©2004-2007 J. Beau Buffington
Udu. Cocobolo. Chiff. Fipple. These words might first appear like whimsical poetry, but to several local instrument makers, these descriptive nouns are important tools of their trade. And while making music with available materials has long been an Ozark’s tradition, these craftsmen represent a new generation of instrument builders who haven’t let a shortage of supplies or knowledge quench their creative spirit. Partly, this trend has been made possible by new technologies such as the Internet, and partly by a human desire to create something completely original.
The desire to create a novel instrument was, for Kevin Fent, driven both by a curiosity to explore the creative process and also a joy for learning. Fent first saw the udu drum at NAMM, a national music convention in Nashville, Tennessee in the late 1970’s. A potter and musician for many years, Fent was naturally drawn to the earthy sound of this ceramic drum, which was traditionally a water carrying vessel in Africa: “I think that at some point in the past, someone must have accidentally broken a hole in the udu then realized that it made a pretty interesting sound when you struck it.”
After speaking with an udu maker in Chicago, Fent realized that he could create these drums by using his skill as a potter: “Making the udu is an entirely hand built process involving coiling and burnishing the clay in the chambers. After being fired in a hotter kiln than normal, the result is a vitreous, glass-like ceramic that is not porous like most other pottery. The hollow chamber that is produced creates the fundamental voicing—or tone—of the udu.” Fent says that the instrument is sometimes mistaken for a birdhouse but adds, “it is so gratifying to create something that is not purely utilitarian, but has the added function as a musical instrument.”
Fent, who is a teacher at Pepperdine school, has combined his skill at potting and drum making with an interest in studio recording: “Playing this drum takes a lot of patience for most drummers, because then you strike it, there is a delayed ‘decay’ or response from the tone. It is a tone that can be appreciated in both a live situation, but also enhanced in a recording studio.”
First taught the Jew’s harp by his father at a young age, Fent’s drums are being played and recorded by musicians both nationally and internationally, in such places as Japan and Australia. Although he describes most of his customers as “intense percussionists”, Fent recently sold a set of 3 drums to a Buddhist temple in California. “That is probably one of my proudest achievements, just to think that the monks are using my drums in their ceremonies.”
In the 21st Century Ozarks, a traditional African drum has become an important part of Fent’s daily musical experience in what he calls a ‘meditative process.’ Although his drums have been sold commercially through such places as African Treasures in California and Zzounds in New Jersey, Fent comments that most of his new business is generated by word-of-mouth: “If someone is passionate about music, then they will connect with my instruments in a unique way.” Fent can be reached at taprootstudios@aol.com.
Following in an another Ozark’s tradition of a unique rhythmic accompaniment, John Rayl has made a variety of mouth bows since graduate school at Arizona State University in the 1970’s. By some strange coincidence, the man who first brought the mouth bow to Rayl’s attention as a teenager in the Sea Scouts was Rodger Buffington, my father. Buffington, a fellow Sea Scout with Rayl in the 1950’s, played a modified archery bow as an instrument like the popular Arkansas musician Jimmy Driftwood.
However, Rayl got an innovative idea for using a gourd as a resonator bowl after reading a book on the use of gourds in musical instruments. Rayl comments, “There’s not a lot of surface area for creating resonance in the mouth bow. This is one of the drawbacks of playing the mouth bow with other instruments. So, I started to attach a gourd to one end to serve as a resonator bowl. This increases both the volume and the ability to project the sound.”
Through a process of trial and error using different lengths of wood and various types of guitar strings, cello strings and piano strings and hand tuning each instrument with a pitch pipe, Rayl has created a multitude of different pitched mouth bows for a variety of situations. He has even created a metal mouth bow for an Irish group that he performs with each week, “As far as I know, the metal bow is my own invention. I find that metal gives a more ‘twangy’ tone, and can be really useful for playing with this group. Also, the bow is pitched in D, which is a common key in Celtic music.”
Perhaps, the most productive period for Rayl as a performer and producer of mouth bows was an 18-year period in which he lived in Portland, Oregon. “I definitely sold the most instruments at that time. Even if my customers didn’t know how to play the mouth bows, they still liked to use the bows as a decoration in their homes.” Despite the fact that mouth bows are native to the Ozarks, when Rayl returned to Springfield in the mid-1980’s, he found that the bows were not the hot sellers that they had once been in Oregon, “People just didn’t know how to play them. Most people know more about the Jew’s harp than the mouth bow.” Rayl plays regularly on Mondays from 7-9 with a group at the Magic Bean.
A relative newcomer to the creation of traditional instruments, John McHaffie of Springfield first heard the pennywhistle on a recording about 6 years ago. After shopping at several music stores, he decided to make a pennywhistle from scratch using measurements and instructions that he found on the Internet. Soon, he began experimenting with different designs, materials, and mouthpieces—or fipples. “It’s surprisingly easy to get a note out of a whistle…but fine tuning the sound of the whistle is a different matter.” To do this, McHaffie consults frequently with an electronic tuner when he makes a new whistle.
When he met with a group of dulcimer players at the Library Center, people inquired about buying his handmade whistle. “People came up to me and just wanted to buy my whistle…but this was the only one that I had!” After that, McHaffie made another whistle that he sold on Ebay, the online auction site, and was listed on a web site devoted solely to Irish pennywhistles, low whistles, flutes, and other Irish woodwind instruments. “After I was listed online, I got inquiries from people all over about my whistles.”
These days, McHaffie continues to experiment with different materials and methods for producing his whistles: “When people asked if I made a low whistle, I realized that the copper tubing was too heavy, so I switched to aluminum.” Another innovative feature of McHaffie’s whistles is an adjustable mouthpiece, which allows the player to control the tone of the whistle. Consequently, with just a slight adjustment of the metal piece, the amount of “airiness” or chiff can be modified, thereby controlling the amount of breath required to produce a tone. One recent development in the way that McHaffie manufactures his whistles is the partnership with a machine shop that can produce certain parts for his whistles. This trend might make it easier for him to catch up to his back order of domestic and international customers.
In the mean time, McHaffie’s whistles have been played and requested by some of best known whistle players, “Joannie Madden has a low D, F, G, and A and a high D, and C. Mary Bergin requested a high D and C.” When asked of his future aspirations as a whistlemaker, McHaffie comments that “I would like to become as well known as some of the best whistle makers in world: Copeland, Clarke, and Burke.” Considering his achievements in such a short amount of time, it seems that he is well on his way. McHaffie can be reached at www.mcwhistles.com.
In his workshop on the James River, Steve Widders continues to innovate in the construction of several unusual stringed instruments. Widders made his first guitar over 30 years ago based on article in Popular Mechanics with wood that he obtained from a lumberyard. Following a hiatus of several years and the sale of his original guitar to a neighbor for $30, Widders began building guitars again, this time experimenting with different materials, including walnut, spruce, mahogany and eventually the exotic cocobolo, which is a tropical hardwood. Also, he started using unique construction methods, including an original design for the bracing—or beams—which hold the inside of the guitar: “I knew that there had to be a better way to support the interior of the guitar and also do it in a way that didn’t muffle the sound.” Consequently, Widders used a brace that would minimize the amount of wood needed and enhance the overall tone of the instrument. Furthermore, he devised a unique design for the bridge, which is the wooden piece that transmits the vibrations from the strings to the wood on the front of the guitar.
Eventually, Widders built 6 guitars and 2 Irish bouzoukis, which is an instrument that is similar to a mandolin with a longer neck and a lower tone, and is traditionally used in Celtic music. Then he had an idea for a completely original instrument: “I wanted to have an instrument that could be played like a mandolin but was easier on the fingers. So, this was my plan for the new instrument.” His ingenuity resulted in the “BoogieMan”, which is a cross between the bouzouki, guitar, and mandolin and takes the first syllable from each word: bou, gui, and man.
To date, Widders has crafted 14 of these 4-stringed instruments and sold several to musicians both locally and nationally. Recently, he even sold one to a player at the National Flatpicking Championships in Winfield, Kansas: “That was back before I used a precise form for gluing the pieces of the body together. I guess I felt that symmetry was for sissies,” he says with a laugh. However, that form is still an important part of the process that Widders uses to hand build each instrument.
Widders continues to construct instruments in his workshop based on the principle of “One at a time, one of a kind.” When asked if he would like to see his business grow into a large commercial operation, he comments “I guess that I’ve never really had an interest in turning out cookie-cutter type instruments. The whole fun is not to make the same instrument over and over but to create a one-of-a-kind instrument every time.”
Widders has performed on his instruments with various groups, including Reel Greene, who performed at the Founder’s Park summer concert series in May. His next endeavor is to make the first “BoogieBoy” which will be a modified version of the original “BoogieMan” but will be slightly smaller in size. Widders will perform at the Farmer’s Market in Webb City on September 24 and October 1.
In our throwaway society, where imported plastic beckons from the shelves of the retail juggernauts, the tradition of handmade quality is alive-and-well in the Ozarks. This tradition continues locally with mainstream instrument makers such as Fred Stoneking on fiddle and John Wynn on banjo and mandolin. Also, it continues with several local hobbyists whose spirit of innovation has not only allowed them to march to the beat of a different drummer, but also to create a different kind of drum.
