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About the Native American Style Flutes

My flutes are made in the style and tradition of flutes made by the natives of this land for thousands of years. They reflect my personal philosophy which is "keep it simple". Made primarily of woods native to the northeastern part of the United States, Aromatic Cedar,Cherry, Maple,Yellow Poplar and Walnut, they are simple in design and very durable. I also use Western Red Cedar with its many color hues and beautiful grain. Cedar is the traditional wood of the flute, as well as being sacred to many of the native people.

In the last half of the twentieth century, and more so within the past twenty five years, the flute has had a tremendous growth in popularity. Led by Dr. Richard Payne of Oklahoma City, and the late “Doc” Tate Nevaquaya, a Comanche flute maker and player from Apache Oklahoma, the flute has experienced a rebirth. Today, many thousands of people, both native and non-native, play the flute and experience its magic. In addition, today’s flute players want better sounding flutes that can be played along with other instruments as well as by themselves. There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of people making flutes. I would venture a guess that there are as many as a dozen flute makers in each state, and in some areas, many more.

I have been making flutes since 1993 and during that time have crafted and passed on to their “caretakers” over 1600 flutes. It has been an enjoyable and enlightening experience and quite a learning process. I learned flute making from a fifth generation, Ojibway flute maker, named Hollis Littlecreek. During the years I spent with Hollis until his passing in the late nineteen nineties, I made what are called “Grandfather” flutes. These flutes were made from a formula Hollis passed on to me a few years before his passing, and they were not tuned to a specific key. After much experimentation, the flutes I make today are tuned to both mode 1 and 4 of the pentatonic scale. They have better volume and a more a consistent tonal quality and the learning curve goes on as I am constantly striving to improve and to make a better flute.

Today, I make three types of flutes. I still make the “grandfather” flute,and II also make what I call a “great-grandfather” flute made by boring out a natural branch from a tree. In addition I also makeI a concert flute. My concert flutes are made very similar to the “grandfather” flute with several refinements. More attention is given to the sound mechanism and the true sound hole as well as making sure the bore is well sanded and finished. The bore and slow air chamber are sanded to 600 grit paper and finished with multiple coats of shellacand are sanded between coats with 600 grit paper.
The bore and slow air chamber of my “Grandfather” flutes are finished after the flute is assembled. Special attention is given to the slow air chamber on all of my flutes since that is where breath moisture builds up during playing. Moisture build up can cause the flute to loose its sound quality as well as potentially damaging the flute.

Another difference between the two types of flutes is in the way the bird sits on the flute. On my flutes, I have designed a method of having the bird sit in a channel which keeps it from twisting sideways while still allowing it to move back and forth to find the “sweet spot”. On “grandfather” flutes the channel is routed into the flute creating the flat area and the airway is routed into the bottom of the bird.. On my concert flutes, the bird has a double key way which fits into two corresponding channels routed into the flat area on the flute and the air way is routed into the flute. (see photos) I believe both methods work equally well and are unique to Raven Song Flutes.

The “birds” on my flutes are simple in design in keeping with my philosophy of “keep it simple”. If you wish to have a special totem or some other figure on a bird, contact me through the “contact us” page. I will do my best to accommodate your requests, or I can provide you with a block of wood for you to try your hand at carving your own bird. That would put more of your own personal medicine into your flute.

Still another difference between the two types of flutes is in the finish. “Grandfather” and “Great Grandfather” flutes are finished with a mixture ofbees wax and walnut oil which I make with wax taken directly from a bee hive. They are hand rubbed to a soft luster. My concert flutes are finished with multiple coats of shellac and hand rubbed with pumice and rotten stone. The result is a finish that is a highly polished and very smooth.

The leather thong which holds the bird onto the flute is usually of either deer or elk hide. In many native cultures, elk represents love medicine making it particularly appropriate for these special instruments which were often called love flutes and used for courting. I use a single thong and find that a single, overhand knot is sufficient to hold the bird tight. A double knot will often tighten to itself and allow the rest of the thong to loosen. It is also easier to just pull up on the single knot when you feel it appropriate to tighten the bird.

Lastly, in keeping with my philosophy of simplicity, with the exception of my beaded flutes, my flutes are unadorned. You are welcome to add your own personal medicine in the form of beads, shells, feathers or additional leather.

If you have not visited my Flute Catalog page as yet, please do so. I think you will find some very nice flutes there. After that, click on the How To Order page and perhaps add one to your shopping cart. I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping by Raven Song Flutes.

home: about the artist: flute catalog: flute fetish designs: flute stands: buffalo horn flutes: selecting a flute: playing the flute:

about the flute:workshops: contact us: links: flute stories etc :

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