Lorne Gould: Musical Instrument Collection

PERFORMANCE INSTRUMENTS







These are the instruments that I use for public performances: Quena, Eb Alto
Clarinet, Bb Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone, Alto Flute, Soprano Saxophone,
Concert Flute, Bamboo Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, Native Flutes in D, A, E
and G minor, and Bass, Tenor, Alto, Soprano and Sopranino Flauti Dolce
(Recorders). Pictured below these is my new Haynes Amadeus flute. Yes, I
now have 2 concert flutes. For more than 50 years, I've been playing a good
quality student flute, but I recently decided it's past time to upgrade to a
semi-pro intermediate flute with a Solid Silver headjoint. To be honest, I'm
pretty good with most of these instruments, but I have a long way to go
before I can master the trumpet. Not pictured here but also an important
performance instrument for me is my 26 string Celtic Harp.

WORLD WINDS



   

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.

Recently, I acquired a Yamaha MU80 Sound Module, which has 2 midi inputs instead of one, and is very sophisticated compared with the older Proteus 1xr synthesizer. It has 128 GM voices and 64 performance voices, and is capable of supporting 537 Voices and 11 drum kits, with signal processing capabilities such as tremelo and reverb. It also has 2 A/D channels for input from analog sources like microphones and electric guitars. However, I still like the sound of the older Proteus synth, which used 16 bit samples of real instruments as the basis of it's voices. Love the sound of the MJQ Vibes voice, as well as Whistlin' Joe which was used in the theme song for the X Files.

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




In the last couple of months, I have acquired 6 new instruments. I now have
2 Native Flutes made by Bryan Towers (www.bnativeflutes.com): one in Cedar
in the key of E (previously pictured) and one in Mahogany in the key of G,
as well as 2 flutes from High Spirits, one in Walnut in the key of A and
one in Cedar in the key of high D. Also pictured is a Mayan Terracotta flute,
a Chinese Suona (similar to an oboe) and a Bamboo Clarinet that I made myself
from spare parts found around the music room.







This summer has been bountiful for my instrument collection, with 4 new
additions. First, the bamboo Xiao is an end-blown 8 hole flute from China,
in the key of F, and has a beautiful deep tone. Then there is my new Yamaha
trumpet. I don't yet know how to play this horn, and I wasn't in the market
for buying one, but Kijiji made me an offer I couldn't refuse. In fact,
in 18 years of buying instruments online, this was the best deal yet!
I was also gifted some beautiful instruments by 2 wonderful friends.
The High Spirits Native flute in G, made from walnut wood, is a
marvellous instrument that is imbued is the spirit of peace and compassion,
and has been blessed and played by a Tibetan Lama.I also received
a nice 3 octave harmonica as a gift.



I recently purchased 2 unique instruments from Erik the Flutemaker in Florida.
They are an Alto Bamboo Saxophone in the key of Bb and a Carbon Fibre Vivaldi flute
in the key of G# minor harmonic. I've been watching Erik's videos on Youtube for
years now, and he makes some beautiful instruments, including many transverse
flutes and end-blown flutes, but I already have instruments from India, China,
Peru and Japan similar to the ones he produces. However, these two instruments
are unlike anything else in my collection.

The Bamboo Saxophone has a wonderful, deep tone, and the Vivaldi flute is perfect
for playing some of the liturgical melodies that I play, as well as for playing music
in sweat lodges or when dancing in the rain, since carbon fibre is a new, high tech
material that is as strong as metal and impervious to water, heat or cold. These 2
instruments bring my total to 120, so I think that I will not be buying any new
instruments in the near future.
My next project is to build my own bamboo tenor saxophone to complete
my bamboo reed section.



Here is my new Selmer-Bundy Alto Clarinet. The internet made me an offer
I couldn't refuse. I had to buy a mouthpiece, ligature and reeds to use it,
and that cost me more than I paid for this instrument! It does need a
couple of pads and some adjustments, though.



My latest new instrument: a 12 hole Alto Ocarina in Raku-style white ceramic.
This plays in the key of C and has quite a mellow tone.




New crop of 8 instruments harvested in Spring 2024: A violin, a double-reed
Armenian Duduc, 4 Yugoslavian folk instruments including 2 Dvojnice double
flutes, a small Indian Bansuri flute in C#, and my homemade prototype for a
tenor bamboo saxophone. The Duduk was purchased from Facebook marketplace
for 5.00. The seller thought it was a piece of a broken recorder. I had to order
the double reeds from Armenia to make it playable. I'm planning on making a
better bamboo tenor saxophone with adjustments to the tone hole positions so
that it will be more in tune.



Here are the DIY bamboo instruments I've
made recently: six new additions made in
the last month, as well as the bamboo
clarinet and bamboo tenor saxophone
that appear in previous pictures. In total,
there are 2 bamboo saxophones, 1 bamboo
clarinet, 4 bamboo transverse flutes and 1
baby-sized Shakahachi.



My newly acquired Mendini Rosewood clarinet. The wood gives it
a beautiful tone, but it is harder to play than my Selmer clarinet,
particularly in the upper octave. More practice!



Here is the latest addition to my clarinet family: a Selmer Bass clarinet.
I found it on Kijiji for a price I couldn't believe, and it was in great shape.
I now have 4 clarinets in 3 sizes, 4 silver flutes in 3 sizes, and 2 saxophones,
not counting the bamboo and plastic versions of these instruments (most of
which I made myself) which are almost too numerous to count.



I now have a Selmer/Bundy Oboe, which I am learning to play. I don't have much
experience on double-reed instruments, so it is a bit of a challenge to master
it. My orchestra collection is beginning to sound like a Christmas song:
On the first day of Hanukkah my true love gave to me,
An Oboe with a double reed.
On the second day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me,
A big and a small saxophone.
On the third day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me,
Three silver flutes.
On the fourth day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me,
Four different clarinets.
On the fifth day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me,
Native flutes in five different keys.
On the sixth day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me,
Bamboo flutes from Peru, India and China.
On the seventh day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me,
Recorders made from seven different woods.
On the eighth day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me,
Eight types of stringed instruments...





New instruments are now residing in
the house: Two talking drums, and a
Theremin. The larger drum is made
out of Indonesian Mahogany, and
the smaller one is a Nigerian
Gangan drum. The pitch of the drum
is controlled by squeezing on the
cords with your elbow, and can be quite
expressive. The Theremin was the
first electronic instrument, created
in 1920 by the Russian inventor Lev (Leon)
Theremin. To play it, you never actually
touch the instrument. You control the
volume by bringing your hand close to
the horizontal antenna, and the pitch
using the vertical antenna, creating
a unique sound,which you may have heard
in sci-fi films or in the theme song
for Dr. Who.





New wind instruments: 9 Bansuri flutes from Subray k Bhandari in India,
tuned to different keys, and a Chinese Dizi flute that I had to repair
using a glue gun. How many flutes does a man need?
Check my headstone for the answer...

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