The Headjoint Tube

In modern conventional transverse flutes the taper of the headjoint tube is critical. To maintain proper tuning and octave to octave uniformity, the taper must be calculated to baffle a precise volume of air at specific points throughout the headjoint’s tube.

Over the years there have been attempts to design vertical headjoints using the transverse baffle principle. Drelinger’s research concluded that even the most promising of these were unsuccessful because the designs relied on  bend and curve construction. Pictured here is a drawing  excerpted from a vertical headjoint patent issued in the early 20th

century.  If actually built, this design would have compromised tuning and octave uniformity. While  bend and curve construction works perfectly for many musical applications, it is inappropriate for the modern vertical Boehm system concert “C”  flute.

The UpRite's Heart

The acoustical design of the UpRite headjoint tube is central to its wonderful sound. Drelinger knew from the beginning that building a successful vertical headjoint demanded equaling the performance of its conventional transverse counterpart.  Five years in the making, our research and development established that the idealapproach was to create a shape using mitered step-flow technology. 


We named this design the ParabolicWaveGuide(TM), and while it is unique to the vertical headjoint, it has been used in other wind instruments for centuries.


To appreciate why the ParabolicWaveGuide(TM) works so well, it is important to understand that when a note is  sounded, it’s not the air that moves fast, but molecules vibrating  vigorously back and fourth one against the other within the air column. And while all this vigorous molecular action goes on, the air column itself moves at a very leisurely 1 to 2 feet per second, through the flute.

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