It’s always fun to experiment with making different flutes.  Lately I have been experimenting  with making Japanese shakuhachi flutes from PVC cold water pipe.

It is not an easy flute to learn to play but it is a wonderful sound when you do get a note.  Given how hard it is to achieve playing a note, I can understand how many people who play the shakuhachi hold a long note for meditative purposes.

If you have the time, below is one of the most interesting TED Talks I’ve watched in a long time on “Five Lessons from learning to play the Shakuhachi.”