Obverse Flute?

[Bunny]

I was reading an article in which the author referred to an obverse flute.  Is it a flute that is not played sideways as a transverse flute, but rather held similarly to a recorder?  I've gone through dictionaries and encyclopedias and can't come up with anything.  The only "obverse flute" I can come up with is an architectural term.

[david johnson]

perhaps it's held to the left side

dj

[jochanaan]

perhaps it's held to the left side

dj

Wouldn't that be a "reverse flute," not an obverse one? I confess I've never heard of this.

[Bunny]

Well, at least I'm not alone in my ignorance.  Ofcourse, the article was written by an archaeologist not a musicologist, but it was talking about musical instruments rather than the flutes on a column.

[david johnson]

i'll say the guy doesn't know of what he talks 

dj

[Bunny]

i'll say the guy doesn't know of what he talks 

dj

Perhaps true, but perhaps not.  I'm no musicologist so I won't say a thing about this.  I suspect that it's a reference to recorder style flutes, but I was hoping someone could confirm this.

[BachQ]

It's very much like the obverse piccolo ........

[david johnson]

perhaps it is built inside out, thus featuring the keys inside the instrument.

dj

[The Mad Hatter]

perhaps it is built inside out, thus featuring the keys inside the instrument.

dj

Yes. You press the keys with a specially designed stick held between the tongue and the teeth. Quite an extraordinary sound, really.

[Bunny]

Aha! diligent Google search has turned up one reference to the "obverse flute":

lyricon      an electronic wind instrument like a large obverse flute.



I will search on, hoping to find another reference that will define it more specifically. 

[david johnson]

maybe we should look up inverse flutes while we're at it.
i knew one black-haired beauty in college who was a perverse flute jock.
she was fun on dates.

dj

[BachQ]

Aha! diligent Google search has turned up one reference to the "obverse flute":

lyricon      an electronic wind instrument like a large obverse flute.



I will search on, hoping to find another reference that will define it more specifically. 

That's a Lyricon I.


I much prefer the Lyricon II

[jochanaan]

That's a Lyricon I.


I much prefer the Lyricon II

And I still prefer a flute. Or an oboe, or clarinet...

The mouthpiece on the Lyricon I looks more like a clarinet mouthpiece.

[BachQ]

And I still prefer a flute. Or an oboe, or clarinet...

You mean a real, non-mechanical flute?

[BachQ]

The mouthpiece on the Lyricon I looks more like a clarinet mouthpiece.

The Lyricon mouthpiece uses a bass clarinet mouthpiece, with a sensor on the reed that detects minute changes in ambient lip pressure. Wind pressure is measured and detected by a diaphragm, which moves and changes the light output from a light emitting diode, which in turn is sensed by a photocell to give dynamic control.

How could you prefer a natural flute to this? 

[Gurn Blanston]

I was reading an article in which the author referred to an obverse flute.  Is it a flute that is not played sideways as a transverse flute, but rather held similarly to a recorder?  I've gone through dictionaries and encyclopedias and can't come up with anything.  The only "obverse flute" I can come up with is an architectural term.

I have at least one book that refers to the recorder group as obverse flutes. I'll hunt it tonight and post the reference.

[Bunny]

I have at least one book that refers to the recorder group as obverse flutes. I'll hunt it tonight and post the reference.

Thank you so very much!!  At least I know that it's not a "made up" term just for the paper.

[jochanaan]

Dm, "non-mechanical" is hardly the operative word. But there's something about the natural sound of a non-electronic instrument.  Of course, the human voice is the least "mechanical," most "natural" instrument there is.  (I know you know this; I'm speaking for others who may not be aware of it yet.  And if anyone thinks I'm against all modern music, just read a few other posts of mine, including a recent one on the "intense endings" thread. )

[BachQ]

Dm, "non-mechanical" is hardly the operative word.

I'm a bad, bad person ........