. . .American, that is. This past weekend at a French Indian War reenactment I found a lovely NA flute (that’s what they’re called, but they’re still end blown) with a carved and polished horse head at the bell end. It refused to leave my hands, so I had to fork over my credit card to ransom it.
Sassafrass wood, numbered 1 of 1 (the person asked for very specific things from a man by the name of Two Crows who carved it, including that the designs not be repeated).
To my astonishment, there is a teacher here in the area, and a ‘flute circle’ much as there are drum circles. I find it hysterical that its easier for me to find a teacher of these weird and wonderful pentatonic instruments than it is to find a pennywhistle teacher.
There is also a magnificent museum not far from me where I may be able to get more info, if they don’t mind a female touching one of the things traditionally reserved for men only.
I’d love to trade notes with anyone who does any playing of NA flutes.
HI Tygress, I’ve played them for years and also made them for years. They are the first wind instrument that I made and very satisfying.
Ronaldo
Here’s a track of me playing a Native American flute. The tune is in a major diatonic key, but I included a minor pentatonic phrase or two for effect. Traditional American Indian music is often spontaneous rather than a fixed tune.
Mp3</a](http://free.gentle.org/users/gospelhymns/precious.mp3">Mp3</a)>
Walden
Walden is blue at one time and green at another, even from the same point of view. Lying between the earth and the heavens, it partakes of the color of both. —Thoreau
[ This Message was edited by: walden on 2002-08-01 00:15 ]
A very nice sounding cut Walden! Thanks.
The pentatonic phrase for effect was a pleasant and interesting surprise! Thanks for the clip Walden.
Lisa
Wasn’t there a thread a while back about how to either
a) Turn a whistle into a pentatonic instrument by taping up some holes
or
b) Playing a whistle in a pentatonic style with specific fingerings?
or is that another figment of my sleep-deprived imagination?
I think StevieJ was wised up on this.
I don’t know. There probably was such a thread.
I think that our friend Daniel Bingamon makes some whistles in these other scales. Of course one can order pentatonic whistles from Lark in the Morning, too.
Really you can play pentatonic melodies on regular whistle, without altering it. Most of us probably do all the time.
Major pentatonic scales can be found at
http://www.karlsax.fsnet.co.uk/majorpent.htm
Essentially in D you leave out F# and C#
in G you leave out C and F#
I quite often accompany(?!!) AfroCelt Sound System cd’s on my low D using the appropriate
pentatonic scale.
To the uninitiated (non musicians) I am told it sounds like I really know ‘how to play’ my whilstle.
Good fun - give it a try.
I have been playing the NA flute for a little over 4 years. As a person who has studied a number of cultures and the music of each culture, I have found that other than the whistle the NA flute can speak to anyone who is interested.
Yes traditionally the flute was only for the men to play. There is a reason it was called the “Courting Flute.” The story behind the name is that when a warrior wanted to marry a squaw, he went out and hunted for an elk or a large deer to present to her father to ask her hand in marriage. The warrior also played his flute to woo the squaw. It has been said that some of the squaws instantly fell in love with the player of the flute even if they did not know who the player was.
There is music out there written for the NA flute. But I have found, and those that teach the NA flute say that it is not notes on a piece of paper that should help you to learn the NA flute but your heart.
Hello, Ice Climber! Nice to meet you. And thanks to all who have responded.
I’m still fussing with this critter. . .the fingering is just different enough that I’m not getting the notes I intend, and I’m not even certain if I have the block set right on it. If I close down the sound hole I lose all sound, but its very quiet when the sound hole is open all the way.
Do you know if the block or bird can be replaced with another?
One of the big differences between the NAF and the penny/tin/Irish whistle is that the NAF is meant to be decorated and embellished as an art object, as well as played as an instrument. It is far, far more personal than any other instrument I’ve ever held. I’m going to thin my horse’s tail, and use the hairs to braid a band for my NAF.
I hear there is a Grammy award winning NAF player here in CT. Do you by any chance know who it is? I haven’t had luck figuring out which winner it might be.
Thx,
T
[ This Message was edited by: tyghress on 2002-08-04 15:15 ]
Unfortunately T you can not change the bird. Each bird is made specifically for that individual flute.
As for the sound from the flute and where to position the bird. The bird may have a straight edge or may have a semi circular notch in the front end of it. You want to have the edge of the bird on the back edge the air hole. (The side closest to you. Wait, is there a side to a circle? Oh well, anyway your flute is probably quiet just because of the maker. I own a pine flute which is very high pitched and can be considered loud. It is a fairly short barreled body. I also have a cedar flute which is about 12-15 inches long, not really sure of the full length. It is very quiet with a large amount of chiff. It is personally not one of my favorites but I still do play it.
Fingering is going to be very hard to be honest with you. The holes on the flute are cut by the maker to fit his/her hands. One flute I have was made by a man who stands about 6’2" and his hands are proportinate to his size. For someone who is 5’8" tall my hands are rather small. One reason I am learning the whistle.
Also when it comes to the notes you are going to have some difficulties. Even if you buy a NAF tuned to the key of C you will not be able to get an exact C. Reason being that the traditional NAF makers did not have a common scale to work with. They created the instrument to be played using its inner beauty and the inner beauty of the player. Don’t try and find the exact note.
I do know that there is a company out there making electronically tuned NAFs in a number of keys but for the life of me I do not remember the name of the manufacturer at this time. If I can find it I will let you know.
The only people that I can think who might live in CT and are flute players would maybe be Carlos Nakai or Coyote Oldman.
Please feel free to contact me with any more questions or comments here or at my personal e-mail. If you are interested in my e-mail I will Personal Message that to you. I can also give you my number at the same time.
Graham Moran
Did you ever check out Carlos Nakai’s book, Tyghress?
His book is good if you understand classical theory. He also states that his notation is as close to european as he can get but still states that it is not exact.
Definitely a good resource though.
Hey,
I’ve also been playing the NA Flute for a few years now. My intrument is homemade and I’ve been searching for a good maker, but didn’t know where to go for feedback.
Any recommendations on where to pick one up? Any names to watch for? I know with these instruments alot of the time it’s more of a matter of actually just hearing the instrument since each has it’s unique voice…
Thanks
Joey
I have one of Tommy Wildcat’s river cane flutes. It plays great. He is a renowned player, who lives here in the Cherokee Nation. I got mine in Tahlequah, but his flutes and CD’s can be ordered from his website: http://www.cherokeeproud.com/tommy.htm
Note that the flute I’m playing on the above clip is not one of Tommy’s, but is a Jonah Thompson Navajo flute.
I followed that link to his website. He sells NA flutes for $17??? And they sound good? That’s awfully cheap, if they are good. I may have to get one.
Joey,
I have tried to order flutes of the net and through catalogs. I still find the best way is try them in person.
Tgy, I just now looked at this thread. I bought a Marvin Yazzie ceder flute in Phoenix in June. Mine is a 6 hole flute sounding with a low note approximating B. I like the Nakai book and play tunes from it.
—NancyF
On 2002-08-05 21:26, ColoIceClmbr wrote:
Joey,I have tried to order flutes of the net and through catalogs. I still find the best way is try them in person.
Yes. Take my statement about it sounding good with a grain of salt. I tried several of them in the shop before I settled on the one I particularly liked.
The NA flute sound is wonderful, ain’t it?
I’ve played flutes by a number of makers, and several are good. If you have the dough, Ken Light makes wonderful (although pricey) flutes, and sells through his website (Amon Olorin Flutes, and I think it’s http://www.aoflutes.com).
Best bang for my buck has been Butch Hall’s flutes; I have several, and they’re all very nice, and very reasonably priced. http://www.butchhallflutes.com
Butch (and Ken Light, and a number of other respected makers) tune their flutes now so that they’re at concert pitches, and don’t make flutes that conform to their body size; you can safely play most modern NA flutes with other instruments and be in tune! (Realize that the NA flutes are almost always in minor keys, however; I’ve only seen major keys offered by special order, and I’d think that’d sound strange. . .)
There’s an online store that sells flutes from a number of makers, too, called the Oregon Flute Store. Don’t have the web address on hand, but a Google search should get you there.
Along with Nakai’s recordings, you might try Mary Youngblood’s albums (The Offering is nice, as is her second album. The latest album is not so much my cup of NA tea, but YMMV.).
Wonderful instrumets to noodle around on, since they’re so haunting and relaxing and it’s almost impossible to play a “wrong” note once you have the fingering down (fingerings can vary a little from maker to maker, by the way, so ask for a fingering chart if you’re unsure of your maker’s chosen system). Have fun with yours.
–Aaron