How Do You Tone Holes In A Native American Flute?
Native American flutes are becoming more and more popular. You may have heard music by R. Carlos Nakai, one of the best known Native American flute players. Native American flutes are a length of hollowed wood, with a windway to move air from the mouthpiece to the sound chamber, and tone holes or finger holes along the sound chamber to change the notes played. Look at the flute to see how many tone holes it has. Most modern Native American flutes have five or six holes, but early flutes could have as many as seven, or as few as two or three. Check the end of the flute. Some flutes have four tuning holes or slits near the very end. They are sometimes called the four direction holes. Other flutes have decorative ends. Examine the space between the tone holes. Traditionally they are the width of the thumb of the flute maker. See if the space matches the width of your thumb. If so, it may be the flute for you. Try playing the flute without covering any of the tone holes. Note the pitch. No
