How Do You Make Old Style Native American Flutes?
If you want to make and play a wind instrument that has a tremendous amount of inflection and elegance, try a Native American wood flute. The rich tones that emanate from these flutes will calm your nerves and take you to the open lands of the southwestern United States where the flutes are a mighty factor in the Indian regional cultures. However, these instruments are not as simple to make as they appear to be at first glance. They are subtly sophisticated. Bore a ¾-inch tube 14 ½ inches vertically down the length of a 21-inch cedar dowel, beginning at the “sound-hole” end of the wood. The dowel should be 1 ½ inches in width. Then bore another tube into the “mouth” end of the cedar, going in about 6 ½ inches. Cut a 1-inch by ½-inch rectangle lengthwise into the top of the dowel, right where the two bored tubes have left a wall in the interior of the dowel. This wall should be left intact and the two top side holes should be made to enter into the small chamber and the larger chamber.
