A fair bit of work and trial and error went into developing the Bessie and its big sibling the Sonny. The Bessie is a tribute to the incomparable Bessie Smith. The flute plays the basic Blues scale, with some extra notes that are very useful. The coolest feature of the Bessie is that the 7th note is at the bottom, where you’ve wished it would be so

A fair bit of work and trial and error went into developing the Bessie and its big sibling the Sonny. The Bessie is a tribute to the incomparable Bessie Smith. The flute plays the basic Blues scale, with some extra notes that are very useful. The coolest feature of the Bessie is that the 7th note is at the bottom, where you’ve wished it would be so often. Ever tried playing ‘Blowin in the Wind’ on a standard whistle?

The standard Blues scale is usually 1, 3, 4, b5, 5, b7, which needs only 5 finger holes. So, the Bessie has an extra hole to get the 2 (a B) and also a thumb hole to get the 6 (an F#). So the scale playable on the Bessie is:

A B C D D# E F# G

There are also a few accidentals that are quite useable as are shown in the fingering chart. And to add to the coolness factor, the tuneable feature allows the head unit to be fitted either way up: normal like a penny whistle, or upside down, like a clarinet.

NOTES: * Orders are usually shipped within three days and delivery is typically less than two weeks. * My standard shipping method is via untracked international airmail. * If an order has not arrived within 30 days of shipping notification, contact me and I will post another. * Some countries may charge relevant taxes such as GST or VAT and/or further postal charges.