How to care for your Native American Flute
So you bought your first flute and have started play it. Congratulations! I’m sure the question “What do I need to do to take care of it?” has crossed your mind. A Native American flute is a musical instrument and like all instruments needs special care. As a woodwind instrument your NAF has some extra needs that don't come with guitars, pianos and other non-woodwinds.
Moisture
The biggest problem that you will encounter is moisture. As a wind instrument every time you play your NAF you force moisture from your breath inside the flute. As this moisture builds up in the space between the block and the flute, called the “flue”, it will eventually prevent the flute from playing and choke off the airflow that produces the sound. This is called “watering out” and is the main problem most NAF players encounter. Watering out is a product of a couple factors: the temperature of your breath and the temperature of your flute.
The temperature of your breath is close to your body temperature or 98.6˚. The flute, however, is close to the ambient temperature of air around it, usually lower than 98˚. This also applies to humidity. The humidity of your breath is usually higher than the humidity of the air around the flute, unless you like to play in the shower.
As you play, you blow hot, moist, humid air into your flute. This moisture is partially absorbed into the wood causing the wood to swell. The remainder is deposited as small beads of moisture in the slow-air-chamber, also called the wind chamber, and the flue. To review the different parts of a Native American flute read the section on Construction
Under normal circumstances these beads of moisture will clump together becoming larger and larger in the flue until they choke off the flow of air. At first your flute will begin to lose it’s tone and sound breathy and wispy, then it will stop producing a sound altogether.
As for the swelling of the wood, if taken to extreme, will cause the seam to break, usually near the mouthpiece. Although less common, the swelling can cause a split in the wood if there is a defect in the wood itself.
How to Manage Watering Out
The best way to control watering out is to limit the amount of time that you play any one flute. Most soft wood flutes can handle about 15 – 30 minutes of straight playing depending on a variety of factors. For example if you’re playing on a cold, damp day your flute will water out quicker than if you’re playing on a warm, dry day. The kind of finish that the maker has used will also have an impact.
Once you notice your flute has begun to water out there are couple steps you can take to delay the process. The easiest is to hold your flute buy the end opposite from the mouthpiece and with a chopping motion shake the moisture beads out of the mouthpiece. When you do this be very careful not to hit anything with your flute, like furniture, other people, your kids, your dog or yourself. This may sound obvious, but everyone I know who plays NAF has smacked their flute against something doing this. Not only can you damage your flute but you could also hurt somebody.
If shaking the flute doesn’t improve the sound, you’ll need to remove the block and with your finger, cloth or shirt-tail, wipe off the moisture. Usually by the time you are forced to do this your flute is very close to watering out completely. When that happens, there is no recourse but to let it dry for as long as possible, or least 8 hours. You should also speed up the drying process by removing the block from the flute. It also helps to set the flute on its mouthpiece, pointing down at a 45˚, or more, angle. (Fig. 1) This will help the flute drain. I use a chair with a paper towel placed on the seat.
Some flutes have very complex knots tying down the block that are hard to untie and re-tie when you need to dry the flute.. To get around this problem I simply limit how long I play the flute. You can also remove the maker's tie altogether and replace it with a simple buckskin thong that can be easily tied.
Wood types, Moisture and Watering Out
In Part 2 of How to Buy a NAF I talked about soft and hard woods. In my experience a hard wood flute will water out quicker than a soft wood flute. This happens because the harder, denser cellular structure of hard wood absorbs less moisture than soft wood, which forces the moisture into the flue and blocks it more quickly.
Other NAF Care
Other than dealing with moisture your flutes are pretty easy to take care of. You should always keep them protected in a hard case. I recommend Laughing Mallard cases from the Oregon Flute Store. I own four. A hard case will save your flutes from major damage. I have dragged my flutes up trails, in rain, snow and scorching heat. My cases have been banged into numerous objects and even dropped short distances. So far my flutes have all remained unscathed.
Fig. 1 Pictured above are all four of my Laughing Mallard cases (if you look closely) and some others that came with flute purchases. Also notice how the flutes are set to dry on the chairs. Obviously if you come to my studio be prepared to have nowhere to sit...
Many makers recommend you reapply a coat of finish to the outside of flute and in the slow-air-chamber about once a year or so. I never do this. I probably should, but I don’t. If I feel a flute needs a new coat of finish I send it back to the maker. Part of this is that I’m a little lazy, but more importantly I think it's better to have the maker take care of it.
On frequently played flutes, moisture and gunk from your saliva will begin to build up under the block and the flue. This is a blac- looking crud, and it affects the tone quality of your flute by disturbing the air column. When this happens most makers will take a very fine piece of sand paper and remove this junk. Again, I would let them do it. If you sand too much wood away you can’t put it back. In my eight years of playing I’ve only had to address this twice. When you send a flute to a maker to remove this gunk, ask them if they will put a little beeswax on the bottom of the block to protect if from moisture.
Germs and Flutes
Although many people will disagree with me on this point, I strongly believe that you can’t blow into a flute and not leave your germs and saliva in it. An extreme example of this can be seen on flutes that are played frequently. A white, crusty buildup begins to appear on the mouthpiece. This is caused by spit and salvia being deposited on the mouthpiece. We've already talked about the black crud that builds up under the block.
More and more makers are using drinking straws or pieces of tubing as “flute condoms” when they sell flutes so that everyone doesn’t get their germs all over them. Personally I think this should be standard. Other makers advocate the use of alcohol or Hydrogen Peroxide to try and kill germs. But wood is very porous and unless the flute has had a few hours to dry out who knows what nasty things lurks in their mouthpieces. Plus, even though alcohol and hydrogen peroxide kill germs, to the best of my knowledge they don't kill viruses.
Pet Peeve
To me, not many things are grosser than playing a flute that other people have recently played. I have a simple rule of thumb about playing other people’s flutes and letting them play mine:
Period. End of story.
Okay, I'm exaggerating for humour but you get the point. For those of you that know me well this shouldn't surprise you in the least…
Basic Instrument care
These are some other thing you can do to care for your NAF that are true of almost all musical instruments:
Also be very careful when you take your flute to the beach, hiking or anywhere else. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of someone having their flute stepped on, sat on or crushed because they took it somewhere and then set it down on the ground or somewhere else. By all means take your flute to these places, but keep it in a hard case whenever you’re not playing it. You’ll save yourself some grief.
I know these are a lot of don'ts. But most everything in the list should be common sense. If you follow these steps your NAF will last you for many, many years.
Can I go play now?
Now that you know how to take care of your flute get out there and play it. Have fun with your NAF. Play it for your friends. Buy another one for when yours waters out. You can’t have too many flutes...
Extra NAF Information
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.
You can also find flutes for sale on my website on the Cedar Mesa Music Store page.
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.
© 2006 Cedar Mesa Music. All rights reserved.
Moisture
The biggest problem that you will encounter is moisture. As a wind instrument every time you play your NAF you force moisture from your breath inside the flute. As this moisture builds up in the space between the block and the flute, called the “flue”, it will eventually prevent the flute from playing and choke off the airflow that produces the sound. This is called “watering out” and is the main problem most NAF players encounter. Watering out is a product of a couple factors: the temperature of your breath and the temperature of your flute.
The temperature of your breath is close to your body temperature or 98.6˚. The flute, however, is close to the ambient temperature of air around it, usually lower than 98˚. This also applies to humidity. The humidity of your breath is usually higher than the humidity of the air around the flute, unless you like to play in the shower.
As you play, you blow hot, moist, humid air into your flute. This moisture is partially absorbed into the wood causing the wood to swell. The remainder is deposited as small beads of moisture in the slow-air-chamber, also called the wind chamber, and the flue. To review the different parts of a Native American flute read the section on Construction
Under normal circumstances these beads of moisture will clump together becoming larger and larger in the flue until they choke off the flow of air. At first your flute will begin to lose it’s tone and sound breathy and wispy, then it will stop producing a sound altogether.
As for the swelling of the wood, if taken to extreme, will cause the seam to break, usually near the mouthpiece. Although less common, the swelling can cause a split in the wood if there is a defect in the wood itself.
How to Manage Watering Out
The best way to control watering out is to limit the amount of time that you play any one flute. Most soft wood flutes can handle about 15 – 30 minutes of straight playing depending on a variety of factors. For example if you’re playing on a cold, damp day your flute will water out quicker than if you’re playing on a warm, dry day. The kind of finish that the maker has used will also have an impact.
Once you notice your flute has begun to water out there are couple steps you can take to delay the process. The easiest is to hold your flute buy the end opposite from the mouthpiece and with a chopping motion shake the moisture beads out of the mouthpiece. When you do this be very careful not to hit anything with your flute, like furniture, other people, your kids, your dog or yourself. This may sound obvious, but everyone I know who plays NAF has smacked their flute against something doing this. Not only can you damage your flute but you could also hurt somebody.
- I too have done this. Once I smacked the mouthpiece of a Woodsongs flute against a chair and put a ding in the bore of the mouthpiece. When I called Geri Little John to tell her, she congratulated me saying, “You’re now officially a Native American flute player!” The other time I was shaking a Ken Light PVC flute, which is made in two parts that slide together. I shook the flute so hard that the mouthpiece section went flying off, hitting the ground and breaking, leaving me holding the now useless finger hole half in my hand and feeling pretty stupid.
If shaking the flute doesn’t improve the sound, you’ll need to remove the block and with your finger, cloth or shirt-tail, wipe off the moisture. Usually by the time you are forced to do this your flute is very close to watering out completely. When that happens, there is no recourse but to let it dry for as long as possible, or least 8 hours. You should also speed up the drying process by removing the block from the flute. It also helps to set the flute on its mouthpiece, pointing down at a 45˚, or more, angle. (Fig. 1) This will help the flute drain. I use a chair with a paper towel placed on the seat.
Some flutes have very complex knots tying down the block that are hard to untie and re-tie when you need to dry the flute.. To get around this problem I simply limit how long I play the flute. You can also remove the maker's tie altogether and replace it with a simple buckskin thong that can be easily tied.
- TIPS:
- Try to avoid drinking hot liquids while playing. This tends to raise the temperature of your mouth.
- Stay away from food or drinks that have sugar, sweeteners, milk or cream. These thicken your saliva.
- On cold days try to warm your flute up before playing. You can use body heat, set it near a source of heat or keep it wrapped in a blanket. Never put your flute directly on a source of heat, e.g. a heater, a radiator or even a hot electric blanket.
- Some people believe that brushing your teeth just before playing helps dry your mouth.
Wood types, Moisture and Watering Out
In Part 2 of How to Buy a NAF I talked about soft and hard woods. In my experience a hard wood flute will water out quicker than a soft wood flute. This happens because the harder, denser cellular structure of hard wood absorbs less moisture than soft wood, which forces the moisture into the flue and blocks it more quickly.
Other NAF Care
Other than dealing with moisture your flutes are pretty easy to take care of. You should always keep them protected in a hard case. I recommend Laughing Mallard cases from the Oregon Flute Store. I own four. A hard case will save your flutes from major damage. I have dragged my flutes up trails, in rain, snow and scorching heat. My cases have been banged into numerous objects and even dropped short distances. So far my flutes have all remained unscathed.
Fig. 1 Pictured above are all four of my Laughing Mallard cases (if you look closely) and some others that came with flute purchases. Also notice how the flutes are set to dry on the chairs. Obviously if you come to my studio be prepared to have nowhere to sit...
Many makers recommend you reapply a coat of finish to the outside of flute and in the slow-air-chamber about once a year or so. I never do this. I probably should, but I don’t. If I feel a flute needs a new coat of finish I send it back to the maker. Part of this is that I’m a little lazy, but more importantly I think it's better to have the maker take care of it.
On frequently played flutes, moisture and gunk from your saliva will begin to build up under the block and the flue. This is a blac- looking crud, and it affects the tone quality of your flute by disturbing the air column. When this happens most makers will take a very fine piece of sand paper and remove this junk. Again, I would let them do it. If you sand too much wood away you can’t put it back. In my eight years of playing I’ve only had to address this twice. When you send a flute to a maker to remove this gunk, ask them if they will put a little beeswax on the bottom of the block to protect if from moisture.
Germs and Flutes
Although many people will disagree with me on this point, I strongly believe that you can’t blow into a flute and not leave your germs and saliva in it. An extreme example of this can be seen on flutes that are played frequently. A white, crusty buildup begins to appear on the mouthpiece. This is caused by spit and salvia being deposited on the mouthpiece. We've already talked about the black crud that builds up under the block.
More and more makers are using drinking straws or pieces of tubing as “flute condoms” when they sell flutes so that everyone doesn’t get their germs all over them. Personally I think this should be standard. Other makers advocate the use of alcohol or Hydrogen Peroxide to try and kill germs. But wood is very porous and unless the flute has had a few hours to dry out who knows what nasty things lurks in their mouthpieces. Plus, even though alcohol and hydrogen peroxide kill germs, to the best of my knowledge they don't kill viruses.
Pet Peeve
To me, not many things are grosser than playing a flute that other people have recently played. I have a simple rule of thumb about playing other people’s flutes and letting them play mine:
- "If I’m not willing to kiss that person full on the mouth I’m not willing to share flutes."
Period. End of story.
Okay, I'm exaggerating for humour but you get the point. For those of you that know me well this shouldn't surprise you in the least…
Basic Instrument care
These are some other thing you can do to care for your NAF that are true of almost all musical instruments:
- Try to limit exposure of your flute to extreme changes in temperature and humidity. A flute bag helps greatly with this.
- Do not set your flute in direct sunlight.
- Do not place your flute on a heat source.
- Avoid exposure to dirt, sand and dust.
- Avoid exposure to oils not intended for use on a flute (e.g. suntan lotion, body lotion, hand creams).
- Try to play your flute with clean hands. Dirt and grease from dirty hands is not good for the finish.
- Don't use any wood polish, varnish or wax on the flute that is not specifically recommended by the maker of that flute.
Also be very careful when you take your flute to the beach, hiking or anywhere else. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of someone having their flute stepped on, sat on or crushed because they took it somewhere and then set it down on the ground or somewhere else. By all means take your flute to these places, but keep it in a hard case whenever you’re not playing it. You’ll save yourself some grief.
I know these are a lot of don'ts. But most everything in the list should be common sense. If you follow these steps your NAF will last you for many, many years.
Can I go play now?
Now that you know how to take care of your flute get out there and play it. Have fun with your NAF. Play it for your friends. Buy another one for when yours waters out. You can’t have too many flutes...
Extra NAF Information
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.
You can also find flutes for sale on my website on the Cedar Mesa Music Store page.
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.
© 2006 Cedar Mesa Music. All rights reserved.
Labels: How to...
posted by Scott August at 7:26 PM
2 Comments:
Another well-written, informative, extremely helpful and FUNNY article! Thanks! And I'm understanding how you can never have too many flutes!
Exactly the information I needed about watering out, climate, what to do about it and so forth. I thought I was just being lavish with the thought of more flutes so I can play longer. You have justified my need. Thank you.
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