Native American flute
Native American flute crafted by
Chief Arthur Two-Crows, 1987 |
|
| Woodwind instrument | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Native American style flute, courting flute, love flute, and many others |
| Classification | |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 421.23 (MIMO revision) (Flutes with internal duct formed by an internal baffle (natural node, block of resin) plus an external tied-on cover (cane, wood, hide)) |
| Playing range | |
| typically 1 – 1 1⁄3 octaves | |
| Related instruments | |
| More articles | |
| Flute circle, Eagle-bone whistle | |
The Native American flute is a flute that is held in front of the player, has open finger holes, and has two chambers: one for collecting the breath of the player and a second chamber which creates sound. The player breathes into one end of the flute without the need for an embouchure. A block on the outside of the instrument directs the player's breath from the first chamber — called the slow air chamber — into the second chamber — called the sound chamber. The design of a sound hole at the proximal end of the sound chamber causes air from the player's breath to vibrate. This vibration causes a steady resonance of air pressure in the sound chamber that creates sound.
Native American flutes comprise a wide range of designs, sizes, and variations — far more varied than most other classes of woodwind instruments.
The instrument is known by many names. Some of the reasons for the variety of names include: the varied uses of the instrument (e.g. courting), the wide dispersal of the instrument across language groups and geographic regions, legal statutes (see the Indian Arts And Crafts Act), and the Native American name controversy.
Native American names for the flute include:
Alternative English-language names include: American Indian courting flute,courting flute,Grandfather's flute,Indian flute,love flute,Native American courting flute,Native American love flute,Native American style flute (see the Indian Arts And Crafts Act), North American flute,Plains flute, and Plains Indian courting flute.
Names in other languages include:
By convention, English-language uses of the name of the instrument are capitalized as "Native American flute". This is in keeping with the English-language capitalization of other musical instruments that use a cultural name, such as "French horn".
The use of abbreviations (e.g. "NAF", "NASF") is discouraged.
The prevalent term for a person who plays Native American flutes is "flutist". This term predominates the term "flautist". "Flute maker" is the predominant term for people who "craft" Native American flutes.
The instrument is classified in the 2011 revision of the Hornbostel–Sachs system by the MIMO Consortium as 421.23 — Flutes with internal duct formed by an internal baffle (natural node, block of resin) plus an external tied-on cover (cane, wood, hide). This HS class also includes the Suling.
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