Learn How to Play Native American FluteWelcome to your adventure where you will learn how to play the native american flute. It will be a fantastic and fun journey, where you will go from a complete beginner, to being able to play this amazing instrument with emotion and soul in your performances.

Start Learning Here: Learn How to Play Native American Flute

In this course you will learn all the insights into how this instrument works, the basic techniques on how to play it, and how to get past the most common issues most beginners will struggle with.

And when you are ready, you will even learn the advanced techniques you can use to add expression and emotion into your performances.

The course will focus on the most common type of native american flute, which is the standard 6 hole flute. I am going to use these two different flutes for all my demonstrations in this course, one is in low D, and the other in A. However, everything you will learn in this course will apply to any 6 hole native american flute, regardless of the key of your flute. So it does not matter if yours is in G, F# or any other key, as long as it is a 6 hole native american flute.

After learning how to play this instrument, you will get so much joy for many years to come. You can use it for meditation and spiritual healing, for playing tunes and songs, or even for making your own music. So don’t hesitate. I promise you it is well worth your time to truly learn how to play the native american flute. Because playing any music instrument is one of the most creative and satisfying experiences in life. So let’s start your journey on the native american flute, right now!

Learn the Basics of Playing the Native American Flute

Introduction to the Native American Flute

  • The Name of the Instrument (Native American Flute, Native Flute, Spirit Flute, Love Flute, NAF)
  • Cylindrical Tube (Most often with 6 Holes or 5 holes)
  • Made of Wood (Soft, Mellow and Earthy Tone)
  • Wide Bore Flute (Deep, Warm Tone)
  • Fipple Flute vs Side Blown Flute (Recorder, Tin Whistle)
  • Block vs No Block (Totem, Fetish, Block)
  • Based on the Minor Scale (Also plays chromatic notes)
  • Pentatonic Mode (Cover over the 3rd Hole)
  • Mainly 1 Octave Range (Adds More Dynamic Range)
  • Tuning (432 vs 440)
  • Available in many different Keys (Low to High)

The Styles of Native American Flutes

  • Material: Different types of Wood
  • Range: Low Contra-Bass to High Soprano
  • Air-Flow: Fixed vs Movable Block
  • Tuning: Standard Tuning vs 432Hz
  • Single vs Double vs Triple Chamber
  • Choosing your Native American Flutes (Considerations)

How to Handle the Instrument

  • Block Adjustment
  • Body Posture (Relaxed)
  • Flute Angle (Front & Down)
  • Finger Placement (Perfect Seal)
  • Mouth Placement (Seal & Relax)
  • Playing your First Notes (Breath)
  • The Higher the Note – The More the Air
  • Practice Going Up and Down each Hole

Breath Control, Tuning & Dynamics

  • Your Breath gives Life and Soul to the Notes
  • The Air Pressure affects the tuning
  • Find the Sweet Spot for each Note
  • Every Flute is Different (Learn Yours)
  • Tip: Always use a Tuner when Practicing
  • Practice 1: Consistent Tone on Every Note
  • Practice 2: The Dynamic Range of Every Note

The Main Notes (Pentatonic Minor)

  • All NAFs are based on the Minor Key (Root + Minor 3rd)
  • Pentatonic Minor (3rd Hole Covered)
  • Finger Chart: Pentatonic Minor Notes
  • Different Key NAFs = Different Notes, Same Pattern
  • Practice: Play the Pentatonic Minor Scale (Up/Down)

Cross-Fingerings

  • What are Cross-Fingerings?
  • Cross-Fingerings gives you Access to More Notes
  • Main Cross Fingering: 1 Hole Skip
  • Practice Playing the 1 Hole Skip Cross Fingering

Half-Holing

  • What is Half-Holing?
  • Half-Holing is not exactly Half (Shading)
  • Alternative to Cross-Fingerings
  • Half-Holing gives you Access to More Expression
  • Half-Holing can give you 3 Notes on the Lowest Hole
  • Practice Half-Holing (Especially the Lowest Hole)

Complete Finger Chart for All Notes

  • Using Cross-Fingerings & Half-Holing
  • Range depends on your NAF (Up to 16 Notes)
  • Finger Chart for All Main Notes
  • Practice Playing all Notes (Up/Down)

Tonguing Techniques

  • Shaping the Attack of Each Note
  • Strong Accent (Tu, Du)
  • Medium Accent (Gu, Ku)
  • Soft Accent (Hu, Uh)
  • Legato (No tonguing)
  • Rhythmic (Tu-Ku)
  • Practice Each Tonguing Individually
  • Practice Phrase Variation in Tonguing

Interval Training

  • Muscle Memory + Ear Training + Breath Control
  • Practice 1: Bell Note + 5th + Octave
  • Practice 2: Pentatonic Minor Scale
  • Practice 3: Chromatic Scale (Up/Down)
  • Practice 4: Bell Note Jumps to Each Interval
  • Practice 5: Random Intervals

Rhythm Training

  • Use a Metronome
  • Tap your Foot to the Beat
  • Only use Hard or Medium Accents (Tu-Du, Gu-Ku)
  • Practice Rhythm on the Same Note
  • Straight Notes (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16)
  • Triplet Notes (ex: Beat + 8th Notes vs Beat + 1/4T)
  • Rhythmic Phrases (with tonguing variation)

10 Common Beginner Issues

  1. Leaking Holes (Finger Pads)
  2. Leaking Mouth Piece (Perfect Seal)
  3. Block Issue (Adjust Position)
  4. Overblowing (Relax More)
  5. Underblowing (Be Confident)
  6. Unstable Blowing (Practice Consistency)
  7. Timing Mistakes (Finger/Breath Synchronization)
  8. Wrong Rhythm (Practice to a Metronome)
  9. Wrong Note (Practice Scales, Phrases etc.)
  10. Stiff Playing (Add Variation & Expression)

Learn the Advanced Techniques on Native American Flute

Introduction to Advanced Performance Techniques

Congratulations for having learned all the basics and essential techniques of playing your native american flute. Now I will teach you the more advanced performance techniques, decorations and special effects you can use to add emotion, expression and soul into your music performances. However, I want to remind you that mastering the essentials is the most important thing. So make sure you feel comfortable with all the basics of playing your native american flute before you dive deeper. How long it will take before you can move forward into these advanced techniques depends on how much time, energy and focused daily practice you put into your learning journey. When you feel ready, this is where the true fun begins. Because the incredible variation, expression, emotion and soul you can put into your flute performances with these advanced techniques is simply amazing. If you feel that you are ready for learning the advanced performance techniques, let’s begin, right now!

Slides

  • Slide-Ins
  • Slide-Outs
  • Multi Note Slide

Bends

  • Bend (Adding Expression by Bending the Note)
  • Bend Down
  • Bend Up

Cuts

  • Cuts = Quick Grace Note above
  • Low Hole Cut
  • High Hole Cut
  • Multi Hole Cut
  • Bounce Cut

Taps

  • Taps = Quick Grace Note below
  • Single Hole Tap
  • Multi Hole Tap
  • Bounce Tap

Rolls

  • Roll (Quick Turn around a Note)
  • Roll 1: Note + Cut + Note + Tap + Note
  • Roll 2: Note + Tap + Note + Cut + Note

Trills

  • Trill = Rapid Repetition of 2 Alternating Notes
  • Trill (pulsing bounces)
  • Cut Trills
  • Tap Trills
  • Same Speed Trill
  • Gradual Speed Change Trill

Barks

  • Sounds like animals barking
  • Alternating between Note and Grace Note
  • Holding Legato over the Phrase
  • Accenting the grace notes with short and rapid bursts of air
  • Think of saying: “hhhhhHAAhhhhh”

Pops & Clamps

  • Short Grace Note Accents
  • Similar to a Bark but no repetition
  • Time the Accent on the Grace Note
  • Clamps = Before the Note
  • Pops = After the Note
  • Clamps: Think of saying “TAaaa”
  • Pops: Think of saying: “whaaaAT”

Fall Off

  • Fall Off (Soft fall in volume and pitch)
  • Most often an Ending to a Musical Phrase
  • Reduce the breath pressure to create the fall off
  • Shade the Lower Hole to Help Lower the Pitch

Flutter-tonguing

  • Flutter-tongue = Rhythmic Air-Stream
  • Rolling R
  • Accent + R

Finger Vibrato

  • Finger-Vibrato = Expressive Pulsing Pitch
  • 1 Finger Vibrato
  • Multi Finger Vibrato
  • Slide Shade Vibrato

Air-Flow Vibrato

  • Air-Flow Vibrato = Emotional Pulsing Pitch & Volume
  • Depth = Light vs Strong Vibrato
  • Speed = Slow vs Fast Vibrato
  • No Vibrato to Vibrato
  • Vibrato Variation

Tremble Vibrato

  • Tremble Vibrato = Stuttering the Air Stream
  • Imagine that your are Freezing Cold
  • Stutter the Air-Stream: hu-hu-hu

Bonus Section

Learn Tunes on your Native American Flute

  • Choose Tunes that you Like
  • Use a Metronome
  • Practice in Phrases
  • Start with the Essentials
  • Start Slow and Gradually Increase the Tempo
  • Finally Add Expression & Emotion

Congratulations – Now continue your Journey

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Native American Flute – Finger Chart for All Notes