How to buy a Native American flute: Part 2
In Part 1 of How to Buy a Native American flute we looked at several different factors including:
If you haven't read Part 1 yet, I strongly suggest that you take a moment to read it before you dive into this article.
In Part 2 we will take a much more detailed look some things you can look for when purchasing a NAF, including:
Finger spacing
For beginning flute players the most important thing to consider, other than the sound, is the width of the finger spacing of the holes on the flute. People with smaller hands, or those who have never played a musical instrument before, are not used to the stretch that comes with the bigger, lower pitched flutes. Starting with a smaller, higher pitched flute is like doing warm ups before exercising. It will help a beginner get used to playing a NAF without having to worry about a big stretch right away.
A flute in the key of A is a good way to start for people with smaller hands.
If your hands are bigger or if you've played a musical instrument before, the finger spacing will not be as big a consideration. I've found that people with experience playing other wind instruments like clarinet, recorder or a silver flute have no problem with the finger spacing. Pianists also do well. If you've played other instruments before, or you have large hands, you could easily start with a flute in the key of G or F#. Of course even if you never played an instrument or your hands are smaller you could still start with a G or F# flute. Just try not to over do it and strain a muscle in your hands. Once you've gotten used to the stretch of these the larger flutes you'll do just fine.
Most flutes below F# are harder for all beginners to play and I generally don't recommend them for that reason. But there are exceptions and that lead us to our next subject.
Flute length and bore size
Native American flutes are fipple flutes. So are the pipes in a pipe organ. As you may recall the pipes for a a pipe organ come in many different lengths. Why? Well the length of the pipe determines what note (pitch) that pipe will produce. Longer pipes produce lower pitches while shorter pipes produce higher ones. Native American flutes are the same. That is why you see NAFs of different lengths. Longer NAFs produce lower pitches, shorter ones higher pitches. As we learned above, longer flutes have a wider finger hole spacing and can be more difficult to play. Some makers however, construct lower pitched flutes that don't have a large finger hole stretch. How do they do this? They make the flute wider.
Length vs. Bore size
Not only does the length of the pipe determine the pitches played, but the inner diameter of the flute tube, called the Bore, also plays a part. This is because it is the amount of air vibrating inside the pipe of the flute that determines the pitch. Naturally the amount of air available for the sound wave to vibrant increases with size inside the flute. Just like making a flute longer, if you make the bore wider you increase the amount of space for the air column to vibrate and thus lower the pitch.
So what does all this do to make a lower key flute easier to play? If a maker shortens the flute while increasing the bore size they can still get the lower pitches of a longer flute but without the big stretch for the finger holes.
For example, I own two flutes in the key of D. One has a bore size that is about the same as most F# flutes, let's call it Thin Man. The other has a much wider bore, and but a shorter length let's call it Fat Boy.
Thin Man is very hard to play. Not only is the finger hole spacing very wide but the distance from the mouth piece to the top finger hole makes for a very uncomfortable stretch for my arms.
Fat Boy on the other hand, with it's with it's wider bore and shorter length, has a very comfortable finger hole spacing and the arms don't have to stretch to reach them. Personally I think the sound is better too. The wider bore makes for a fatter, rounder and warmer sound. Not unlike the woofer on a stereo, the bigger bore pushes a wider column of air that spreads and diffuses more than a smaller bore. (But you know that already.)
The bottom line here is that if you really want to buy a lower pitched flute that is not too difficult to play, look for a flute with a wider bore.
Too Much Information
For the geeks among us, who really want to get deep into all this go ahead and read the next two sidebars. If you don't want your head to spin a little then skip down to the next section: Types of Wood.
Types of Wood
In Part 1 of this series we discussed Quality of Sound and talked a little bit about wood. Let's take a closer look here.
Cedar
Historically the most widely used wood for NAF construction is cedar. Flute makers like cedar because it's soft, has a straight grain and is lightweight. It produces a warm, resonant sound and as an added bonus, smells nice. There are many types of cedar. Western Red, Eastern Red, and Yellow seem to be the most common. Less common are Port Orford cedar and Spanish cedar.
Walnut
The wood I find most used after cedar is walnut. Walnut is a harder wood than cedar and is in fact considered hard wood. It has a nice, dark brown color but can also be almost black. It's primary use is for the block on top of a flute body made of cedar. For a closer look at what a block is check out my NAF construction and history page. The darker color of the walnut also compliments the lighter cedar as an aesthetic statement.
Flutes made of walnut although nice sounding, tend to be not as resonant as than those made of cedar. I assume this is due to the fact that the harder wood does not resonate (vibrate) as much as cedar, but we'll see later that doesn't really matter.
Other soft woods
Other soft woods that are used for NAFs included redwood and spruce. Less common are pine and aspen.
Redwood produces at very rich, soft sound and is very good for bass flutes. The sound it produces does seem to have a strong buzz. Spruces flutes are very similar to cedar and I have recently played several that I thought sounded just as good, if not sweeter, than cedar. Keep in mind that most of this is how a maker builds their flutes, less so the type of wood. Aspen have a very nice sound as well, being mellow and a little on the quiet side. Aspen flutes tend to water out very quickly and take much longer to dry out than other flutes. Soft wood tend to be a better choices for bass NAFs. You might find it interesting to know that most soft woods are "conifers", from the Latin word meaning "cone-bearing," and have needles.
Other hard woods
Other hard wood used for NAF construction are maple, oak, Rosewood, poplar, mahogany, cherry and exotics such as bubinga, cocobolo and padauk. These all have their own characteristics, but personally I find the sound produced by hard woods is not that different from one type to the other. The difference in sound seems to be more how the flute is made and thus varies from maker to maker. I have some hard wood flutes that sound...well, hard and thin, while some of the other hard wood flutes I play have a very rich and warm sound. A good maker know how to work with both soft and hard woods to make great sounding flutes.
I was reminded recently by a maker that most woodwinds, Clarinets, Oboes and Bassoons for example are made from hard woods. Usually rosewood or ebony. Hardwoods are deciduous trees that produce a fruit or nut, and have broad leaves. These generally are dormant in the winter
The bottom line on wood
For me the type of wood, especially hard woods, doesn't affect the sound as much as the way the flute is constructed. For beginners and first time flute buyers I recommend cedar flutes as they have the classic NAF sound, but once you get past your first couple flutes I would pay close attention to the sound as you consider buying a flute. Especially non-cedar flutes. There are makers that like working with cedar and others that excel at working with hard woods. It becomes a very personal decision after you've had some experience playing different woods. When composing I sometimes try many diferent flutes (in the same key) to find the one that matches the mood of the tune I'm working on. I pick a flute for the sound and how it responds to the tune, not the wood. There are many qualities of sound and you can review some of them in Part 1 of this series.
Finishes
One aspect of flute making that is over looked a lot is the finish on a flute. The finish however, has a major role in NAF construction in that it protects the flute from moisture, dirt, dings and general wear and tear. Moisture from your breath will be the biggest thing the finish will have to deal with along with oils from your hands, accidently smacking the flute against objects and fuzz from flute bags.
There are many different finishes being used by makers and I break them into two major catagories, Glossy finishes and Not-Glossy finishes.
The two most widely used finishes for NAFs are Tung oil and Shellac. Between these two Tung oil is not very glossy while Shellac is. Both are naturally made and non-toxic. Tung oil is made from the nut of the Tung tree and Shellac is made from the excretions of the Lac bug. (Really, I'm not kidding.) Both are very water resistant and tend not to color the wood they're applied to. Other finishes include: linseed oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, walnut oil, polyurethane, verathane and bees wax. All are supposedly non-toxic. One maker I know commented that he shies away from anything with "thane" in the name as they just sounded toxic. I don’t claim to know for sure and even a little research online didn’t really answer the question for me. Except for Tung oil, Shellac and bees wax which are non-toxic, I would ask a maker if they know for sure if their finish is non-toxic before buying and sticking their flute in your mouth. If you're buying from a known, or recommend maker this is a non issue.
Now this next part may seem to contradict everything I've said up to now, but all things being equal; sound quality, tuning ease of playing, wood, finish, etc, if a flute is attractive to you go ahead and buy it. If you like the way it looks you might end up playing it more. And that's a good thing! I would add the attractiveness of a flute last to my list of considerations, but it's still part of the equation. Especially if I have a choice of flutes to pick from. Sound and ease of playing come first. Looks last.
In Part 3 of this series we're going look at how to care for your flutes, or if you're like me, how not to care for them. Yes, it's do as I suggest not as I do...
Thanks to the following makers listed alphabetically by first name, for their help on this and keeping me honest.
You can find a complete list of all the Native American flute makers whose flutes I play on the Flute Makers page of www.scottaugust.com. It is located in the More Stuff section.
To find out more information about the history, construction and tradition of the Native American flute be sure and check out my About the Native American flute page.
I hope this is covering information that NAF players can use. Leave a comment if you have one.
-Scott August
© 2006 Cedar Mesa Music. All rights reserved.
- Quality of Workmanship
- Quality of Sound
- Tuning
- Fingering
- Ease of Playing
If you haven't read Part 1 yet, I strongly suggest that you take a moment to read it before you dive into this article.
In Part 2 we will take a much more detailed look some things you can look for when purchasing a NAF, including:
- Finger spacing
- Flute length and bore size
- Types of Wood
- Finishes
Finger spacing
For beginning flute players the most important thing to consider, other than the sound, is the width of the finger spacing of the holes on the flute. People with smaller hands, or those who have never played a musical instrument before, are not used to the stretch that comes with the bigger, lower pitched flutes. Starting with a smaller, higher pitched flute is like doing warm ups before exercising. It will help a beginner get used to playing a NAF without having to worry about a big stretch right away.
A flute in the key of A is a good way to start for people with smaller hands.
If your hands are bigger or if you've played a musical instrument before, the finger spacing will not be as big a consideration. I've found that people with experience playing other wind instruments like clarinet, recorder or a silver flute have no problem with the finger spacing. Pianists also do well. If you've played other instruments before, or you have large hands, you could easily start with a flute in the key of G or F#. Of course even if you never played an instrument or your hands are smaller you could still start with a G or F# flute. Just try not to over do it and strain a muscle in your hands. Once you've gotten used to the stretch of these the larger flutes you'll do just fine.
Most flutes below F# are harder for all beginners to play and I generally don't recommend them for that reason. But there are exceptions and that lead us to our next subject.
Flute length and bore size
Native American flutes are fipple flutes. So are the pipes in a pipe organ. As you may recall the pipes for a a pipe organ come in many different lengths. Why? Well the length of the pipe determines what note (pitch) that pipe will produce. Longer pipes produce lower pitches while shorter pipes produce higher ones. Native American flutes are the same. That is why you see NAFs of different lengths. Longer NAFs produce lower pitches, shorter ones higher pitches. As we learned above, longer flutes have a wider finger hole spacing and can be more difficult to play. Some makers however, construct lower pitched flutes that don't have a large finger hole stretch. How do they do this? They make the flute wider.
Length vs. Bore size
Not only does the length of the pipe determine the pitches played, but the inner diameter of the flute tube, called the Bore, also plays a part. This is because it is the amount of air vibrating inside the pipe of the flute that determines the pitch. Naturally the amount of air available for the sound wave to vibrant increases with size inside the flute. Just like making a flute longer, if you make the bore wider you increase the amount of space for the air column to vibrate and thus lower the pitch.
Think of the speakers for your stereo. The high notes come from the tweeter, which is small. The lower notes come from the woofers which are wider. The bigger woofer is moving a larger column of air and that usually means lower pitches or frequencies.
So what does all this do to make a lower key flute easier to play? If a maker shortens the flute while increasing the bore size they can still get the lower pitches of a longer flute but without the big stretch for the finger holes.
For example, I own two flutes in the key of D. One has a bore size that is about the same as most F# flutes, let's call it Thin Man. The other has a much wider bore, and but a shorter length let's call it Fat Boy.
Thin Man is very hard to play. Not only is the finger hole spacing very wide but the distance from the mouth piece to the top finger hole makes for a very uncomfortable stretch for my arms.
Fat Boy on the other hand, with it's with it's wider bore and shorter length, has a very comfortable finger hole spacing and the arms don't have to stretch to reach them. Personally I think the sound is better too. The wider bore makes for a fatter, rounder and warmer sound. Not unlike the woofer on a stereo, the bigger bore pushes a wider column of air that spreads and diffuses more than a smaller bore. (But you know that already.)
The bottom line here is that if you really want to buy a lower pitched flute that is not too difficult to play, look for a flute with a wider bore.
Too Much Information
For the geeks among us, who really want to get deep into all this go ahead and read the next two sidebars. If you don't want your head to spin a little then skip down to the next section: Types of Wood.
- Finger Hole Sizes
- Make all the holes the same size, but have the space between them vary, or
- Make the space between the holes the same but have the hole size vary.
There are two approaches to the finger holes sizes on flutes.
It seems you can't get both at the same time. A few makers work very hard to get both but usually they have to let the tuning be off a little. Personally, as long as any finger holes aren't too big, I don't worry if they vary in size or, if the holes are all the same distace apart, I don't care as long a the spacing between the holes is comfortable. There is too much variation between flutes and each maker's style to get locked in to playing one type of design. Plus once you get into bass flutes all bets are off.
Soundwaves
If you play NAF you might want know a little something about sound, and soundwaves. They're what you're producing everytime you play your flute!
- Bass frequencies involve very long wide vibrating columns of air and therefore are less directional than high frequencies. This is why you only need one subwoofer in a home theatre set up, the bass travels everywhere on it's own. It's also why you hear more of the bass notes from your neighbor's stereo or the music from the punk in the car next you yours while waiting for a light to change. The bass note are longer and wider and can move through walls and other obstacles more freely. Of course the punk in the car also has the bass turn up really loud...
High frequencies on the other hand are shorter and more directional columns of air. They tend to travel in very straight lines. Try standing outside on a summer night when the crickets are singing. Notice how the strength of their song varies as you move your head from side to side. As you move you either point your ears toward the source of the sound or away from it. this is also why dogs tilt their heads, to focus on the high frequencies. Ear shape in all animals is also influenced by this.
Types of Wood
In Part 1 of this series we discussed Quality of Sound and talked a little bit about wood. Let's take a closer look here.
Cedar
Historically the most widely used wood for NAF construction is cedar. Flute makers like cedar because it's soft, has a straight grain and is lightweight. It produces a warm, resonant sound and as an added bonus, smells nice. There are many types of cedar. Western Red, Eastern Red, and Yellow seem to be the most common. Less common are Port Orford cedar and Spanish cedar.
Walnut
The wood I find most used after cedar is walnut. Walnut is a harder wood than cedar and is in fact considered hard wood. It has a nice, dark brown color but can also be almost black. It's primary use is for the block on top of a flute body made of cedar. For a closer look at what a block is check out my NAF construction and history page. The darker color of the walnut also compliments the lighter cedar as an aesthetic statement.
Flutes made of walnut although nice sounding, tend to be not as resonant as than those made of cedar. I assume this is due to the fact that the harder wood does not resonate (vibrate) as much as cedar, but we'll see later that doesn't really matter.
Other soft woods
Other soft woods that are used for NAFs included redwood and spruce. Less common are pine and aspen.
Redwood produces at very rich, soft sound and is very good for bass flutes. The sound it produces does seem to have a strong buzz. Spruces flutes are very similar to cedar and I have recently played several that I thought sounded just as good, if not sweeter, than cedar. Keep in mind that most of this is how a maker builds their flutes, less so the type of wood. Aspen have a very nice sound as well, being mellow and a little on the quiet side. Aspen flutes tend to water out very quickly and take much longer to dry out than other flutes. Soft wood tend to be a better choices for bass NAFs. You might find it interesting to know that most soft woods are "conifers", from the Latin word meaning "cone-bearing," and have needles.
Other hard woods
Other hard wood used for NAF construction are maple, oak, Rosewood, poplar, mahogany, cherry and exotics such as bubinga, cocobolo and padauk. These all have their own characteristics, but personally I find the sound produced by hard woods is not that different from one type to the other. The difference in sound seems to be more how the flute is made and thus varies from maker to maker. I have some hard wood flutes that sound...well, hard and thin, while some of the other hard wood flutes I play have a very rich and warm sound. A good maker know how to work with both soft and hard woods to make great sounding flutes.
I was reminded recently by a maker that most woodwinds, Clarinets, Oboes and Bassoons for example are made from hard woods. Usually rosewood or ebony. Hardwoods are deciduous trees that produce a fruit or nut, and have broad leaves. These generally are dormant in the winter
The bottom line on wood
For me the type of wood, especially hard woods, doesn't affect the sound as much as the way the flute is constructed. For beginners and first time flute buyers I recommend cedar flutes as they have the classic NAF sound, but once you get past your first couple flutes I would pay close attention to the sound as you consider buying a flute. Especially non-cedar flutes. There are makers that like working with cedar and others that excel at working with hard woods. It becomes a very personal decision after you've had some experience playing different woods. When composing I sometimes try many diferent flutes (in the same key) to find the one that matches the mood of the tune I'm working on. I pick a flute for the sound and how it responds to the tune, not the wood. There are many qualities of sound and you can review some of them in Part 1 of this series.
Finishes
One aspect of flute making that is over looked a lot is the finish on a flute. The finish however, has a major role in NAF construction in that it protects the flute from moisture, dirt, dings and general wear and tear. Moisture from your breath will be the biggest thing the finish will have to deal with along with oils from your hands, accidently smacking the flute against objects and fuzz from flute bags.
There are many different finishes being used by makers and I break them into two major catagories, Glossy finishes and Not-Glossy finishes.
The two most widely used finishes for NAFs are Tung oil and Shellac. Between these two Tung oil is not very glossy while Shellac is. Both are naturally made and non-toxic. Tung oil is made from the nut of the Tung tree and Shellac is made from the excretions of the Lac bug. (Really, I'm not kidding.) Both are very water resistant and tend not to color the wood they're applied to. Other finishes include: linseed oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, walnut oil, polyurethane, verathane and bees wax. All are supposedly non-toxic. One maker I know commented that he shies away from anything with "thane" in the name as they just sounded toxic. I don’t claim to know for sure and even a little research online didn’t really answer the question for me. Except for Tung oil, Shellac and bees wax which are non-toxic, I would ask a maker if they know for sure if their finish is non-toxic before buying and sticking their flute in your mouth. If you're buying from a known, or recommend maker this is a non issue.
Why you should know this.
Some people are allergic to some of these finishes. If you know you have an allergy to any of these compounds then you shouldn't buy a flute coated with it. Other considerations are less severe. Shellac makes a flute very shiny and glossy while Tung oil tends to let the natural wood tones dominate. I preferer Tung oil for a couple of reasons, but this is a very personal preferance. To me, Shellac can be a little slippery and/or tacky feeling depending upon the weather and other factors. I find the mouth piece also has a slick feeling when I'm playing flutes with a Shellac finish. Having said that, it looks very attractive and has a high "Wow" factor when showing off your flutes. Tung oil feels more natural to me and, unless the flute is brand new and isn't quite dry, never feels sticky. Would I not buy a flute because it's finished with Shellac? Of course not! I have many flute with many finishes including Shellac. As long as it's non-toxic, I do not let the finish stand in the way of buying a flute I like.
Now this next part may seem to contradict everything I've said up to now, but all things being equal; sound quality, tuning ease of playing, wood, finish, etc, if a flute is attractive to you go ahead and buy it. If you like the way it looks you might end up playing it more. And that's a good thing! I would add the attractiveness of a flute last to my list of considerations, but it's still part of the equation. Especially if I have a choice of flutes to pick from. Sound and ease of playing come first. Looks last.
In Part 3 of this series we're going look at how to care for your flutes, or if you're like me, how not to care for them. Yes, it's do as I suggest not as I do...
Thanks to the following makers listed alphabetically by first name, for their help on this and keeping me honest.
You can find a complete list of all the Native American flute makers whose flutes I play on the Flute Makers page of www.scottaugust.com. It is located in the More Stuff section.
To find out more information about the history, construction and tradition of the Native American flute be sure and check out my About the Native American flute page.
I hope this is covering information that NAF players can use. Leave a comment if you have one.
-Scott August
© 2006 Cedar Mesa Music. All rights reserved.
Labels: How to...
posted by Scott August at 7:45 PM
3 Comments:
Scott;
Excellent information. I have been making NAF's in Minnesota for about 1 year and use Kieth's guide. I get a tremendous amount of enjoyment from these instruments and love the "magic" they hold. I often will take my flutes up to the North Shore of Lake Superior to play outside in the woods or on Lake Superior. I only wish there was someone in Minnesota who I could associate with that had the same hobby. Any ideas???
Again, thanks for the info.
I did vote for you!
Greg Amundson (Nanuke)
These two related blogs have been an extremely helpful guide, especially for a beginner, like me. They simplified several aspects of getting started on NAF that initially had me buffaloed. There is something special about owning handmade instruments and I'm looking forward to using this information to go out and make my own purchases in the future. Thank you very much!
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