Native American Flutes

Welcome to Native American Flutes by

Tdom Bah Toden Xkee
The Flute Keeper

Dear Flute Player:

My Hand Made Native American Flutes are made following the Old Traditional art of Native to the Americas (North American) ways of making Musical Instruments.

The wood decides how the flute will end and the sound it will create - which at the end it is between you and the flute in your hands... and the feeling of your soul.

In the old times (before the arrival of the Europeans to the New World, and their... do, re, mi, fa and such) music was made with the feeling of each individual and the instrument was CREATED to fulfill such needs.

Natives made flutes using their hands as guide to the distance of the playing holes - dictating this measurement the "pitch" of the instrument. The flute was made (designed?) using the palm of the hand to the first hole (where the air exits the first chamber), another palm to the first key hole, the distance of our knuckle between each key hole (five fingers = six holes) and another palm to end the flute... all of these added, will give us the total flute lenght.... and if you measure it with your body, you will find that the total lenght is the distance between your elbow and the tips of your fingers... surprised?

Nowadays, we find many flute makers (some of them quite good, I must add) who make flutes to a perfect pitch and tuned to satisfy those interested in playing music the European Way. If you are looking for a flute with such characteristics, I will gladly will refer you to some flute makers who will satisfy your needs... but if you are looking for a Real Native American Flute, with life of its own and Very Personal, then you can be sure my flutes will be in your collection the one you will call "your very own".

My flutes are hand made - I only use machine tools to prepare the basic piece of wood (usually to make the two chambers) and, from then on, I handcraft each piece by hand, sanding until the thickens of the wood allows me to have a resonant tube. Using Red Cedar selected by Natives and borrowed from Mother Earth with respect, knowing that this instrument will be used with love and with the soul of those who hold it in their hands... it is then that the flute comes alive. Whenever I come across some other materials.- such as bamboo, I make sure it comes from a good source and from a good feeling place... some woods are meant to be flutes, others are meant to be chairs, tables or toys,- to each its own place in creation...