Hello, my name is Stephen McMahan. I am 1/8th Sicangu and Mnikoujou Lakota by blood and hunka - not enough to be enrolled but enough to be drafted by Grandfather. My Lakota name is Siyotanka Wicasa which means FluteMan. This is the name I am called by my elders and not one which I borrowed or made-up. The knowledge of the old ways of the flute and flute medicines have been handed down to me. I birth flutes. I have been doing this for about 14 years now and have brought a little over 1900 flutes into this world over that time.

The Native American Flute is a unique instrument in construction and in sound and purpose. It was traditionally used in prayer - calling the spirits. It was also used by a young man to woo the young woman of his fancy. They were used for entertainment. They had ceremonial uses as well.

Today it is used for meditation, entertainment, healing and perhaps for prayer by a few.

It is unique in construction in that it is an end blown flute as opposed to an edge blown flute. It has a unique haunting tone about it, due both to its construction and the mode it is tuned to.

NA flutes come in 4, 5, and 6 hole versions - there is no traditional norm as each nation had their own style of flutes. The flutes most often are tuned to a pentatonic scale based on a minor mode. There are many flute makers out there and each has their own methods and specialties.

People often ask if the flute is hard to learn - to which I respond - "Not really - actually one of the easiest instruments to play that there is."

NA Flutes don’t have a catagory of their own – it is best to search using Native American Flute as your keywords – some sellers also list under Musical Instruments – Other.

First let me set aside some myths about the flutes and then I will offer some advise on buying a flute.

Myths:

Myth: A flute should be made from one piece of wood that is hollowed from one end. In actuality a plains or woodlands flute was traditionally made from a limb that was seasoned for a year. It was split and hollowed and then glued back together with hide/pad glue and wrapped with leather to keep it together. Only flutes made from Elderberry or Cane were made from one piece as the pith or hollow was easy to accommodate (also clay flutes.)

Myth: The traditional wood for a flute was Cedar. In actuality - the wood for a flute was what ever wood or material was at hand. Sometimes this was river cane, elderberry, or whatever wood grew near camp. This differed from region to region. On the plains you would find Pine, Ash, Cottonwood, and Cedar flutes - in the woodlands you might find Cedar, Aspen/Alder and Maple flutes - along rivers you might find River Cane and Elderberry flutes - in the Southwest you might find Mesquite, Pinion, Juniper and Clay flutes.

Myth: The flute holes were based on body dimensions. In actuality this was only partly so. The flutes of this type would be considered secular flutes - those made by the person themselves. Flutemaking in most traditions was a responsibility of the medicine people and the tools and measuring devices were handed down from generation to generation - including the templates of the positions of the holes. These were the most highly prized and played "in tune" as opposed to those based on body dimensions which usually did not play in tune. This has caused a lot of discussion in flute circles - but the controversy is a moot point as all that really matters was if the flute was playable by the user. I have owned and heard many flutes made in both ways - and each has its own sound and songs.

Myth: One should only use water based or oils finishes on flutes. First of all - while it might be nice to be environmentally conscious and use an oil to finish the flute - it does cause the wind channel to "glom-up" and it requires periodical maintenance. As to water-based versus solvent-based finishes, well the solvent-based carry the same plastic solids as the water-based finishes and they do outgas during drying - but once dry they are just as inert as the water-basesd finishes and if you examine the manufacturing technique of the water-based finishes you will find that there is as much or more environmental damge done in the water-based finish's production as the solvent-based finishes. It comes down to a matter of personal perception, not in actual affect upon the environment. How about a wax finish? It "gloms-up" the wind channel even worse than the oil finish. It requires more maintenance than the oil finish. How about using the traditional finish? The sensitivities of modern peoples prevent this - the traditional protection for a flute was a mixture of ash and tallow that was rubbed into the flute - high maintenance and very odiferous.

Myth: The fetish should face the player. First of all a fetish is a sexual hangup. It is a mistranslation of a Hopi description of something that someone is focused on. The bird faces the direction that the medicine of the flute is intended towards. If the flute is to help the people then it faces the people end of the flute - if it is intended otherwise, then it faces the player.

Buying tips:

The best way to buy a flute is to actually see, feel, listen to and play it. This is not possible on eBay. So how do you make a decision?

First - ask around - check the flutemaker's feedback - both on eBay and through friends who have/play NA flutes. There are Flute Circles and Flute Circle websites all over the continent and "fluties" are almost always happy to help out a novice. There are a LOT of flutemakers out there - most do really good work and some don't - it pays to do a little research.

Second - The price of a flute is not always indicative of its quality or sound. There are flutes that are intended to be collector's items and works of art that can be priced as much as $1500. There are concert and recording quality flutes that are priced as low as $75 or so. Again - asking around about a particular flutemaker is your best choice - and ask the flutemaker themselves - there is much to be learned in that process and most flutemakers are really nice people and don't mind answering questions. Determine what use you have for the flute!

Third - You can ask the flute seller for a sound-byte. Many sellers will respond - most usually with a very poor quality computer recording. The soundbyte should only be used for purposes of determining whether the flute plays in tune or not. The sonic quality (unless it is very, very bad) can not be determined by a soundbyte. Often poor sounding recordings are not indicative of a quality sound the actual instrument may have - sometimes the sellers are not good flute players and that can influence the quality of the soundbyte - and also with the state-of-the-art recording gear and computer programs along with a very experienced player, almost any flute can be made to sound good. So take soundbytes with a grain of salt!

Fourth - No one today makes flutes in a totally traditional way! Anyone who claims to make them in a totally traditional way deserves closer scrutiny. Today we use metal files, saws, chisels and most use at least some power tools. A traditional flute was made using just fire and stone. Some flutemakers use some traditional methods - but not entirely. Now having said that - you must remember that if the tools we have now were available to my ancestors - that they would have used them (except for ceremonial flutes.)

Fifth - Again - determine what you want the flute for! If it is for recording or performance - then you want a better quality flute than if you just want to entertain yourself. Do you like a breathy or a more pure tone? Don't be afraid to “Ask the Seller a Question”!

How to learn to play a NA Flute:

There are a number of tapes and books to learn to play the NA flute - I won't recommend or condemn them. There are also a number of Flute Circles around the country - in every state. These are groups of people who have and use NA Flutes - and they are always willing to help novices to learn how to play the flute. Search for these on the web as most have sites.

The way that I learned and was taught by my elders is to go out into nature - alone - and offer tobacco to the spirits and ask to learn - to be taught. Smudge yourself and the flutes and then ask for the songs that the flute knows and the songs that are within you. It works!

Hopefully - this short guide is of some use to you.

Hecetu Welo (It is good!)

Siyotanka-Wicasa (FluteMan)