I have read many website articles. I've seen many YouTube "how to" videos. I know the generally accepted techniques that are recommended for beginners to practice in order to learn the NAF.

What I'm curious about is what formula worked best for you as a new player?

Was it playing the scales a lot? Was it working on your breath control? Was it watching other players' techniques? Was it listening to music CD's? Was it just picking up the flute and teaching yourself through improvisation? etc...

I do realize that everyone is different, but it would be interesting to hear about your personal experiences.

Thanks.

I worked my way through John Vames' terrific book The Native American Flute: Understanding the Gift, practiced different scales daily, and allowed myself plenty of time to just experiment on my own. A DVD with Jan Michael Looking Wolf was also very helpful at first. Later on, listening to CDs by different artists, trying to imitate them, and learning to play some familiar tunes such as Amazing Grace and Lord of the Dance really helped to extend my range and imagination. Most recently, I was able to transcribe a tune by Charles Littleleaf and play along to help develop my sense of rhythm and timing. I've been playing for a bit over a year now and feel good about my progress. I look forward, though, to going to some workshops for some more personal advice and experience.

I have that book too.. very good resource!

For me, along with some of the instructional DVD's and books typically out there (Odell has both beginning and advanced that you can find on ebay or at his site) I just started playing from the heart. Howver, I do recommend you get the books too as they are good to go back to once you know the terminology, etc.

What does this mean? This means to me that I didn't/ dont care how technical or how simple the music came from within... I just played.

It comes...

The flute will begin to speak through you like any other instrument once you develop a relationship to it.

Some of the most fantastic musicians (from classical over a hundred years ago, to even folks like Hendrix, to some of the best known flute players) are self taught.

If you have access to a flute circle (or start one of your own to share ideas and tunes) the process is a lot faster.

For me, "listening" to music has taught me a lot as I begin to develop an instinct that I carried over to the flute, or the chinese erhu, or the bass, or drums, or whatever I wanted to play.

This is a good thread. My experience is going to be different than others, and I look fwd to hearing others talk on the subject!

Since I have little innate talent, I resorted to lessons with a Master player, for about 5 yrs. Then, I moved to another teacher, for world flutes, and have basically been taking lessons the entire time I have played.

I envy those with innate talent, like the girl in Hawk's story.

For me, it was mostly just picking it up and playing whatever I could play...a lot. I played improvised stuff, I played movie and TV theme songs, I played jazz standards, I played along with songs if they were in the right key... The key to a lot of my development as a flute player was to play a great diversity of things, and being very persistent until I got things right. Listening to many different genres of music, experimenting with different sounds and ways of playing the flute, and just picking it up and playing for no particular reason during my free time have all been good ways to learn.

Of course, I also had a prior musical background, having played the trumpet for ten years, and having messed around with other instruments throughout my life (e.g. pianos, keyboards, harmonicas, various cheap-o flutes, whistles, and ocarinas, and even a tenor saxophone at one point). It really did help me to have that musical knowledge and experience in developing my technique, breath control, and finger control. It has also helped me in making compositions for my recordings.

Finally, as I alluded in my first paragraph, I listen to a lot of music, from just about every genre and time period you could name. At any given time, my CD changer could have in it Chicago blues, Mozart, bagpipe music, classic rock, Spanish guitar, heavy metal, country-western, a John Williams film score, etc. Listening to all of those different kinds of music helps a lot in terms of inspiring me to bring out my own voice, and to learn to play the kinds of things that I like best.

I envy ya... If I had someone close I would pay for lessons.

We have one player in particular (ya'all know Elisium Calling)... well, he works not a stones throw from where I live and work, but he's quite busy and as s uch cannot give lessons. What I wouldn't give to take lessons from him!

My teacher was shak master, Stan Richardson, who just happened to be willing to teach me native flute. I took NAF for 3 yrs., then shak for 2 yrs. (at which time the difficulty level made me stop), and now I have been doing transverse bamboo flute for about a yr, with Cornell K., who only gave lessons because of a series of circumstances, created the need to do that. (Not to mention I twisted his arm.)

In all of that, I found that I didn't like to work with sheet music very much, and so I have learned little about music per se, but my playing skills have improved a bunch. I still primarily improvise, and am just now about to try playing some sheet music again. Fortunately, I either had or acquired matched flutes, for lessons, which I found to be essential.

Since I have a limited budget for my flutes, my first lesson pair, was unfinished flutes in F# from Michael Allen, which I then finished, and gave one to Stan and kept the other for myself. Because we were friends, Stan gifted me my first student shak, as I couldn't afford the high prices of shakuhachi. Now, I acquired a flute that matched one Cornell has, so I have always had a well matched flute to my teachers, and strongly recommend that approach for lessons.

I have been mulling over teaching others, in basic NAF, but I can only take a student for about 4 mos. and then I will have taught them all the basics of playing, and they either have to move on to one of the other guys, or continue on their own. The ones I have taught free have made excellent progress, so I may offer those basic lessons at some point in time, at affordable rates. (With gas this high, it will become difficult to get people to take lessons, if they have to drive very far, though.)

guess I was lucky.. As soon as I had my first flute it just "made sense". I just started playing...

I think all the guitar playing at blues jams gave me a feel for the sounds of the flute.

I didn't learn in any set way...just learned the basic scale and away I went! Learned to play a couple of other people's songs and figured out how to play the theme tune from "Last of the Mohicans" after much difficulty, but asides from that I just played whatever I felt like, occasionally finding interesting things on the internet to try out.

I worry that my playing is too "samey" though...I need to find a way to vary it more as I tend to stick to the same old patters. Learning some new scales has helped a little...but I always think the main thing is to just enjoy playing, no matter what it sounds like!

Would I have had a teacher if one had been available...I don't know. I found I didn't much enjoy formally learning an instument. It's much nicer to discover it yourself

Yes Laura, but at my age, I had limited time in which to learn, so teachers were valuable.

I purchased my first flute three years ago. For the first 18 months I took a monthly group lesson from a NAF recording artist who lives in the area. For those first 18 months I worked on the fundamentals (posture, breath control, holding the flute, and scales) daily. Each month, I was exposed to a new embellishment from my instructor and would focus on it (after the fundamentals) until my next lesson. Several times during those 18 months I would lay down the flute and not pick it up for a week or so. These breaks proved to be very beneficial, particularly when I got stuck or felt like I was regressing.

While this approach may well be too structured for some, it provided me with a solid foundation and has served me well. For example, when I first began playing it was a very conscious exercise. I couldn't seem to remove myself from my playing. Now when I play, I find it much easier to get out of the way and let the flute tap into my soul.

Oh, and yes, I still try to practice the fundamentals daily.

I was gifted my first flute from a Native American friend of mine. He taught me the fundamentals and then I began to experiment. I first learned by imitating sounds from nature. I then started trying to pick up pieces of music or commercials. Nothing particularly formal at that time. For some unknown reason, I put the flute down for a few years.

When I picked up the flute again I started going to a flute circle meeting that was local to me at the time. I also had a private lesson with the someone in that circle. During that lesson I started playing her a new "song", which was actually a fun riff. She told me "that is not how you play the NAF". I quickly dropped out of the circle meetings and put the flute down again.

I then started listening to more NAF music. Mary Youngblood became instrumental in me picking the flute back up. The more I listened to her music, the more I realized that there is no such thing as "music meant to be plaid on the NAF". I then bought a few beginner books and started a practice routine. I am happy with my playing and have learned to have more realistic expectations of myself and creativity in general.

I guess my point is that I had three different experiences learning to play the NAF.
Kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears... I had to find what was "just right" for me!

There are no right or wrong ways to play the NAF! It's a heart thing.

So glad you got out of that circle and away from someone who sounds like that wanted you to conform!

Glad you've come back to it, too.

Be yourself. Express yourself. Enjoy yourself.

For me, the NAF has given me a new kind of experience. I have been playing some other instruments (recorder and many years ago organ) and in fact I still develop my recorder playing with a professional teacher. That goes in a structured way, and you play what is on the sheet. Improvising has never been something I do. But when I got home with my first NAF I had only a little booklet with the fingering and some small videos by Odell Borg, where he states many times: just pick the flute and play.
So I started playing like that, improvising, which was a wonderful experience. To get free from the written music. Now I also play written music on the NAF, but I can add my own things. But many times, I will just pick up the flute and play. The experience gives me more freedom when playing recorder as well. By the way, my teacher is very enthousiastic about this!

Of course, had I a NAF teacher nearby I would not hesitate. But this works quite well for me.

I studied the book that came with Odell's flutes, bought "Understanding the Gift", discovered flutetree.com and downloaded all the music from there. Found Mary Youngblood, her CDs and songbooks which I've used extensively. Finally attended Clint Goss's playshop and have learned to play more from the heart. Some days I stick to playing from sheet music and others I just improvise. I would like to take some lessons but there are no flute circles close by and no teachers. I am mostly self taught and started my flute journey in earnest four years ago.
I've been able to help a few beginners get started on their flute journey while attending a couple of flute festivals. I felt so good sharing the little I know with them and watching their faces light up when they were able to play their flute.

Carol

Well, I started clarinet lessons in arkansas in 1964, continued them while living in NewYork and California. I was in three different states All state bands playing Bflat, E, A, bass and contabass. I played in three sympony orchestras begining at age 15 before I became interested in stringed instruments (building and repairing not playing) and studied this under a master repairman in Florida for two years. Then recieved my master repairman certification from CFM. I made and played my end blown bamboo flute by ear for about seven years. I still have no NAF to play but once I get my first one made (about two more weeks to finish) I am sure I will play scales to get to know the instrument. I will be trying to keep it natural so improv will be the norm for my playing. My goal is to play the music I hear in within and from nature. Every instrument will speak to you if you only give it the chance and don't limit yourself to what others have written.

Greetings:

Its easy to play notes.....but not so easy to communicate something. I am at the beginning of playing but feel that simply playing a clever sequence of notes is not enough. I am trying to develop a language and a style I guess you could say. So when I forget the notes.....I cannot forget the language.

Bookwise, I read about the history, cultural context and basics of the instruments I adopt into my life. Technique comes pretty easy to me on the naf as I have experience with didgeridoo, tenor recorder and bagpipes. Armed with the scales, with this flute, I just ventured out into my own, jamming and playing what I think sounds cool and feels right to my ear. I dont really try to sound like anyone else, though I am no doubt influenced by the music that I enjoy (Jethro Tull, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Roland Kirk, trad. British and Irish music). My geatest helpmate has been playing along with rhythm tracks, as my timing can always use some work.

I sat on a stump in the woods and played whatever came to me. I did this until I became technically proficient, then I would play along with R.C. Nakai's "Earth Spirit" CD.

Once I learned how to make the flute do all the things that it can do (chirps, whistles, buzzes, coyote sounds and all of the other assorted ornaments) it was just a matter of using my ear.

I never liked anything with finger charts or notation.

so you were a stump player... glad to hear that you learned to play in the lower atmosphere.

i basically learned listening to MJ and others. i was also fortunate enough to find a flute circle one hour away.(Potomac FC) watching guys like Ron Warren was eye opening. then i also have woods near by where i could go and pretend to play for the animals.

i do come from a musical family and love all sorts of music.

Hey it is called playing the flute....so I literally play with it and that is how I am learning. I always got turned off when I had to study too much for music. I like to have fun so I just fool around with it and try all kinds of things like experimenting but more like play experimenting.

A jazz guy Victor Wooten inspired me because he said you can try to make anything you play sound musical. Even if you are just playing one, or two notes you can do it in such a way that you have music that sounds nice by fooling with your timing, length of holding the note...etc. You can also see what your typical patterns are when you play and then deliberately try doing something in a way you never tried before. For example you might always move you fingers in a certain pattern..try moving them in the opposite pattern and see what happens. Try blowing into the opposite end of the flute than you normally do and see what happens...find a new sound you never made before...play with your breath. It is all fun and games and you can really get comfortable moving your fingers and discovering new stuff that keeps it interesting. I also listen to cds and try to copy it and play along, or get inspired.

My 2 cents.

Cheers,

Puma

okay buckos how DO you make a coyote sound?
I want to learn more chirps and whistle, but I haven't got many so far.
Do share if you have em.

Hi Kally, The way I do it is by just using the top three holes, start with all holes open then start to blow the flute and very quickly drop the first or index finger of your left hand covering the top hole and hold that note for a couple of seconds letting it wind down like the first bark of the Coyote. Then immediately and very quickly cover the top two holes with the top two fingers of the left hand and as you blow this time lift your fingers off in a very rapid succession two or three times in a row and on the final covering hold the note just a tad longer and let it trail off ending the Coyote yell. Hope this is not too confusing if you can't get it just PM me and I would be glad to let you hear what it sounds like over the Phone if you want as I don't have the set up or the knowledge for making a sound clip to put on the forum. Many Blessings...Robert

just great. It DOES sound like a coyote.
Okay what other sounds can i make?

When I started, twenty-five or so years ago, there were no books. The first good flute was made by the traditional flute-maker (and player, as well as guitarist and fiddle player) Louie Webster. I bought the flute from him and we sat in his backyard at Menominee Rez. He asked me to play, and what came out was a very small sound -- I was placing air into the flute from up in my chest, rather than from my diaphragm, and by opening my throat. Louie's response I will never forget--

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he said. That was a good lesson for me, although it took me a while to figure out how exactly to play what he was "suggesting."

I also started by just fingered up and down the six holes in what Nakai terms "primary" or some such term. Having gotten that, I started getting down a secondary fingering.

I picked up my first flute on November 19, last year. I'd bought it the day before and was worrying that I'd wasted my money for something I'd never play. However, the vendor assured me it was "easy". He'd showed me the basic scale, so the next day, I put it in my mouth and blew.
I haven't stopped "blowing" since.
I did watch a couple of videos on YouTube to learn some techniques, but basically, what I play is what I've learned by trial and error. I can play sheet music, but don't like to. I can play along with a CD, but don't like that much, either. I just like to play what the flute wants to play.
I'm finding that my different flutes have different styles - I have what I call my "dancing" flute, and my "prayer" flute, and my "meditation" flute, etc. So, depending on how I'm feeling, I pick a up a flute and play.
I play every day. Some days, not a lot; some days more. Never more than half an hour or so. It's an adventure.
Pat
P.S. Rick - you made the remark that at your age, you felt you needed lessons to quickly bring you up to speed. I feel just the opposite: at my advanced age, I haven't got time for lessons, or scales, or "practice". I've gotta just play while I can.