Native American-Style Flute FAQ

The term Native American flute is reserved by tradition and by law to refer to those flutes made by individuals of Native American descent.

By legal definition a Native American flute is made by an individual who is an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. This is a matter of law to protect property rights (the name Native American flute is a property right) of Native American people from being exploited by non-Native individuals.

There are a lot of 100% pure blood American Indians who cannot legally say that they make a Native American flute. This is because they are not enrolled tribal members. There are also a lot of individuals of cross-cultural marriages who can say they make Native American flutes.

Anyone who makes a dual chambered duct flute and who is not legally entitled to claim marketing rights as Native American is making a Native American style flute. If you feel called to own a flute from a Native American flute maker then my flutes are not for you. I make what is called a Native American style flute.

There is a growing trend to call these instruments Native Flutes. The Native American flute has become a world instrument. In the process of dissemination it has undergone a significant series of developments and design changes so that in many cases its Native American origins are barely recognizable. At Ancient Territories we admire, respect and acknowledge the Native American roots of the instruments we make. However we now generally call them Native flutes because Native American style flutes is a mouthful and somewhat confusing.

There are three reasons that we make our Native American style flutes with flattened tops.

First, the flattened top makes the flute easier to play because it makes it easier to cover the tone holes with the fingers. This is especially true for beginners.

Second, it makes it easier for more advanced players to half-hole notes and to slide notes up and down.

Third, it looks more distinctive than a round flute and makes the flute stronger as well.

The block of wood tied to the top of traditional Native American flutes serves the purpose of connecting the air coming out of the slow air chamber with the true sound hole where the sound is generated. It is a design feature that is unique to the Native American flute and helps to distinguish it from other types of flutes. This block was often carved by the Native player into the shape of the totem animal or fetish animal of the owner of the flute. Often the block was in the shape of some bird because the sound of the flute was associated with bird song. The area of the flute where the block is situated is usually called the nest.

All the pentatonic scales are called minor scales. It is generally accepted that the mode one pentatonic scale is the de facto tuning for the Native American style flute. There are five minor pentatonic scales that can be played on a six hole Native flute. Our six-hole flutes can play two of these scales – a mode one scale and a mode four scale.

Mode one is also called the blues scale and is considered to be dark, grounded, expressive and earthy. It is slightly more upbeat, or bright than the mode four scale.

Mode four is also called the dominant pentatonic, Mixolydian, or Egyptian Scale. Its sound is considered to be open, powerful and unresolved.

Some people say yes, some say no. There is a difference but it’s hard to describe. The way the Native American flute is made will, in my opinion have a much greater effect on the sound it makes than the wood it is made of. Even flutes made of the same wood out of the same board can have markedly different voices. With a metal concert flute the difference in sound quality depends more on the player than the flute. And, all these flutes sound basically alike. With a Native American style flute each flute has its own unique voice. I think that’s part of the reason that people start collecting. For more detailed information on wood type and tonal quality go to the page Wood Type, Flute Design and Tonal Quality

On an Ancient Territories Native American style flute you can play one complete octave plus three additional notes of a second octave. There are six notes: five notes of the pentatonic scale and the first note of the second octave that are in tune. The other chromatic notes are obtainable by half holing and cross fingering but are slightly out of tune. They work well as grace notes. To the trained musician this may not sound like much but this very simplicity is part of the charm of the Native American style flute and what makes it so easy to play.

For more information on available notes go to the playing the love flute page. link

A pentatonic scale is a musical scale consisting of five notes per octave (the word penta is Latin for five).

The pentatonic scale is one of the most common and ancient scales used in music across cultures — Asian, African, Celtic, Native American, blues, rock and more.

What makes playing a Native American style flute with a pentatonic scale so easy is that unlike a diatonic scale (seven notes) all the notes and combinations of notes in a pentatonic scale sound good together. A pentatonic scale lends itself to improvisation because you just explore around with your fingers and tunes come out. This is one reason it is called an intuitive scale. There are no “sour” notes to worry about when you play a pentatonic scale. This is what makes the Native flute so easy to play. You don’t need to learn to read music or memorize tunes.

If you play on the five black keys of a piano you are playing a pentatonic scale. Everything you play sounds great. Start playing on the white keys and it’s a different story.

For more information on pentatonic scales link

During the checkout process, which is handled by PayPal, you have the option of paying with a PayPal account or with your credit card. I do not take credit card numbers on the telephone.

We ship via United States Postal Service for domestic shipping. We use USPS Priority Mail and they guarantee delivery in three to four days. It can sometimes take longer so be patient as they always arrive. We usually can get a flute into the mail within 48 hours of receiving the order. Wetout Protection adds another couple of days before the flute is ready to ship.

USPS Express mail costs about $20 more and gets there overnight if I can get to the Post Office before 3 p.m..

We do not insure packages, as the PO has never lost a package. Priority Mail has a tracking number which we can send you upon request. If you have a problem with Porch Pirates we suggest that you require a signature for confirmation of delivery. It will cost a couple of dollars extra.

We use the Post Office First-Class Mail to ship to foreign addresses. It usually takes about ten working days to arrive if the package doesn’t get hung up in Customs. First-Class Mail does not provide a tracking number.

Sometimes we have to use USPS Priority Mail for foreign shipping because the package is too big or heavy to go First Class. In this case we will contact you to arrange billing.

You have to check with your local customs authorities about whether or not they are going to add on a tariff. Also let us know if you need a receipt to show to customs to verify the cost.

If you are aware of problems in your country with packages being stolen from the mail we suggest you use Priority Mail which has a tracking number that discourages theft. Priority Mail is usually an additional $25 but it will get there when a First-Class package is almost certainly going to disappear en route.

If you want to use some other shipping option contact us for prices.

If you want to you can send a check or money order. It must be made payable to John Stillwell. I can’t take checks made out to Ancient Territories.

Ancient Territories Native American style flutes are sold with your satisfaction guaranteed – 100%. If you buy a Love flute from me and you are not  completely satisfied with the flute in every way you may return it at any time for a full refund (minus the cost of wetout if you ordered it). You pay for the return shipping. All Ancient Territories flutes are also guaranteed for any defects in craftsmanship for the life of the flute.

I have been making Love flutes for about twenty-two years now. In that time I have made many hundreds of Native American style flutes. I should mention that when I started making flutes I had already had twenty years of experience as a craftsman of fine furniture and custom cabinetry.

A five hole Native American style flute plays only one pentatonic Mode or Scale. Some people may imagine that this will make it easier to learn on a five hole flute than a six hole flute. After all there are less holes, right. Wrong – it’s just as easy to learn on the six hole Love flute because when you’re playing a scale one of the holes is always closed (just like it didn’t exist). You’ve got to put that finger somewhere, either over a blank spot on the barrel of the flute or over a hole. What’s the difference’ But having that extra hole on the flute really expands the possibilities of the flute. With a six hole flute you have a whole different scale available when you’re ready to use it (and you soon will be). Also playing on a flute with the extra tone hole allows easy access to some extra cross fingered notes so you can play your flute in major as well as minor scales.

It depends on how you define the word hard. It wasn’t hard for me and I was a musical zero. Of course it does take some effort – like learning anything new. When it comes to playing music the Native American style flute is probably the easiest instrument – asside from beating a drum – that there is. To learn to make a decent sound and be able to make some melodic runs up and down the scale will take a about two hours. Don’t worry about it, the flute will teach you – really. You just start playing around on the flute and it comes naturally. If your experience is anything like mine you will enjoy every minute.For more information and detailed lessons on playing the Native American style flute go to the Tutorial page.

There are several things about the Native American style flute that makes it an ideal instrument for someone who has limited (or no) musical experience:

1. Unlike conventional symphony and band instruments the Native American style flute does not demand any difficult mouthing techniques (called embouchure) to play. You simply blow with a gentle breath into the mouth hole of the flute. From the very beginning a clear sound comes out of the flute.
2. The Native American flute is tuned to play what is called a pentatonic scale. Pentatonic means five. This is also called an intuitive scale. With a pentatonic scale all the notes and combinations of notes played on your flute sound good together. You don’t have to worry about hitting a “sour” note. From the moment you start playing the Native American style flute you are making music. Concert instruments are made to play a diatonic or seven-note scale. Some of these seven notes don’t sound good together. Therefore playing a diatonic instrument becomes more complicated. In this respect the Native American flute is easier to play than a recorder which is a diatonic instrument.
3. The volume of a Native American style flute is quite soft or mellow. When you play the sound is not loud like that of a conventional instrument such as a trumpet or clarinet. To me this meant that I could play my flute in my living room without fear of waking the dead or disturbing others. It got me over a kind of psychological barrier of being afraid of what others might think of my playing. Or was I disturbing others when I was playing.
4. People who play Native American style flutes have evolved into very sympathetic and supportive groups of individuals. These groups are called flute circles. Members are happy (if you wish) to encourage and support you in your evolution with your flute.
5. With the Native American style flute it does not take hours of practice to develop and maintain your playing technique. This flute is an instrument that you can feel relaxed about playing (or not playing).
6. In spite of the comparative simplicity of the Native American style flute it offers great potential for artistic and expressive growth. Two different pentatonic scales are readily available on one of my flutes. These scales are called the mode one or Aeolian scale and the mode four or Dorian scale. If you use cross fingerings when you play you can add several extra notes (called grace notes). This increases the musical range of the flute. If you work at your technique you can even play a full twelve-note chromatic scale by half holing and cross fingering. The Native American style flute is sometimes called a simple or folk instrument. But, I have been playing this type of flute for more than twenty years and I am still discovering new things every day.

The term Native American Flute is reserved by tradition and by law to refer to those flutes made by individuals of Native American descent. I am not a Native American. Therefore, the flutes that I make are called a Native American-style flutes. I consider myself to be a contemporary not a traditional flute maker. I am not attempting to re create or romanticize the past. I use state of the art fabrication techniques and tune my flutes to a modern pentatonic scale such as can be played on a piano. It is my intention that a handcrafted Native American style flute be accessible to everyone that wants to have the opportunity to make their own music.

To order an Ancient Territories flute, please shop online or contact John and Grayson at (760) 821-3776 or [email protected].

The Native American style flute is an intuitive folk instrument that is tuned to a five-note scale. The drum or the rattle are also intuitive instruments. With intuitive instruments all you have to do is follow your heart and music starts to emerge. When you pick up a Native American style flute you will automatically begin to let the flute teach you. Playing the Native flute is easier than you might think.

When we use the words “intuitive instrument” we mean you can feel your way into making expressive music with your Native flute. You don’t have to memorize and apply any rule to play this instrument. You don’t have to learn how to read music. You can let your finger explore and, as muscle memory develops, they will automatically begin to pick out little tunes.

The Native American style flute and the music coming through it have many, many lessons to teach. There are lessons about healing and love. Lessons about Peace and respect. Lessons about self-confidence and connectedness.

Relax and your spirit and body will respond to the sounds you are making with your flute. Muscle memory will spontaneously develop the connection between your fingers and the sounds. You will spontaneously begin to play more complex tunes. As you play your Native American style flute you will instinctively be lead deeper into more expressive sound creations.

As you play your fingers will become more proficient at expressing the musical sounds of your Soul. Your fingers and your whole being will take great joy and satisfaction in doing this. When music is coming through you freely the sounds of the Soul or Spirit are being manifested in the physical dimension.

The wonderful thing about a NA flute is that it is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A musical scale is just a little tune. Within a scale we can, almost automatically compose little structures of sound vibration in time. With a pentatonic (five-note) scale all of the notes sound harmonious with each other in any combination. There are no sour notes. A sour note is sort of the opposite of a harmonic or loving note.

Remember, time is our friend guiding us and giving us space to create. There is no rush to master anything. No pressure. No place to go. There is nothing to accomplish. That’s not what we’re using the flute for. We can, in fact, use the flute to get away from those kinds of dysfunctional mental and emotional spaces. Those are behaviors that are connected with anxiety, pressure and a neurotic need to do it right.

If you are feeling any of these negative emotions it’s time to examine the mental and emotional space you’re in and make a shift. The Native flute is a tool that helps you do this. When we are playing our flute we don’t need to have an intention or preconceived idea of what to express. Music flows out of the Universal soul through us. It weaves its magic and disappears. In the act of making music we come into contact with something greater than our individual selves.

People all over the planet are playing the Native American style flute. You can too. Play your own music. You will be helping to make the world a better place.

The Key of ‘G’ or F# is a good place to start for people with normal size hands. If you’re worried that you’re hands are small or that the stretch will be too much go with an ‘A’. Fingers and joints are quite flexible and a flute that feels like a ‘reach’ at first will soon be comfortable to play as your fingers adjust to the new positions. If you are already playing an instrument like the piano of guitar you can play any of the Love flutes that I make. For more information on choosing the right Native American style flute for you go to the Help Choosing a Flute page

These holes are commonly called direction holes. They mark the effective sound generating end of the flute because this point is where the vibrating column of air that creates the sound stops vibrating. Some think that the added barrel length beyond this point adds a mellowness to the tone of a Native American style flute. It does make a Love flute look longer. I don’t notice much difference in tone with or without these holes. I don’t particularly think that my flutes needs the added length to look impressive so I don’t use them.

I can’t read music. I’ve tried to learn how but it doesn’t stick in my mind. I’ve enjoyed playing the Native American flute for more than fifteen years now without being able to read a note. I’m having a great time playing the flute. Beside the standard musical notation there is a simple system of musical notation for the Native American flute devised by Carlos Nakai called TABlature. For more information on tablature and many songs that have been transposed into TABlature you can do a web search.

Your Ancient Territories Native American style flute is a fine musical instrument made of natural materials. My flutes are well constructed and have a good layer of protective finish. However, in order to keep your flute in good condition it should be cared for properly. Your flute should be given the same care and respect you would give any precious, delicate object.

The wood a Native American style flute is made from is subject to expansion and contraction with changes in temperature and humidity. Therefore, the first rule in caring for your flute is to avoid subjecting the flute to sudden changes in either one. The more sudden or extreme the change the more dangerous it could be for your Love flute. An example would be to take a flute that had been sitting in a cold automobile and start blowing your warm breath into it without allowing the flute to heat up slowly to room temperature first. Another example is to take a flute from an air conditioned room into the direct hot sun. Worst of all, don’t leave your flute in a car that will be sitting in the sun where the temperature can very quickly go up to 100 or more degrees.

Generally I wouldn’t leave a Native American style flute sitting in the direct sun. This doesn’t mean that you can’t play your flute out of doors in the sun. Just don’t leave it in a place where it could absorb direct sun rays for any length of time and thus overheat. The heating can cause uneven expansion in the wood fibers. This stresses the wood which may eventually lead to cracking. If you care for your flute avoid leaving your precious instrument within the reach of children or pets.

When I am through playing my Love flute I always blow what moisture I can out of the flute. I also leave the bird pulled back away from the nest of the flute so that air can circulate freely through the slow air chamber. Some people also leave the flute with the head end pointing down so that any residual condensation in the slow air chamber of the flute can drain out.

The polyurethane finish on your Native American style flute should not need to be oiled or treated with any conditioner. If it gets a little smudgy with oil from your hands you can wipe the flute down with a dry clean cotton cloth. Use a brisk polishing motion. I wouldn’t use a synthetic fiber cloth. Synthetic fibers can be very hard and could put fine scratches on the finish. If you do get a minor scratch on your flute you can polish it out with car polish (the kind that is used to restore a dulled automobile finish). This may change the luster of the affected area in comparison to the rest of the flute. If this happens just polish the whole flute to bring the finish into uniformity. Deep scratches cannot be removed this way. If they annoy you call me and I’ll refinish the flute for you.

If you are going to be taking your flute outside the home I would suggest that you obtain a padded protective bag to transport it in. A hard case is even better.

Once a flute has found its owner (been sold) we take it back into the shop for its final voicing. First I check the tuning once more and make any adjustments by undercutting the tone holes. Then we carefully round off the underside of the tone holes with a Dremel tool using a double cut oval carbide cutter.

Next we smooth all the surfaces of the flue – top, bottom and sides with diamond files and steel wool. We pay particular attention to the shaping of the leading edge of the flue where it enters the True Sound Hole.

Then we carefully adjust the splitting edge surfaces so that they are true and smooth and have just the right spacing. This depends on the character of each individual flute.

With diamond files we smooth all the inside surfaces of the TSH and the exit of the Slow Air Chamber removing any burrs and rough spots.

Next with a small piece of sandpaper rolled into a cylinder we sand the inside surface of each tone hole and the lower edge of the tone hole where it enters the bore of the flute.

We sand and steel wool the underside of the bird paying particular attention to the leading edge.

We put the bird on the flute and test the tonal quality making adjustments to this leading edge until we get the tonal quality we are listening for – testing, adjusting, testing adjusting. Sometimes we must go back to the splitting edge and make some fine adjustments to bring it into harmony with the air stream being created through the flue.

When we are satisfied with the tonal quality we take a small artist’s brush and coat all the surfaces we have just worked on with varnish.

When the varnish is dry we go over the outside of the flute and if we find any imperfections we smooth them out with steel wool and buff them out on the buffing wheel.

Now we tie the bird to the flute with the deerskin band and try the flute one more time. If it passes the test then the flute is ready to go.

Sometimes we must go back and repeat a step or two if we are not completely satisfied with the sound we hear. Now the flute is ready to meet its new friend and owner – You.

The Native American flute as we know it today derives from simple instruments made by the pre historic inhabitants of North America. The renaissance and further development of the Native American flute began in the late nineteen sixties. The dedicated effort of many flute makers has helped it evolve into the musical instrument that we see today.

When I began playing the Native American style flute I was not aware of its cultural origins. For me, its attraction was that this type of flute was easy to play and sounded nice. It was only latter that I became aware of its Native American roots. Ancient Territories flutes do not attempt to look like a Native American artifact. But, my flutes do pay homage to the Native American culture. It is my belief that this instrument has taken its place on a larger stage than that of any particular culture. The Native American style flute is played by people around the world. The Native American flute has gained this popularity because it allows each individual, no matter what his sex, race or cultural background, to speak from his own heart in the universal language of music. For more information on the History of the Native American flute go to the History of the Native American flute page.

The Native American style flute is an end blown flute that has a sound generating mechanism that is derived from flutes made and used by pre-contact Native Americans. It is also called a two chambered duct flute.

This type of flute is composed of two distinct hollow chambers – the slow air chamber at the mouth end of the flute and the sound chamber at the bore or barrel end of the flute. The sound chamber is where the finger holes are. Separating these two chambers inside the flute is the plug or solid area of wood which separates the two chambers. There is a narrow flue or channel which carries air from the slow air chamber to the true sound hole or fipple of the flute. The existence of a slow air chamber is what makes the Native American style flute different than other whistle or fipple type flutes such as the penny whistle or the recorder.

Other types of end blown flutes such as the shakuhachi, quena or ney only have one hollow chamber and require an embouchure (a configuration of the lips and tongue) to create a sound.

Side blown flutes such as the Bohme or Western concert flute, Irish flute and bansuri also require an embouchure.

With the Native American style flute all the player needs to do is blow gently into the mouth end of the flute to make a sound. You do not need to train the muscles around the mouth and tongue (embouchure) to make a sound.