje (Vajra or Thunderbolt) used in Tibetan ritual practice, where they represent wisdom and skillful means
- Tibetan Tingsha cymbals used in Tibetan ceremonies as part of prayers, rituals, and healing practices
- Large frame drum used in North American First Nations practices, including Soul Recovery journeys and
Ayahuasca ceremonies , for invoking the sound of a heartbeat
- Horn rattle from Manitoulin Island, Canada often used in sweat lodge and healing ceremonies to purify the soul, body and mind
- Ceremonial rattle from Arizona, USA, made from a gourd, and often used in Peyote ceremonies
Although any musical instrument can be used as part of sacred ceremonies, there are 4 instruments
from the other preceding collections that deserve special mention:
- Didgeridoo, often used in Australian Aboriginal ceremonies at the time of sunset, in funerals, and for sound healing
- Bansuri flute, often used in Hindu and Sikh Kirtan gatherings
- Shakahachi flute, used by Japanese Buddhist monks when they practice Suizen or Blowing Meditation
- Tabla Drums are used in several religious traditions: Sufi mystics use them in Qawwali performances
to achieve spiritual ecstasy, while Sikh and Hindu Kirtan gatherings also use them.
MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUMENTS
These 9 instruments don't belong to any of my other instrument collections,
and I realize that including kazoos as an instrument is a stretching it a bit, but here they are:
- A set of Zamponas from the Andes
- A set of Romanian style Pan pipes
- A button Concertina
- An Ocarina shaped like a small animal
- Kazoos
- 2 Rainsticks, possibly from Chile, Africa, or Australia
- Roll Up Piano. Not very impressive sounding, but very portable
- Kalimba, also called a finger piano
NEW ADDITIONS
These 2 flutes were recently added to my collection. The bamboo Xiao is an end-blown 8 hole flute from China,
in the key of F, and has a beautiful deep tone. The native flute is in the key of E, and is beautifully crafted
from Spanish Cedar, with the mouthpiece made from Spalted Tamarind, and the bird made from Spalted Tamarind over Roast Maple.
It was made in Canada by Bryan Towers (www.bnativeflutes.com) and is the only Canadian-made instrument I own.
