Traditional Hungarian folk flute, high quality shepherd's flute, furulya, hand-carved whistle

Traditional Hungarian folk flute, hand-carved from locally-sourced organic wood

These traditional “furulya” for playing Hungarian village folk music (referred to in English as shepherd's flutes, folk flutes, wooden vertical flutes, whistles, and other names) come in various tunings specific to the region. These are Transdanubian (Dunántúli) flutes tuned to C, which can be played as a generic type of flute for a wide variety of purposes. I can also make them in G, A, and D if specifically requested.

I follow the traditional practices in crafting the flutes. I go to the forest to collect perfectly straight elderwood, which can only be done in winter when it has the lowest moisture content. I let it dry for a full year, because flutes can only be made from completely dry wood. I hollow the wood by hand (not using a machine), drilling, planing, and sanding it down. The most important step, shaping the mouthpiece and fipple (window), takes several hours to a full day. After that I place the holes and make high quality sure the flute is perfectly tuned. When complete, I hand carve traditional Hungarian folk designs into the flute, using a combination of geometric rings and animal and plant figures (typically bird and flower imagery). I oil it with flax oil (linseed oil) and use green walnut husks to give it a beautiful natural brown color. The whole process takes several days for each flute, after the wood collection and drying process. If well-cared for these flutes can last for decades or even centuries. These are professional-quality instruments and I make individually hand-crafted flutes for some of the best folk musicians in Hungary.

Due to demand, these are often out of stock and I make them to order. Therefore, please note that it takes at least 2 weeks from the time of ordering for me to prepare and send it.

If you need more photos or informations, please write me!