Quena Multiphonics Catalog: Notation, Diagrams, and Audio
I built this Quena Multiphonics Catalog to document fingerings and outcomes in a way that is practical for performers and easy to navigate. Each entry pairs a fingering diagram with audio examples, so you can hear what the fingering produces and compare variations quickly.
This is an ongoing project. I am currently working on similar versions for quenas in G and C. If you have suggestions or want to report an issue, please use the contact form.
Overview
Multiphonics on quena can be inconsistent: small changes in breath pressure, voicing, or instrument geometry can produce different results. The goal of this catalog is to make that variability legible, while still staying usable in real musical contexts.
What’s included
- Fingering diagrams designed to be scanned quickly while practicing.
- Staff notation showing sounding pitches in concert and transposing clefs (notes are coming in the roadmap).
- Audio examples for each entry (so you can compare outcomes without guessing).
Notation and outcome suffixes
Some fingerings can produce multiple outcomes (for example, a more stable dyad, a noisier split, or a different upper partial). In the current version, I use suffixes to distinguish these outcomes. These suffixes are placeholders.
I am working on a more elegant system that does not depend on arbitrary naming while still keeping the catalog easy to search.
Status and roadmap
- Current focus: quena in D.
- In progress: additional catalogs for quenas in G and C.
- Coming soon: performer notes on stability and controllable variables.
- Planned: improved organization of alternate outcomes and cleaner naming.
- Planned: revision of encoding suffixes system.
Suggestions and feedback
If you have a suggestion, want to help this project, or want to suggest improvements to the layout and navigation, send me a message via the contact form.