I have read on a suggestion thread that learning others scales would help with my progression, and to be completely honest here, I didn't know there were any other scales that could be applied to the NA flute (yes, naive noob alert ). Do any of you have links to online videos that teach other NA scales?

Thanks!

Wyrd,

I don't know of any online videos but try these links for scales.

http://www.flutetree.com/playing/beyondMinorPentatonic.html (an article)

http://www.flutetree.com/songbook/scales/index.html (actual scales)

http://naflute.blogspot.com/2006/08/naf-pl...with-blues.html (blues scales)

http://naflute.blogspot.com/2006/07/playin...ypsy-scale.html (gypsy scale) This one is so cool!

Thanks for those! I'm playing around with the last one right now!

Oh, yeah! You can play all kinds of scales with the NA flute! On most typical NA flutes (6-hole, especially), you have both mode 1 and mode 4 pentatonic, you have the major, minor (Dorian), and blues scales, you can play the hijaz (a.k.a. klezmer or "Spanish gypsy") scale, and you can mix 'em up to make totally unique sounds. It's something that I do a lot in my own music, and I've actually been asked to do a presentation of sorts on the subject at my next flute circle meeting...which I won't be able to make it to...

Your question about online instructional videos gives me an idea, though...

I have an "Indie" tuning from Russ Venable (which is quite intuitive for me), an "Ahaba something", from Leonard McGann. and I have my sights set on a Kuzin Bruce "Kurdi" tuning at the moment. Unusual tunings in different scales are way fun!!

I also have diatonic tunings, but those aren't as much fun as the odd tunings, although they allow you to play songs that don't fit well in the pentatonic tuning.

That's another reason to explore world instruments, as there are many more unusual instruments out there to play, with different tunings. (Adds to your flute collection, but that's ok.)

I love the pentatonic tuning and am arguably one of the few who enjoy the variety of unique fingerings required to play the scale (depending on the maker and his unique interpretation of it). The versatility of the standard pentatonic flute is great in that it lends itself to the diatonic scale with just a few cross fingerings or a half holing. This being said, I do wonder if there is a better scale out there more suited to the experienced flute players needs? One that is more flexible thus allowing the player to achieve a broader range of musical freedoms?

I personally feel playing flutes of different tuning will not help you necessary finger the standard flute any better but it will open you mind to new songs and note progressions that you would not play otherwise. They are also great for getting one out of a playing rut. I began looking for hidden notes on the pentatonic flute that I did not know were there but were on some of my different scaled flutes. When experimenting with these "foreign " notes that were not as natural to play or pleasant to the ear, I stumbled into new songs and note progressions that have helped me expand my limited flute playing ability.

Do I sense a youtube video on the horizon?

Yes, you do! In fact, it's right here! It was actually requested of me to do something like this, and I've finally gotten around to it. It's kind of a short video, and I couldn't cover as much as I would have liked, but it's a good start (I had limited space on my camera's SD card). I do hope it helps someone out there!

Excellent instructional video! Great playing coupled with lucid explanations--I hope we see more of these from Karnalis in the future!

One of the best things you can do is learn the full chromatic scale well enough that without thinking, you can automatically go up or down a half note from any note you happen to be playing. Once you have this skill, it opens up all kinds of possibilities in your playing. And alternate scales get that much easier to learn and play.

Great video. I could have used it when I was starting out. Even now, I picked up something I was missing on the blues scale. Hope to see more.

Well done! Nice video. Very clear.

I think that those scales are the ones that players should learn first. Learning those opens up many new doors for creativity.

That's an excellent point. I had originally intended to include the chromatic scale in my video, but I would not have had enough time. It does definitely help to become accustomed to simply knowing unconciously what fingering to use to produce which note, and learning the chromatic scale is a great way to start towards that goal.