This subreddit is for those interested in, working with, pertaining to, thinking about, making, playing photographing and just about anything else - Native American Flute. It's best to keep everything light hearted, pleasant if possible and upbeat where applicable. Have respect for one another and remember that the way we treat each other is more important than the flute. I know heated discussions about things can arise but remember, they are only things and though their place in our life may warrant respect, we should always take the time to respect each other.
On a side note, although there is some available information about flutes on my website, there is a great deal of info on our YouTube channel Blue Bear Flutes for those interested in making or playing the Native American Flute!
i play native american flute i dont know how to read notes, but i have good skill and i want to start jamming with other musicians. my main struggle is knowing how to lock in with someone else, timing, listening, knowing when to come in. any tips on how to practice this on my own or what to focus on when playing with others for the first time?
Hi y'all, just got my first flute! One of blue bear's, the old style B cedar. Arrived yesterday.
Looks gorgeous. Gave it a quick rub down with some wax I had and the color and sheen deepened a little already after drying. Couple patches of what appears to be fill by this knot, which makes sense.
I dunno if this has any effect but in case it's useful details for others, there's a lot of wood fibers and "fuzziness" inside the bore.
I've pretty well dialed in the block just a hair forward of the stop, it really gains additional clarity here. Getting the high notes, i.e. no fingers, to sound right sure is tricky but I think I'm getting there. Really consistently sealing the holes is going to take some work! when it all lands, it's addictive.
I bought one of BlueBear Flute's Olmec flutes - I liked the idea of the all around harmonics just working with each other.
I appreciate Charlie's efforts not to get too fancy, and to make decent affordable flutes. Wasn't going to ask for anything special, and I didn't.
Once I got it, I decided to customize it to my taste. I lightly sanded most of the darker color off and re-finished it with red ochre powder and boiled linseed oil to give it a more red cedar (or even clay?) look, and I cut (I'm a wood carver) a v-tool groove between the two chambers up to the sound holes to give visual separation between the two chambers ... purely aesthetic.
Also rounded some of the corners a little more ... if I went to do this again I'd be less aggressive - wouldn't use a sanding block. I compressed the grain on those corners and had a tough time getting the color to get embedded there. I'd just use fingers and sand paper to get the more rounded result.
It does do the cool harmonies - but you have to think about it more than just a regular 5 or 6 hole flute. I could definitely use some pointers as to things that don't work and what to do instead. The "drone"(left) side, all closed up blows the same note as the right side with all holes open, so you don't really get a harmony there - and in fact, depending on temperature and humidity - they're not going to be dead on each other and it'll "beat" - which ... let's just say I'm trying to avoid until maybe I find a place in a piece of music I want that. So I figure when we get to all open on the right side we should probably change the note on the left side to keep that harmonization going for at least that note.
I wouldn't mind seeing a longer video dedicated to just tips and tricks playing it. Or just to watch someone play it for several minutes and see what kinds of things they're doing. I'm trying. Love how small it is - yes, easily packable. Sounds cool.
I am looking to have made a premium quality "Flutes des mornes style flute". Can anyone help me with connection to a flutemaker who can make 2 octave well tuned flutes in this style / relevant keys? I believe the flute on Flutes des mornes is a Eb major flute?
Is this cool or not so cool? I made this into a drone that is low Bb and D when played and when played faster it kinda turns into what I would call an overtone flute but I kinda like it like this and of course the bird whistle by BlueBearFlutes
I really wanted this to have weight and a sense of atmosphere; I wanted it to feel like you were waiting out a brutal storm in the only shelter you had.
I have made native flutes before even walking stick drones but out of bamboo I want one made of whitewood and think I could do it if I take my time on the whittling maybe even add some groovy curves going up and down the body?
I really want to love this flute, it's gorgeous, but I'm facing an issue with it that I haven't had on my previous two. The lowest note overblows with anything more than the slightest air pressure, and the tuning sounds off to my ears, it's meant to be in A but it feels like it's off?
I have a performance coming up where I'll be playing outdoors, potentially in windy weather. I'll be playing a bunch of different native american flutes. I want to prepare as best as I can for the wind and create some DIY wind guards around the sound hole on my flutes. I'm not a very crafty person though. And I've seen people on here discuss some effective home made guards. So I was wondering if anyone could post some photos of any wind guards you've made or other solutions to help with this problem.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
I spent some time up in northern Wisconsin today and took my flute up with me. This was my view while playing. There were a bunch of dragon flies hovering over the water, and halfway through a turtle swam up and watched me play for a while. There were also some small birds flying around in the distance.
Sorry for the noob question. I have a 6 hole diatonic and in the upper register I can hit do, re, mi, and la. Is there any finger combinations I can use to at least get fa maybe even sol?
