Sites of Interest on Native American Flute Music

The history behind Native American music, with its traditional nature tie-ins, is one that is fascinating and-with our general rushed way of life in the late 20th century-a way of life that should possibly be emulated.

Just who is this guy anyway? This image is often seen on jewelry and other musical gifts, but he's certainly not new. Kokopelli is the name of the ancient flutist whose image has adorned Indian pottery and landscapes at least since around 200A.D., when he first was used to decorate Anasazi pithouses. His image is prevailant throughout the southwestern United States, on into Mexico. His name comes from a similar image in Hopi culture.

A very good and thorough site on the subject of Native American flutes is The Rebirth of the Native American Flute. Michael Eber, along with his wife, are both of European descent, but have found they more espouse the beliefs and traditions of Native Americans in regards to the treatment of nature and man's relationship with it. His Rebirth of the Native American Fluteis aimed at keeping this history alive. Sections include history, styles, purchasing, care of the flute, interviews, and making flutes.

Another good site with several references is Wind's Song Flutes. by Scott Loomis. This site is a great starting place for people wanting updated information on Native American flutes, playing them, building them, or just asking questions. It includes a forum section covering topics from making Native American-style flutes from PVC pipes (pretty inexpensive!)to playing techniques. There is also an archive section of previous flute tips. And, you can get information about Scott's performances and his own flutes for sale.

Another Native American flute forum can be found at one of the many forum sections of Native People's Magazine, which would be a wonderful periodical to investigate just in itself.

For those of you interested in organizations, you can join The International Native American Flute Association, which is an organization "whose goal is to foster and appreciation and preservation of the Native American Flute". Information includes contacts for regional flute circles, mission statement, and a biography of the executive director, Dr. Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl.

If you're interested in books, you can puruse the Native American bookstore, which is in association with Amazon.com. A large variety of topics are covered, including topics on music.

Native American flutist links:

Charles Littleleaf(who will be highlighted in next week's article)

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic