Native American flute
Encyclopedia
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
recordings. The instrument was originally very personal; its music was played without accompaniment in courtship
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
, healing
Healing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
, meditation, and spiritual rituals. Now it is played solo, with other instruments or vocals, or with backing tracks. The flute has been used in Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
music, as well as other genres. There are two different types of Native American flute, the plains flute and the woodlands flute, each with slightly different construction.
History
The actual development of the flute most likely did not follow this pattern. The most common theory is that it was developed by the Oasisamerica
Oasisamerica
Oasisamerica was a broad cultural area in pre-Columbian southwestern North America. It extended from modern-day Utah down to southern Chihuahua, and from the coast on the Gulf of California eastward to the Río Bravo river valley...
Ancient Pueblo Peoples
Ancient Pueblo Peoples
Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Pueblo peoples were an ancient Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and southern Colorado...
, as the "Anasazi flute
Anasazi flute
The Anasazi flute is the name of a pre-historic end-blown flute replicated today from findings at a massive cave in Prayer Rock Valley in Arizona, USA by an archaeological expedition led by Earl H. Morris in 1931...
" that was based on the Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n flute designs from the south.
The oldest extant Native American flute was collected by the Italian adventurer Giacomo Costantino Beltrami
Giacomo Beltrami
Giacomo Costantino Beltrami was an Italian jurist, author, and explorer, best known for claiming to have discovered the headwaters of the Mississippi River in 1823 while on a trip through much of the United States...
in 1823 on his search for the headwaters of the Mississippi River. It is now in the collection of the Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali in Bergamo, Italy.
Revival
The late 1960s saw a roots revivalRoots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
centered around the flute, with a new wave of flautists and artisans such as Doc Tate Nevaquaya, John Rainer, Jr., Sky Walkinstik Man Alone, and Carl Running Deer. Although the Native American Music category was eventually removed from the Grammy Awards roster in 2011 and no longer exists, Mary Youngblood
Mary Youngblood
Mary Youngblood is a Northern California Native American flutist. She is half Aleut, and half Seminole. She has been awarded three Native American Music Awards, being the first woman to win "Flutist of the Year," which she won in both 1999 and 2000, as well as winning "Best Female Artist" in 2000...
was the only Native American flautist to win two awards during its tenure. Several other flutists were also nominated during it's course.
Flautists and composers
Notable and award winning Native American flautists include: R. Carlos NakaiR. Carlos Nakai
Raymond Carlos “R.” Nakai is a Native American flautist of Navajo/Ute heritage.-Biography:Born Ray Carlos Nakai, in Flagstaff, Arizona, he released his first album, Changes, in 1983...
, Joseph Firecrow
Joseph FireCrow
Joseph Fire Crow is a Cheyenne flutist. He has been releasing albums since 1992. His album Cheyenne Nation was nominated for a Grammy in 2001...
, Robert Mirabal
Robert Mirabal
Robert Mirabal is a Pueblo musician and Native American flute player and maker from Taos Pueblo, New Mexico.His flutes are world renowned and have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian...
, Charles Littleleaf
Charles Littleleaf
Charles Littleleaf, a Native American, born in Warm Springs, Oregon, is a Native American flutist and traditional flute maker. Littleleaf is a tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Central Oregon...
, Kevin Locke, Douglas Spotted Eagle
Douglas Spotted Eagle
Douglas Spotted Eagle, is a Grammy-winning musician, noted for his live and recorded performances on the traditional Native American flute, sometimes accompanied by either traditional Navajo singers and instrumentalists or a modern band...
, Timothy Archambault
Timothy Archambault
Timothy Archambault is an American Native American flutist, architect, and composer.-Background:...
, Troy De Roche, Jeff Ball
Jeff Ball
Jeff Ball is the assistant general manager of the Atlantic City Surf professional baseball team, taking the position on March 21, 2007 after being the team's field manager for the previous three seasons...
(non-native), Douglas Blue Feather
Douglas Blue Feather
Douglas Blue Feather is an internationally known Cherokee songwriter and performer of contemporary music featuring the Native American flute...
, Jay Red Eagle
Jay Red Eagle
Jay Red Eagle is a Native American flautist and Native American artist whose businesses include lines of music clothing called Nashville Threads and M.T. Medicine Bottle. His clothing and shoe designs include country music and Native American clothing, Hip hop clothing, and the first ever Cherokee...
, Robert Tree Cody, David Atlas.
A few classical composers have written for the Native American flute, including James DeMars, David Yeagley, Brent Michael Davids
Brent Michael Davids
Brent Michael Davids is an American composer and flautist. He is a member of the Stockbridge Mohican nation of American Indians. He has composed for Zeitgeist, the Kronos Quartet, Joffrey Ballet, the National Symphony Orchestra, and Chanticleer.He holds a B.M...
, Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
and Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a Chickasaw classical composer and pianist. He is one of a handful of American Indian classical composers, and his compositions are based on American Indian history and culture....
.
Construction
Some modern flutes, called "drone" flutes (originally of Aztec origin) are two or more flutes built together. Generally, the drone chamber plays a fixed note which the other flute can play against in harmony. The drone may also change octaves as it resonates with the melody played on the adjacent flute.
The "traditional" Native American flute was constructed using measurements based on the body — the length of the flute would be the distance from inside of the elbow to tip of the index finger. The length of the top air chamber, as well as the distance between the whistle and first hole, would be one fist-width. The distance between individual holes would be one thumb-width, and the distance from the last hole to the end would generally be one fist-width.
Materials
Native American flutes can be made from various materials. JuniperJuniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
, Redwood and Cedar
Cedar wood
Cedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...
are popular, as they provide a nice aroma. The soft woods are generally preferred by most flute players, because of the softer tones produced by the wood. Other harder woods such as walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
and cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
are appreciated for the clear, crisp, richness of sound that they can produce. Although traditionally flutes would be made from river cane
Arundinaria
Arundinaria, commonly known as the canes, is the sole genus of bamboo native to South Africa and eastern North America and the only temperate bamboo in North America. The genus is endemic to the eastern United States from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Ohio and Texas...
, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
or a local wood, more exotic rain forest woods or even plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
s and bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
are now used.
Legal issues
Commercially in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, only flutes crafted by enrolled Native American tribal members
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
of a federally or state recognized tribe, or their approved artisans, are considered to be authentic "Native American flutes". It is illegal for any other manufacturer to connote Native origins, or to claim their Native American style flutes as "Native American made", per the 1990 Indian Arts And Crafts Act. This act makes such misrepresentation a Federal felony. Non-native makers must at least include such terms as "style" in descriptions of their wares.
Music
Modern Native American flutes are generally tuned to a variation of the minor pentatonic scale, which gives the instrument its distinctive plaintive sound. Recently some makers have begun experimenting with different scales, giving players new melodic options. Also, modern flutes are generally tuned in concert keys (such as A or D) so that they can be easily played with other instruments. The root keys of modern Native American flutes span a range of about three and a half octaves, from C2 to A5.Early recordings of Native American flutes are available from several sources..
Fingering
Native American flutes most commonly have either five or six holes, but instruments can have anything from no holes to seven, including a thumb hole. Various makers employ different scales and fingerings for their flutes.Documentaries
- Songkeepers (1999, 48 min.). Directed by Bob Hercules. Produced by Dan King. Lake Forest, Illinois: America's Flute Productions. Five distinguished traditional flute artists - Tom Mauchahty-WareTom Mauchahty-WareTom Mauchahty-Ware is a Kiowa-Comanche musician. He is known for his work playing the Native American flute, and has been a successful Indian dancer, and has sung in a popular blues band. He is also a skilled traditional artist: painting, sculpting, making flutes, bead working, and feather working...
, Sonny NevaquayaSonny NevaquayaSonny Nevaquaya is a Comanche Native American flute player and maker from Oklahoma. He began his professional career in 1993 when he recorded an album entitled Spirit of the Flute. His second album, Viva Kokopelli was released in 1996. He has also released an album in honor of his father, Doc...
, R. Carlos NakaiR. Carlos NakaiRaymond Carlos “R.” Nakai is a Native American flautist of Navajo/Ute heritage.-Biography:Born Ray Carlos Nakai, in Flagstaff, Arizona, he released his first album, Changes, in 1983...
, Hawk LittlejohnHawk LittlejohnHawk Littlejohn was perhaps the greatest contemporary Native American flute maker. At the time of his death, he was living in Old Fort, North Carolina, where he made his flutes and kept alive his native Cherokee traditions...
, Kevin Locke – talk about their instrument and their songs and the role of the flute and its music in their tribes. - Journey to Zion (2008, 44 min.). A documentary by Tim Romero. Santa Maria, California: Solutions Plus. An inspirational documentary about Native flute enthusiasts attending the Zion Canyon Art & Flute Festival located in SpringdaleSpringdale-United States:* Springdale, Arkansas** Springdale Public Schools, serves the above* Springdale , Connecticut* Springdale, Iowa* Springdale, Louisville, Kentucky* Springdale, Maryland* Springdale Township, Michigan* Springdale Township, Minnesota...
, Utah, the gateway to Zion National ParkZion National ParkZion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River...
.
External links
- Native American flute music sheet
- International Native American Flute Association
- Flutopedia Flutopedia — and Encyclopedia for the Native American Flute.
- Flute Tree Native American Flute Informational Web Site.
- NAF Music A Yahoo! Music Group With Largest Web Collection of Free Native American Flute Sheet Music and Tab.
- NAF Music Songs A Yahoo! Music Group enabling the upload of Native American Flute Music songs
- List of archives containing Native American flutes
- Finger Diagram Fonts for writing out Native American Flute music.
- NAF Tablature
- NAF References NAF References — over 1,300 citations for the NAF.