There is a strong component of any musical experience that brings the listener into the realm of passion, and that is expression. Expressive playing joins the emotional and the technical; the skills with the impressions. It is through the expression that people begin to feel connected with the music.

The problem with most music instructors is finding the correct time to introduce the “expressive” elements into the world of skills.Is it possible to teach a person to be emotional? How do you teach experience? Can a person learn from another’s past? So with expression being a strong part of how music is experienced to the audience at what point is it important to teach?

Well … I’m here to show anyone interested in playing the Native American Flute that expression is taking all of who you are and, through techniques learned, conveying to yourself what you want shown. There are four major components of playing the flute: the flute (including wood, tone, range, etc), the fingers (the notes to be played), the breath (the tone producer), and the soul (the emotions behind the player). Becoming a proficient player of the Native American flute will depend on how much investment you are willing to make in any two of these components. If you are successful enough to have all four, then you become a master that very few can dispute.

When giving Native Flute Lessons it’s simple to begin the discussions of “expression” because of the technical components of the breath. Focusing a little time on how a person breathes, lengths and depths of a breath, and the type of breaths a person can take allows the first discussions of expression begin. Shallow breaths with gasping tendencies leads to a different tone then deep breaths with fluid sounds. The initial tone, spoken of in the first lesson, is a certain sound that is the beginning of a seasoned player. but it is only one sound to utilize.

When thinking of different expressions try playing around with these different types of breaths:

1. short inhale, panting like a dog
2. long inhale, short attack with long dissolve (say thoo)
3. medium inhale, long exhale with indeterminate bursts (say pah over and over while exhaling)
4. medium inhale, roll tongue while exhaling (creates a roll effect)
5. long inhale, long exhale while tongue quickly stops air
6. short inhale, long exhale with strong burst swell and dissolve softly

If you’re going to play around with notes and pitches don’t forget that some of your expression will come through the emotional output of the breath. If you are in a happy mood or a sad mood that will show inside the breath. Good performers will alter their mood and breath depending on what is needed to perform the music. Great performers will utilize their mood to manipulate the breath.

Don’t forget to breathe when you play the Native American Flute. Happy playing!

After a little bit of a hiatus I thought that I would continue my "Native Flute Lesson" series by bridging two ideas together. In the first Lesson we discussed how a strong "Initial Tone" is one of the most important ideas of playing great Flute. The Second Lesson, "The First Scale," showed the notes that are played for the first scale a beginner can learn on the NAF. So we should continue the "Lesson Series" by building upon the previous lessons.

Most people, when they think musical thoughts, do not remain in a simple scale pattern. Usually the idea of "jumping" notes will show up sooner or later. This is because moving up and down a scale in single notes can get rather old after a while. But what is the jump, or skip, that is played. How far do we jump? Is there too far that one can go? This can usually lead to a great discussion of intervals and other musical terms, but let's leave that aside for a moment. Music is about how you feel at that moment expressed into ranged pitches. So when you play your Native American Wood Flute the music that comes out should be drastically different then when I play it. However, we can both share simple ideas to make sure things sound good.

Let us take a look at the notes of a simple flute, the "A" flute:

    x    x    x    x    x    o    o    o
    x    x    x    x    o    o    o    o
    x    x    x    x    x    x    x    x    
   --    --    --    --    --    --    --    --
    x    x    x    o    o    o    o    x
    x    x    o    o    o    o    x    x
    x    o    o    o    o    o    x    o

    A    C    D    E    G    A2    B2    C2

By studying this chart you can very easily play any note on your flute and then play any other note on your flute and be perfectly fine. None of these pitches are out of the ordinary and sound perfectly fine together. With the exception of the "B" tone we have a perfect minor pentatonic scale here. But let us see if we can create some rules to make the flow of our "Musical Skips" stronger.

1. Rule One: Since we start with the "A" tone on our flute that must mean that the "A" tone is an important tone to the instrument. Because it is important, making a lyrical line start and end on "A" will sound melodic.
2. Rule Two: Because we are in minor, the relative major tone, or "C" tone is also important. Just like rule one, because it is important making a lyrical line start and end on "C" will sound very melodic.

So let us start with these rules and see where they lead us. Play the following line using any rhythm that interests you. Slow or fast does not matter:

A – C – E – A2 | "pause" | G – D – E – A

That line should sound pretty fluid and clean. If you notice by adding simple skips into the mix we created a line that moves up without getting monotonous and returns to a base without feeling like we forced it to fit. The same idea can be created with using Rule Two:

C – D – B – C2 | "pause" | A2 – E – A – C

Notice that we took a stronger liberty with the skips in this melody. The skip lengths didn't matter as long as returning to the end notes were on the "C". However, even this can get a little boring so let's create some more rules to make things sound a little more interesting.

1. Rule Three: If you start on "A" then skipping to "E", or starting on "C" and skipping to "G", can sound very melodic and add tension by ending a melodic phrase on that note.
2. Rule Four: Anticipation for a note can be created by playing the two notes surrounding the tone and then playing the surrounded tone.

Let's show these in action. Rule Three is a tricky one to understand. By starting off on the "A" tone, the "E" tone can be used as a strengthening tone. Especially by ending a melodic phrase halfway on the "E" tone. Play this line for greater understanding:

A – D – G – E | "pause" | C – D – G – A

Without getting too technical, what is happening is the reinforcement of sound based on the fifth interval. The fifth interval is extremely important in music and I'll probably discuss it a little later, but for now just know that it helps with strengthening the sound of the "A" tone. The rule also works with the "C" tone. By ending a half phrase on the "G" tone you get the same type of effect.

Rule four is a little more fun to play and a lot less difficult to understand. But it can really make the Rule Three stand out if used properly. It is best shown instead of discussed:

C – E – A2 – G | "pause" | E – D – A – C

Notice how the notes around the tone ("E" skip to "A2" then fall to "G") make the target tone a little more emphasized. This can really help to emphasize a melody line. Try this long melodic phrase to see all of this in action:

A – D – G – A2 | "pause" | C – D – A2 – C2 | "pause" | A – C – G – E | "pause" | C – E – D – G | "pause" | A – G – D – E | "pause" | C – E – A2 – G | "pause" | A2 – D – E – A | "pause" | A <- I like to end on a strong initial tone

So I know that I didn't really discuss how to skip, hopefully by understanding how to make the skip melodically better will help with your experimentation of the Native American Wood Flute. And really, playing the NAF is a wholly personal experiment anyways.

Happy Playing!!!

So you have started to practice the Initial Tone and feel pretty good about how your sound is progressing. Now you are looking for a more challenging technique … or at least more notes then just moving fingers up and down. So welcome to the world of your First Scale.

Depending on what type of flute you have purchased will determine what scale your flute can play. And there is a wide belief about what "keys," or scales, exist for a particular flute, but that is not what we are going to focus on today. Today we should look at how to play your First Scale that will sound good enough for you to play the sounds you hear in your head. And remember … playing the Native American Flute (or NAF) is more about your expression then that of "organized music."

There is a small difference between the 6 hole flute and 5 hole flute that we should discuss here momentarily. Generally speaking, the 6 holed flute variation has an extra hole over the "top-hand" bottom finger. So this variation looks like:

    Top hand Bottom Hand

    X X X | X X X

Where the five holed variation looks like this:

    X X | X X X

The big difference is that, with the missing hole, some of the sounds that you may want out of flute may not be readily available. This does not affect our First Scale, but it should be known so you as the player can see what to expect. For my examples I will be using the six holed variation of the flute. And for ease of note diagramming I will also be using an "A" flute.

So let's show the first scale:

                         Extended Scale Tones

    x    x    x    x    x    o    | o    o |

    x    x    x    x    o    o    | o    o |

    x    x    x    x    x    x    | x    x |    ß Notice the anchor finger on the 4^th hole

    --    --    --    --    --    --    |--     --|

    x    x    x    o    o    o    | o    x |

    x    x    o    o    o    o    | x    x |    X = covered hole

    x    o    o    o    o    o    | x    o |    O = opened hole

    A    C    D    E    G    A    | B    C |

And there you go your First Scale is played. The interesting thing about this scale is that you maintain an "anchor finger" on the 4^th hole (or bottom finger of the top hand). This is the same hole that is missing on the five holed variation of the flute, which is why the First Scale can be easily played on both six and five holed variations. So what is this scale? This scale, without the extended scale tones is known as the minor pentatonic scale: minor being the sound flavor, and pentatonic meaning 5 tones. The extended Scale tones add two notes above the "minor pentatonic" that are used to extend the sound quality of the scale. Now even though the flute you are playing may not be an "A" flute, the First Scale is still a minor pentatonic scale. So if you are playing an "F#" flute, you will be playing an F# minor pentatonic scale.

Playing the flute in this fashion will allow for numerous melodies and sound patterns to be created and enjoyed by the performer. Try playing the scale up and down at steady varying tempos.

If you have a metronome start with 68 beats per minute and play each tone in the scale up and down. Then increase the beats by increments of four (4) or greater until you can play steady and consistently around 220 beats per minute. A good NAF player would be able to consistently play each scale they learn at a wide range of tempos: from 40 BPM (Beats per Minute) to 220 BPM.

After you feel comfortable playing the First Scale ascending and descending try playing it in variations: Every other tone (i.e. A-D-C-E-D-G-E-A-G-B-A-C, etc), Every third tone (i.e. A-E-C-G-D-A-E-B-G-C-A, etc.), and other variation patterns. The trick here is getting a consistent sound no matter what notes you are playing and transitioning. Sometimes moving from one finger position to another finger position will make the sounds "squeak, buzz, hum or whistle." This is usually because as you are transitioning between notes your fingers are not making solid seals on the sound holes. With practice and getting used to the feeling of the instrument, this sound quirk can be fixed.

Practice your First Scale. And enjoy the sound that it creates. Create your own melodies from slow tempos to fast tempos and let the sound envelope the mood you are feeling. And remember to have fun and enjoy.

Happy playing!!

So I've been thinking about the importance of sound when it comes to the Native American Wood Flute (or NAF). There are a lot of people out there who pick up the instrument and start playing it with extreme ease. The instrument is a simple instrument, 5 or 6 holes and a mouth piece that you blow the air into to create the sound. Because of the ease of the instrument it becomes a great tool for students of all ages to get started playing. And the somber sound of the instrument makes most people feel a sublime spirituality when playing. I'll admit that the times I felt the most connected with the created music was when I was sitting in the middle of woods in the back of my childhood home playing with the animals and trees listening.

So why aren't there more R. Carlos Nakai's, Mary Youngbloods', Joseph Fire Crow's or Douglas Spotted Eagle's (to name a few) in existence? With the ease of the instrument and the simplicity of sound production you would think that more Native Flute artists would be pursuing the marketplace to get their names heard. I think that it is because of the ease of the instrument playability that most people forget about the simple rules needed for excellence in sound.

And rule number one: Create a SOLID INITIAL TONE.

Much like scales on a piano, finger exercises on guitar and embouchure for most wind instruments, the initial tone sets the stage for GREAT NAF playing. Practicing your initial tone helps with breath control, intonation, dynamics and various other musical techniques. It may seem a little silly and bothersome to practice, but it is one of the best exercises to make a great NAF player.

To begin, take your flute and cover all the holes. The standard hand position is "Left Hand Over Right Hand," however this can be swapped if it is more comfortable as "Right Hand Over Left Hand." Now with the holes sealed tightly with your fingers, gently kiss the mouthpiece and blow into the open air hole. This will create the lowest sound of your flute.

And that's it! Kind of. If you blew into the hole you should have created a warm tone that resonated the sound of the Native American Wood Flute. However, creating that one sound is just the beginning of practicing the Initial Tone. A good solid initial tone should have a couple of distinct features:

1. No wavering sound. Usually beginning flute players have a wavering sound that will oscillate from loud to soft (dynamics) or from sharp to flat (intonation) pitch. By practicing these "Long Tones" on the NAF you can remove those inconsistencies and get a more focused tone. This leads to more pleasing sounds when playing. NOTE: Vibrato is a wavering of the tone that will be discussed later. For now we should focus on a solid sound before varying it up with different techniques.
2. Long Tones. A solid Initial Tone should last anywhere from 15 seconds to 30 seconds without the imperfections. This is focusing on breath control which will allow for more mellifluous musicality without worrying about breathing every 2 notes. Long tones come with focusing on using your diaphragm instead of your chest to get air into your lungs as well as only letting air out that is needed and not expending all the air in one breath. NOTE: Over-blowing is a powerful technique to consider when playing, but for the starting delicate sound of the NAF it is better to emphasize using focused air and not exceed what is needed.
3. Dynamics. As important as Dynamics (loudness) is to the music, when focusing on Initial Tones the sounds should be very steady and even. Try practicing the Initial Tone at different Dynamics. The louder the sound the more air will be needed to be used, and vice-versa.
4. Purity of the Sound. Make sure that the sound you hear is something that is steady and pleasing. The NAF is a very individual instrument that requires you to be pleased with the sound you are making. If the sound is something that you do not like to hear then, relax, take a deep breath and try again. This is a somber instrument that will be as patient as you need it to be.

For the most part, if you play for yourself and don't worry about what other people think then the Initial Tone concept is something that you may not be interested in practicing. And that's fine. You need to enjoy playing the instrument as much as possible. However, listen to some great flute players and focus on how their LONG tones sound. These are people who have practiced their Initial Tones on all the finger positions on the flute; from closed to open and high to low. The nice thing is that by working on Initial Tones, you gain greater breath control and intonation over the faster lines that will be played, and (on a completely spiritual level) a greater sense of oneness with the sounds you are performing.

Practice the Initial Tones on all your fingers. You will be grateful that you did.