Varying Styles of American Indian Wooden Flutes
The History of Making Native American Flute Music
Oct 26, 2008
Over the last half century, Native American flute making has undergone a rapid evolution. Native American Flute maker , John Stillwell, has been privileged to witness the transformation of Native American flute music from songs played on a river reed instrument with random tuning, to the haunting woodwinds heard in so many recordings.
Due to their recent metamorphosis, Native American flutes are available in several styles. John Stillwell helps musicians understand the variations they will encounter and what those differences will mean to the tone and potential of their flute.
Plains Style and Eastern Woodlands Style Native American Flute Making
There are two main groups of Native American flutes today; the Plains style flutes and the Woodlands style flutes. John Stillwell explains, “Basically, the flue, or the part of the flute which carries the air from the slow air chamber to the splitting edge where it begins to sing, is the difference between the two. On a Plains style flute, that flue is cut into the bird, or that little device on top of the flute. On the Woodland style flute, the flue is cut into the flute.”
Musicians seem to be favoring the sound of the Woodlands style flute today. “To the best of my knowledge,” John says, “the Plain’s style was more common, but is being supplanted by the Woodlands style, because it is generally agreed you can get a better tone from the Woodland style flute. When the airstream leaves the flue in the Plains style flute, it is above the splitting edge. The splitting edge on the Woodlands style flute is in the middle of the airstream, not on the lower edge. That position enables you to get a clearer, louder sound.”
The choice between the Plains style and Woodlands style appears to be a choice of tradition or innovation. John, who makes Woodlands style flutes remarks, “As far as I’m concerned, a Plains style flute simply doesn’t have the tonal quality or volume you can get from a Woodlands flute….They’re slightly easier to make, but I think they’re slowly falling out of favor as the instrument continues to evolve. People who take time to listen to several styles of flutes by several makers will almost invariably go to a Woodlands style flute.”
Five Hole and Six Hole Native American Flute Making
Another difference found among Native American flutes today is the amount finger holes; some flutes have five and some have six. Basically, the flutes with five finger holes are only capable of a mode one minor pentatonic scale. The flutes with six holes are more flexible. “If it is a six holed flute,” John says, “you have the possibility of two different scales. On my flutes, it’s a mode 1 and mode 4, the two most common modes.”
Musicians are turning to the six-holed flute for its enhanced potential. John comments, “The only people I know of making five hole flutes, are those leaning more toward that Native American tradition. I could probably count those makers on the fingers of one hand. It’s just falling out of style, because people want to get as close to a chromatic scale as possible. New flute players get a great deal of satisfaction from the notes in a pentatonic scale, but they soon want to start experimenting with other notes. It’s nice to have a flute that will lend itself to that flexibility.”
John sees some people opting for five-holed flutes because they believe these will be simpler to play. To people with this assumption he says, “It's just as easy to learn on the six hole flute. When you're playing a scale, one of the holes is always closed, just like it didn’t exist. You've got to put that finger somewhere, either over a blank spot on the barrel of the flute or over a hole. And having that extra hole really expands the possibilities of the flute. With a six-hole flute, you have an entirely different scale available when you're ready to use it, and having the extra tone hole allows easy access to some extra cross fingered notes.”
Tradition in Native American Flute Making
Tradition is a vital part of Native American culture, and tone and potential are crucial to a quality instrument. So, how do flute makers reconcile these two aspects in this instrument’s recent evolution?
Instruments fashioned by makers like John Stillwell aren’t designed to replicate Native American artifacts, but they are crafted to pay homage to the culture that inspired them. John explains, “The Native American view of life with the circle and the equality of all the members of the circle is fundamentally satisfying to all of us associated with it. The instrument is a great tool for expressing your own peace and connectedness to the land, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the sky.”
John is able to carry on this ancient tradition while crafting fine innovative instruments. “I consider myself to be a contemporary not a traditional flute maker,” he remarks. “I am not attempting to re-create or romanticize the past. I use state of the art fabrication techniques and tune my flutes to a modern pentatonic scale.”
John is proud to see this traditional part of Native American heritage transforming to take its place in the wide arena of world music. He says, “The Native American style flute has gained this popularity, because it allows individuals, no matter what their sex, race, or cultural background to speak from their hearts in the universal language of music.”
Quotes taken in conversation between Suite101.com and John Stillwell, and his web site.
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