Blue Hill Moon: Bone Flutes, Forest Gifts, and Soundscapes

A Blue Hill Moon 

Bone Flutes Forest Gifts and Soundscapes

The Start

    - We began this project with a strong desire to work with foraged material.
    - One rainy day, shortly after the ground had thawed, we went looking for morel mushrooms. On our
     journey, we found the skeletal remains of a male deer, but did not find any mushrooms.
    - We waited some time before deciding to use the bone to create an instrument.
    - Confirmation came to us in the forest when we found some morels while looking again for the skeletal remains of the deer.
    - After locating the deer, we offered the remains the finest morels we found in exchange for a leg bone, and an antler.


    Dryad's Saddle Mushroom
    Morel Mushroom & Slug Friend





    Deer remains with morel Offering
    Processing
      - We found the bone and the morels at an intense time! Spring was springing and the ground was shifting. It was important to us to to process our findings emotionally and otherwise, so enjoyed some morels sauteed in butter.
      - We were joined by a kind feline friend named Skittles, who wished us well!
      - We struggled for a while as we tried to figure out how to boil the bone safely and smell-free. We decided to boil the bone for 30 minutes two times.
      - First, we boiled the bone under the new moon and left it in the sun. During this initial boiling, curious deer came to visit. 
      - We then practiced carving the bone flute on carrots. Experimenting with various carving techniques.


      Morels in Butter
      A Good Sign 
      Carrot Practice






      Building
        - First we watched many youtube videos in order to learn what the technical components of building a flute like this might be. Many thanks to the BlueBearFlutes channel, which has a ton of videos and felt the most accessible to us.
        - For the second boiling, we sawed it into a small piece and boiled it with thyme, rosemary and other herbs. This both sterilized it and cleaned out the marrow for a hollow flute.
        - After the second cleaning, we started drilling the “splitting edge” to create the sound. We filed the edge to be thin enough to split the airflow in half and produce a tone
        - After making the splitting edge, we realized that it would have made more sense to blow from the other side, so we made another one
        - Finally, the flute needed a plug to direct the airflow at an angle into the edge. We’re eventually going to make a wood one, but it was easier to use a carrot under the time constraints. Much faster to cut!
        - After putting the carrot in, we had a sound!


        First cut
        Carrot plug
        The Piece
        - This piece was composed with the intention of bringing out the spirit of the material we utilized to create the flute. In other words, we wanted the flute to sound like a bone flute! which in some ways sounds a lot like the animal that it came from!
        - The score attempts to visualize the breath patterns moving through the flute itself.
        - It was important that we connected to the instrument as a way to literally breathe new life into the material, this is further exemplified in the score, which mimics imagery of wind and spirit. 
        - It is titled Blue Hill Moon because the Blue Moon on Saturday May 18th is the first premier of the piece in the hilly space in which the remains of the deer were found.

        Blue Hill Moon


        Program notes:

        This piece was written in the springtime of 2019 for multiple dimensions: fixed media playback, live bone flute, and live bone flute with fixed media playback. The work features two soundworlds: a handmade flute born from a foraged leg bone of a deceased deer, and the sacred space in which it was found. The more you listen, the more you play, the more you might find that these two worlds are not very different. Both are worlds full of life! Bone material from a mammalian body. There is a deep sense of understanding, and intentionality that is brought forward when one is able to see their own body in their material resources. This piece attempts to show this intentionality by supporting players and listeners alike in understanding the space from which the bone as foraged, and how this bone danced about in its breathing-breath.


        Technical Details and Practical Suggestions:

        When the sacred space is available, this piece is meant to be played on the full moon, a symbol of the rhythms of time, intuition, and new life. When presenting this piece in a concert setting, please utilize recorded material of the sacred space. There is a lot of openness in the score. Please trust your ears and inclinations in realizing the piece with the score as your guide. All musical/performance parameters may be considered in the trajectory of the piece. There should be ample stillness and silence especially later in the piece to bring awareness back to the space.



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