Kalyuka Lessons
Known in Ukraine as the калюка or Kalyuka, there are overtone flutes like this found scattered throughout most cultures on the planet. Built almost like a willow recorder, but without any holes for fingers and a simple fipple carved into the outer sleeve, its tuned to produce a single fundamental note; determined by the length and volume of the vibrating column of air; the shorter the flute the higher the toot! Producing an instantly familiar ululation, the ethereal vocal-like quality of the tone instantly transports the listener’s imagination to exotic lands. Since there are no holes, simple overblowing can achieve many notes of the overtone harmonic series, with practice quite a few notes can be played with an unbelievably fluid pulse and rhythm like a beatboxer.
I teach Kalyuka Lessons out of my music studio in Clear Lake Texas, and also by remote video, and i’m happy to recommend several reasonably priced overtone flutes by Etsy craftsmen in Ukraine, Hungary, and the Carpathian mountains if you don’t already have an instrument.
