Traditional flutes

In the style of the indigenous Native Americans

with a bird fetish

after the first few notes you will find yourself in the spirit of the American continent

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The traditional flutes are built in the ancient style of the indigenous tribes of North America with great respect for their culture.

The flutes are very different in terms of construction and sound to European recorders. The most important feature is the fetish (it is not just an ornament), because it directs the air stream that is blown in at the mouthpiece at the right angle over the labium, the part of the flute where the air column is split and produces the sound.

The various indigenous manufacturers are very creative here and carve and design a wide variety of power animals. Odell Borg, the designer of the High Spirits flutes, is of German descent and has been part of the flute community for a long time. He builds the flutes in the style of the North American Indians and makes the fetishes from stylized bird heads.

The bigger the flute, the bigger the bird, from kestrels to various hawks, eagles and condors. All traditional flutes made in this style are tuned to 440 Hz and a minor tuning. If you are looking for 432Hz flutes, go to Earth Tone flutes.

Traditionally, the flutes are made of red, very colorful and fragrant American cedar wood. The wood with the highest self-disinfecting properties. Not only does cedar wood not absorb bacteria and viruses due to its high resin content and the essential oils it contains, it also repels moisture, which is very beneficial when blowing warm, humid air. American cedar is quite rare and valuable and has a lot of decay, so the yield from one trunk is not so great, from time to time it is necessary to fill resin pockets and bark inclusions with dust from turquoise. This immediately enhances the value of the flutes, as turquoise is the sacred stone in the western states of the USA as far as Central America.

Some of the flutes are also made from Spanish cedar, which is easier to obtain and very light in weight. This also has a very pleasant smell of natural essential oils.

Guide to traditional flutes made in the North American indigenous style:

  • All flutes, except the double nova flutes are tuned in a minor key and have 6 holes, with the 3rd hole covered by a leather strap. This means that the flute can be played as a 5-hole flute or a 6-hole flute.
  • When playing, the flute must be held completely horizontal to the body. Adopt a proud posture, so to speak, and hold the flute at right angles to your body. This prevents moisture in the air from entering the blowing area of the flute when playing.
  • The area into which you blow is a blind hole and would fill up with moist breath (saliva) if the flute were held in a lowered position (see the area of yellow lettering in the illustration below). If it is already blocked, the sound can only be heard again once the moisture has been removed. To do this, you can simply hold the flute with the mouthpiece facing downwards for a while so that the moisture runs out of the blowing area. Moisture may also have gotten under the rider/fetish, in which case this must also be removed. This can be done by blowing firmly through it. If necessary and as a last resort, the leather must be removed and cleaned under the fetish.
  • Before playing, check the position of the fetish. The throat of the bird's head, i.e. the foremost edge of the fetish, must sit directly and straight at the opening (labium), only then will the sound develop properly. If the bird's head covers the opening or is shifted too far towards the blowing opening, then no sound or only a smoky sound can be produced.

Indianerfloete_Bauweise

By ClintGoss, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indianerfloete_Bauweise.jpg