Koncovka

Koncovka is a Slovakian endblown overtone fipple flute without finger holes, traditionally played by shepherds. The koncovka flute is played also by blocking (fully or partly) the bottom hole of the flute usually with the index finger and creating another pitch. Because of its truly simple construction (A fipple and cylindrical corpus), the koncovka is played by overblowing from overtone to overtone. By blocking the end of the koncovka with a finger, the overtone series moves up a major third, thereby giving the koncovka a "broken" Lydian scale in that some notes are missing in the lower registers. The scale becomes more complete as one moves up the overtones (as overtones become closer together towards the top of the respected harmonic series). In spite of its simple construction, fast runs, trills, and vibrato are still availible to the player, as well as the ability to play set melodies in various modes. However, the koncovka does not truly modulate, therefore different keys require koncovkas of various lengths.

ee also

* Fujara, another Slovakian overtone-based shephards flute
* Willow flute, a Scandinavian overtone-based folk flute

External links

* [http://www.fujara.sk/instruments/folkart_slovakia/shepherd_pipes/overtone_flute.htm] - Samples