Native American Flute Research Paper

The native American flute, a wooden instrument of the Native American indigenous tribes has been around for hundreds of years. No one knows the exact time reference to when they were first made or began. Certain native tribes believed the woodpecker was the first to make a flute, they would drill holes in a hollow tree branch looking for insects, and when a wind blew over the branch, sound was made. The Lakota people made what is known as the “Love Flute.” Young men would stand by the river with their flute and play their own song, while the young woman would listen to each one of the men who played. She would pick the one who had the better song and they would throw a robe over themselves and talk awhile. This is how relationships were often formed. How the flute is made is generally by taking two pieces of wood similar in length and hollowing out one side of each blank. One blank will get two holes for air to go in and out the other. Then they are aligned, glued and wrapped together until there is a perfect seal and both are bonded well to each other. A rest goes over the two holes and a bird or tiny piece of wood sits over the holes on the rest. This creates the sound. After a sound is formed it is important to figure what key the sound makes. I typically make Key of G flutes. Then I measure my hole spacing on the top of the flute and …show more content…
Sometimes tribal colleges art departments will buy a few. Online sales are at a low for me right now because everybody is selling flutes for cheap while mine are on the high side. So I like to travel here and there and do face to face sales. Usually right before Christmas I will get good sales and have to make an abundant more flutes for the next year to come. This is my little business my father and I got going just for extra cash. Somedays are good and some days are bad but it’s great to travel around and see different people with different ideas on flute