Handmade Native American Style Flutes

Since summer 2021 I have been busy studying the art of building Native American Style Flutes.

I started on my balcony and used bamboo for my first prototypes. In the meantime I evolved quite a lot and am happy to say that I build in a little workshop now and use different kinds of woods for my flutes, soft woods (particularly Aromatic Red Cedar) being my favorites. Aromatic Red Cedar has a wonderful scent and is also beautiful to look at, with brown-reddish and white colors.

It didn't take long to find the right name for my little flute business – Mineho is a fusion between the German words for minerals (Mineralien), aka gemstones, and wood (Holz)...MineHo. This name is reflected in the main design of all my flutes, beautiful woods combined with at least one gemstone. Regarding the design of my flutes I like to use my creativity or be inspired by the wishes of my customers. I like animal totems the most, either made from wood for the flute block or as woodburning art. However, also a simpler design just with a gemstone and the natural grain of the wood is really nice of course.

All my flutes are treated just with linseed oil and beeswax, no chemicals or anything that could be harmful. Over time the linseed oil gives them a little matt shine. I do not use varnish on my flutes, as I like to keep the natural look and touch of the wood.

To give you a little impression of some flutes that I built, you will find a small gallery at the bottom of this page. I can build the following types of flutes (see below for descriptions of the different types): single flutes, double drones, Mayan Harmony drones, Oktabass drones and triple drones, all tuned to 432 or 440 Hz and in a minor pentatonic scale (I am working on other scales too, but I am still testing). Possible pitches are high-, mid- and low-range, which spans from a low G(3) all the way up to a high A(5), with the Oktabass drone being an exception (this flute can go as low as C3 or even lower on the drone side).

Apart from the Mayan Harmony drone, all my flutes are 5-hole-instruments, which are the easiest to play for beginners (compared to the more common 6-hole-flutes).

Flute types

Double Drones

As the name suggests, these flutes are basically two single flutes played at the same time. I build them "Shotgun" style, which means two routed flute channels directly next to each other, as opposed to two seperate flutes that are connected.  Usually, one side is the melody side, with the same layout as a single flute, and the other side just plays the corresponging drone. But it is possible to add the three lower fingerings to the drone side as well, to enable more flexibility. Drones need more air than single flutes and thus should not be the first choice as a beginner. That said, high- or midrange drones can be played as a beginner, they will just be a little bit more challenging.

Mayan Harmony

This type of flute is a special double drone. The two sides are pitched differently. Normally, the higher side is the fifth of the lower side (e. g. a low D and a mid A). Also, both sides have the three lower fingerings, so the flute has 6 holes in total. When you play both sides combined at the same time, you can play beautiful double tones. This configuration enables a different playing style than with a single or a normal drone flute.

Oktabass

What I call Oktabass is a very special and low double drone. The higher melody side is exactly one octave above the low, bass drone side; Okta + Bass = Oktabass :). So far I have built Oktabass flutes in two different pitches: D3/4 and C3/4. Higher pitches are definitely possible, a drone side lower than C3 should also be possible, but it would require some testing. Due to the sheer size and building challenges of this flute type these are my most expensive flutes.

Triple Drones

Not 2, as with a double drone, but 3 flute channels on one instrument. There usually is a melody side in the middle, a drone side and another side with just the three lower fingerings. This opens up a world of possibilities, which is why I would not recommend this flute for beginners. Due to the three flute channels, playing this flute requires quite a lot of air, even more air than a double drone. You should keep this in mind when you consider this type of flute (best would be to try it before you buy it).

Your very own custom flute

Write an email to mineho@gmx.de , if you would like your very own Native American Style flute from Mineho!

We can then discuss everything – pitch, flute type, wood, totem, woodburning and gemstones – to find the perfect flute for you!