Building and Tuning a Native American Flute
The distinct sound of Native American flute music, popularized by artists such as R. Carlos Nakai, sounds hollow and haunting. Artists often use it to give New Age and world music a soothing, meditative sound. The Native American flute is basic: it consists of a duct flute and a block whistle mechanism. To experiment with the unique sounds of this type of flute, consider constructing one out of PVC. It takes about a day, and the techniques learned for tuning translate to building one out of wood.
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Things You'll Need
- 3/4-inch thin-walled PVC pipe, 19-inches long
- Fine-point marker
- Drill
- Drill bit set 1/64-inch graduations
- Half-round file
- 1/4-inch square file
- 3/4-inch cork
- 1-inch PVC pipe
- Saw
- 220-grit sandpaper
- "00" Steel Wool
- String
Instructions
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1
Mark a point 4 inches from one end of a 19-inch PVC pipe. Drill four 9/32-inch holes in a line as close together as possible.
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2
File the drill holes with a half-round file until the holes join together. With a 1/4-inch file, refine the joined drill holes to a slot measuring 1.25-inches long by 3/8-inches wide. The width of the slot changes the sound. Make it anywhere from 9/32 to 3/8-inches wide. Because each handmade flute is unique, experiment with how the change in width changes the tone.
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3
Shape the front and rear edge of the slot into a 45 degree angle that slopes inward. Don't enlarge the slot.
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4
Cut a 3/4-inch cork to between half an inch to 5/8-inches in length. Round one edge and push the rounded edge into the PVC pipe. Leave between 1/4 inch to 3/8-inches between the front of the slot and the front of the cork. The distance between the two changes the flute's sound. Move it around until you find the sound you like best.
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5
Cut a 2-inch piece of 1-inch PVC pipe in half lengthwise, so it makes a half circle. Discard one half. On the remaining half, file a notch in the end with a half-round file until it matches the width of your slot.
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6
Drill a 7/32-inch hole 4.25-inches from the front of the cork. Then drill a hole an inch away and another hole one more inch away. Drill another hole 1 1/16 inches away from the last. And then two more, each 1 1/16 inches away from the last.
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7
Sand the rough spots from drilling with 220-grit sandpaper. Polish everything with "00" steel wool.
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8
Cover the flute's slot with half of the 1-inch PVC pipe. Align the notch that you cut with the back with the cork's front. When in place, it covers the slot and leaves just a small gap between the cork and the front of the slot. Tie it in place with string.
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9
Tune the flute by cutting length off the end until your flute blows the pitch you want with all six holes covered.
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Tune each note by enlarging the holes slowly, 1/64 inch at a time, until it's in perfect pitch. Start with the hole furthest away from the slot and work backward, one hole at a time.
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