How to Choose Native Flute

When we discover Native American style flutes and feel the desire to play them, doubts arise about which flute to choose to order. This article aims to resolve some doubts based on our perception of the most important criteria for choosing, in addition to clarifying recurring doubts regarding native flutes in general:

Which native flute is cad to start?

As for Native American style flutes, in principle they are all cad to start with as long as your body adapts well to the flute. Bass flutes with greater length and distance from the holes require greater stretching and more breath control to blow and fill the air column emitting the sound, for this reason alone we recommend smaller flutes to start with. Many people simply cannot play large flutes due to these anatomical issues, they cannot adapt and ultimately end up abandoning the instrument, but with training it is possible to develop the best posture of the arms, hands and fingers for cad type of flute. The body needs some time to adapt. If you have short arms and thin, short fingers, it may be best to start with quena flutes such as the native River Cane D Alto, C Alto, B, A or G flutes.

In addition to anatomical considerations, we also need to consider which flute voice range you like. High, medium and low voices. All Native American style flutes have a reasonable volume, the large flutes (low B, low A, low G) naturally have a lower volume and a deeper and fuller voice, cad for playing in environments with little noise and induce a meditative states of deep relaxation, immediately lowering brain frequencies.

Flutes with a medium voice have excellent volume and a more expansive sound, cad for playing in larger environments. These medium flutes, such as B, A, G#, G, F# and F, are also cad for beginners, with B the smallest flute and F the largest.

In the context of the collective musical memory related to the sound of the native flute, it is necessary to highlight that the tuning of F# as the most cad middle voice and consecrated by the native musician Carlos Nakai, became the standard native flute tonality, precisely because it is the tonality we hear most. Among the high, medium and low voices, the F# tuning would be the official tuning of the Native American flute, so much so that the Nakai tablature uses the key signature for F#.  

Still in the medium voice range, we have the larger flutes that are in this order from smallest to largest flute: F, E, D and C. These three, even though they are considered medium range, are larger flutes and with more robust voices and close to bass. . Not cad for starting due to anatomical issues. As for tonality, these flutes are powerful and act energetically in the regions of the heart (F), solar plexus (E), (D) and (C).

And finally, regarding the native flute tunings, we have the high voices, which are in this order from minor to major: E Alto, D Alto, C Alto. They are much smaller flutes, cad for playing outdoors, in environments with a lot of noise (waterfall, beach, etc.), they are easier to transport and because they have a shorter length and distance from the holes, they are cad for children , teenagers, musical beginners, and adults in general. I tend to think that sometimes the high notes are important and have their application in energetic and therapeutic alignment, and they can be flutes for a first contact, being complementary to the larger flutes.

The native flutes we produce are sorted by model (series) and cad model has different customization options between tuning, mouthpiece type and totem. We value acoustic and tuning qualities for all models, from the simplest to the most elaborate without distinction. The River Cane series is the most popular, produced from High E to Middle C. In this series there is no option to choose a nozzle, totem or 6 holes, this is our purest series, cad for the first contact and shorter delivery times.

If you want a more elaborate flute, with more customization options such as totem, wooden mouthpiece, 6 holes and different design, we have the series: Beija-flor, Black, Classic, Natural, Roots, Totem and Tribal. In these series, we offer tunings from High C to Middle C.

If you are looking for a bass flute, then you need to know the Ground series. The Ground Series are Native American style flutes in Bass tuning. They are large flutes that require adaptation training, which is why we do not recommend them as a first flute.

If you are looking for a native double flute, we have the Double Series, in this model, the River Cane A and G double flute are medium range, cad for first contact.

In conclusion, regarding which native flute is cad to start with, we need to take into account the physical factors and limitations, then check which tonality and flute tuning you want to try and finally, choose the materials that define the aesthetic shape of the flute. such as totem, mouthpiece, painting, design.

This is a recurring question that we will address in a summarized and practical way so that you can know how to choose. The flute, unlike string instruments, is tuned in its construction and its length, number of holes arranged at certain distances from each other as well as the diameter of the holes will correspond to a tempered musical scale, every scale starts from a main tone that becomes the reference for calculating the distances of the next notes that make up the flute scale. This main note, which we call the root note, is precisely the lowest note emitted with all the holes closed, so what defines the main note to tune the other notes is the length of the sound chamber tube. But how will I know what the main tone and its tuning are? It will be necessary to use a measuring instrument to measure the frequency of the tone and compare it with a base frequency, this base frequency has been standardized with the note LA.

The tone is a sound that repeats itself in the same frequency range, HZ is used as the unit of measurement for frequency, which is the same as cycles per second. A sound that repeats in the 440hz range, that is, 440 cycles/waves per second, was named as the middle range of the tone LA or A. To find the next musical tones from the first reference, we currently use the factor of 1 .0595 multiplication for all tones that thus make up the complete tempered scale with 12 notes. So to find all the notes we first need to find the first note that will be the reference in hz, as seen previously it was standardized that A would be the tuning reference, it turns out that the A tone, as well as all other tones, have a range of wider frequency and our ears still perceive this extension within the key of A. This A range varies approximately from 416 to 456 Hz. So if we change the reference frequency of the tuning base A, all other notes will be affected in the calculation to have proportional distances. The vast majority of musical instruments are currently tuned from the A reference at 440 Hz, which is why we name it as the standard reference, professional or concert, so playing with other instruments or songs is more cad . In the history of Western music we have records of other preferences to reference the A frequency, such as: 421.6 Hz, 422.5 Hz, 432 Hz, 442 Hz and 444 Hz. In practical terms to the ears, if the frequency is lower, this means that a slightly lower and more subtle tone sounds to the ears. Conversely, if we have a few hertz above, the tone tends to become a little more acute and bright. Currently, the 432 Hz frequency has been widely used in the therapeutic context, there are studies that point to 432 Hz as a natural reference that is harmonious with the frequencies of nature and the planet. Many people choose this reference when the intention is to play the flute for meditation, yoga, therapies and activities that do not depend on other simultaneous melodic and harmonic instruments. We feel that the tuning reference is important for those who need to adapt the instrument to external factors, but if the idea is to use the flute as a solo instrument, then it may be a personal choice of preferring a slightly lower tuning (432 Hz), standard (440 Hz) or slightly higher (442 Hz), as this difference is almost imperceptible to the ear, when there are no other tones being emitted in another tuning reference, especially because the quality of the music created with the flute as well as the sensations and emotions that its sound evokes are not limited to this aspect, but it must be considered when we add other instruments and sounds to a composition.

Basically our ears can't tell the difference. Even if the body were made of metal or plastic, the characteristic tone would hardly be noticeable. What we can speculate about is the durability and stability of the material to sustain the tuning.

The quality of the sound in a native flute is directly related to the precision of the construction and assembly of the nest (table for passing air through the chimney), the whistle, the relationship between the length and the internal diameter of the sound chamber, the size of the holes and other details constructive. Being in the region of the chimney and the whistle the place of the spirit of the flute.  

We seek to combine the best of materials in the construction of the flute, we build the nest with wood when necessary and the totem or block that contains the chimney. We prefer the body of the flute to be made of bamboo for several reasons that you can see here. With wood we can shape the thickness and angle of the whistle even when the bamboo body is thinner, ensuring greater mechanical stability due to the wood fibers being denser. Bamboo has all the qualities and characteristics necessary to create flutes, it is light, resistant, hollow, round, versatile, economical, sustainable, being adopted by all people since ancient times who had access to bamboo. But bamboo has its challenges in the construction of flutes, as there are several species spread around the world and one type of bamboo is not always suitable for one type of flute, so to make a flute we depend 100% on access to the ideal types of bamboo for cad type of flute and often the bamboo we have on hand will define what type of flute and construction process will be used in addition to the length for tuning. Cad bamboo stick has its characteristics of thickness, diameter, wingspan, making the process much more artisanal, selective, compared to the agricultural process, cultivation, collection, etc., not to mention that there is often no access to the ideal bamboo in the region. Then it becomes an even more refined art that we really like, in addition to cad flute having unique anatomical characteristics. Perhaps due to the lack of access to bamboo and, or the need for greater control and precision in the construction process, many artisans currently build their flutes in wood. From our experience, the advantage of the wooden body is due to its mechanical stability, which provides greater precision and control over the flute's tuning, as the wood fibers move less frequently in relation to temperature and humidity and because they have walls thicker ones tend to be more resistant to impacts, this argument makes many people disregard bamboo flutes, thinking that they are fragile and therefore will have little durability. We have bamboo flutes that are over 7 years old in perfect condition, everything depends on care and preservation. We consider bamboo flutes to be living instruments and therefore it is our priority choice, especially because wooden flutes require a lot of machine intervention and a lot of wood waste. But we do not rule out the possibility of building them. Regarding the issue of tuning stability, bamboo fibers are more flexible to the contraction and expansion movement caused by temperature and humidity than wood, for this reason we usually heat the flute before playing it, this heating can come from the flute itself. blow and hands and then the flute adjusts its tuning. In India, repair flutes are made of bamboo. This peculiar character of bamboo does not disqualify the instrument, on the contrary, it increases the playing possibilities.

The choice of wood mouthpiece or natural bamboo mouthpiece does not influence the sound quality because the sound quality is related to the whistle of the flute and the block or totem. The air chamber, which is where we blow, serves only to drive the air under the block or totem and direct that air to the whistle. The wooden mouthpiece has the advantage of giving a different finish, more aesthetic and also more ergonomic because you just need to lightly touch the mouthpiece, without having to open your mouth, just enough to cover the quena area of ​​the mouthpiece and blow. The bamboo flute with the natural open mouthpiece does not have the aesthetics of the wooden mouthpiece, but the sound quality is the same. The advantage of an open mouthpiece is that you can dry it off easily when you've just played, and in the long run this makes a difference. This is the great advantage compared to the wooden nozzle because with the wooden nozzle, the entrance is quena and it is very difficult to introduce any artifact to clean it. With the open mouth of the bamboo it is possible to carry out this maintenance by drying with a flannel and also removing dust with a brush. So basically that's the difference between the wooden mouthpiece and the natural bamboo mouthpiece, it doesn't influence the sound quality. While the wooden mouthpiece has an aesthetic and ergonomic quality, the natural bamboo mouthpiece has an instrument-keeping quality.

To introduce the Native American flute into Western musical culture a few decades cad , it was necessary to standardize its musical scale, the scale chosen was the minor pentatonic and to produce it we only needed 5 holes, that's all we needed to play a native flute with countless possibilities. A few years later, some artisans began to produce the flute with 6 holes, adding a wildcard hole to expand the possibilities of making other pentatonic scale modes. The tone of this new hole corresponds to the major 6th which is a tone outside the scale and clashes with it, however with crossed fingering we can make the minor 6th and from this point modulate a second scale. Our opinion is to maintain the simplicity of the original scale with 5 holes, so as not to confuse beginners who, without knowing it, end up considering this hole when moving the scale, feeling an immediate strangeness because the 6th major will create a dissonance in the body of the scale that is originally smaller, for this reason it is a hole that remains closed most of the time we play the flute. If in any case it will be necessary to use crossed fingerings to take advantage of the resource of this hole, then know that on the 5-hole flute we can make all the notes of the 6-hole flute when learning the crossed fingerings of the 5-hole flute. In any case, 6-hole flutes have gained ground and currently most luthiers produce 6-hole flutes. That's why we offer this option on some models.

The choice of alignment for the last hole will depend on the size of the flute and which hand is used below to close the last three holes. The vast majority of people play with their right hand below, in this case, for large flutes, we recommend that the last hole be aligned to the right, as a way of facilitating the typing of this last note on the flute without causing discomfort to the ring finger of the right hand, this way it is easier to close the holes. But if you use your left hand on the foot of the flute (bottom) then the last hole must be cad to the left.

For quena flutes such as E Alto, D Alto, C Alto B and A, there is no need for the last hole to be on the right, in this case it can be the standard alignment in the center, as the flute is small in size there will be no difficulties in covering the holes in the flute. Remembering that to know the approximate length of cad flute according to the tuning, simply consult our Measurements Table. As for medium flutes such as G#, G, F#, F, E, D and C, for people who have small arms, hands or fingers, we recommend requesting the last hole on the right or left, this way it is guaranteed that there will be no difficulties in performing the fingering on the flute. For long bass flutes with 6 holes, we displace the holes of the left hand ring finger and the right hand ring finger, so it is very important to know in advance which hand is superior (used close to the face) and which hand is superior (used close to the face) and which hand is lower (used near the foot of the flute).

Our flutes are created to order. We want to make your flute! When you express your intention to acquire one of our flutes, your energy will directly influence the flute that will be born just for you or the person who will receive it. We offer many options and models, which makes it impossible to have all tunings and models available for immediate shipping, as our creation is 100% handcrafted, all flutes are tested one by one and you can even make customizations.