Information on Native American Wooden Flutes

Series Summary

Enchanting, Mysterious, Spiritual. These are just some of the words that describe the sound of a Native American wooden Flute. Though this instrument has evolved enormously from its modest beginnings, it still has the power to send the player on an incredible journey into his or her soul, and it allows the listener to find incomparable peace within its notes. Originally, the flute was played in a variety of different occasions: courtship, healing, meditation, and spiritual rituals. Undeniably, the power and appeal of this instrument is still evident today. Flutemaking and flute playing has flourished, and it does not seem to be slowing down. Hundreds of professional flute players exist throughout the country, and many more are discovering the beauty of this instrument.

In this expert video series, let Werner John show you how to make this incredible instrument. He will illustrate the basic steps required to make a wooden flute. From his knowledge, you will learn about various Native American style flutes and how to make them sing. So, what are you waiting for? Start making this wonderful instrument today.

Video Transcript

"So here we are in my workshop in Leverette, Massachusetts where I have been making Native American flutes for the past 16 years or so. The way I do it is to focus just on the wood and the sound of the flutes and it really is a very simple workshop as you see. I got some hand tools here and a few small power tools, but you don't find the larger power tools because I like to focus just on the simplicity of it. So over those 16 years or so I've made about 800 flutes, which is about 50 a year and I do it all in this simple way. The native flute is a very interesting instrument because it has a great history of course on this continent and I want to give thanks to all the different tribes that have developed the principles of the flute over 100's and even 1,000's of years. Today the native flute has kind of had a renaissance of interest. There are lots of flute makers and thousands and thousands of flute players all over the country and even all over the world. The great thing about the native flute is that it has a wonderful sound and also is very, very easy to play. In some of these series we'll be getting into playing the flute also later on. "