Wil Offermans

Thumpy the Thumb Flute

Thumpy® the thumb flute is a simple instrument with a natural and flexible sound. The flute is made of a straight, cylindrical wooden pipe. The embouchure hole is located just outside the middle of the pipe. The open endings are covered and controlled with the thumbs, thus varying the flute's pitch. When combining the overtones of the four fundamentals, Thumpy can produce a limited, though surprisingly rich series of sounds. Furthermore, the pitch can be controlled by turning the flute inwards and outwards or by partly covering the endings of the pipe. Also, one may slide with the thumbs to create portamenti and other pitch variations. When moving the thumbs really fast, even some percussion-like effects can be produced. The attractive and amusing character of the Thumpy flute stimulates the flexible use of the embouchure and encourages one to experiment with concepts such as overtones, wind tones, intonation, sound quality and pitch bending. This Thumpy book will be fun for both the beginner and the well-practised flutist. Young flutists can study the Thumpy flute before upgrading to the Boehm flute. Experienced flutists will like Thumpy as it offers them various possibilities to develop embouchure and breathing technique. We offer the Thumpy flute as follows: Thumpy Junior flute made of varnished wood ZZM 34231.