All about American Natives and their instruments

the design hertage of Native american instruments
Darya Faiz
Design Heritage 2

LECTURER MS.SHERINA
10/10/2013

LIST OF CONTENT

CONTENT PAGE
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION ABOUT NATIVE AMERICAN 3-9
INTODUCTION ABOUT TOPIC 9-12
THE INSTRUMENT 13-16
CHAPTER 2

AIM OF RESEARCH
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA 18
CHAPTER 3
NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE FEATURS UNIQE DESIGN 18
UNWRITTEN HISTORY ABOUT NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTS 19-20
BRANCH FLUTES 20-21
CROSS TUNE – TOOL FOR TUNNING A NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE FOR A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT 22-23

Does the type of wood used in the flute affect the sound or voice of the flute

What is the difference between a five-hole flute and a six-hole Native style flute?

Who plays the Native American Flute? 23-24

CHAPTER 4

ANSWER’S FOR CHAPTER 2 24-29
CONCLUSION 29
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION ABOUT AMERICAN NATIVE
Many years before Christopher Columbus actually stumbled upon the Americas there actually were people living in North America. The native American people, also called American Indians, had been living on the continent of North American for many years and by the time the Americas were discovered it is estimated that there were over 10 million native Americans already living on the continent. These people had been living on this continent far longer than most people actually imagine, with actual documentation going back to around 150000BC, when the Sandia Indians were first documented on the continent. More than likely the Indians were here long before the actual documentation.
Once the Europeans arrived in America things became much different. At first the Native American people found these new arrivals to be intriguing and interesting and they almost worshipped these fair skin people. As time went by, it became apparent that the Europeans were greedy and cruel as well as very materialistic. Soon the Native American people began to despise the “white man” and hate the greedy ways they had brought to the continent. Not only did these new settlers bring greed and hate but they also brought along many diseases that the Indians had never faced before. These new diseases affected the Indians and killed many of them since they had no resistance.
As time went by the plight of the Native American grew worse and worse. They were forced off their lands and pushed further and further west with many promises being made that were never kept. There were also many conflicts that arose and ended up starting the Indian Wars. There were wars and there were massacres in which many of the native Americans lost their lives. Soon the Native American people were only left with some small Indian reservations for their people, a vast difference from when the continent had been their home. While the history of these people is tragic it is important that we acknowledge and understand the history, not that the past can be solved, but so that in the future the same mistakes will not be made again. Oklahoma has been home to American Indian peoples for 30,000 years. You can explore the many native cultures that now call Oklahoma home at museums, attractions and American Indian events across the state.
The Native Americans were the first inhabitants of the Americas. They were our first environmentalists and horticulturists. To them the spirit world was embodied in every part of the natural world, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral. Thus they treated the natural world with great respect. Native Americans first survived as big-game hunters and as fishermen. The Indians were excellent fishermen and invented the birch-bark canoe. It was not long before they became agricultural, adapting to climate changes and the discovery of the plant maize (corn). First harvesting wild plants with edible seeds, they gradually developed hybrids to increase productivity. Soon, maize, squash, and beans became major agricultural products.

The history of the Native Americans is a fascinating subject. Did they originate here, or did they migrate with the seafarers of Phoenicia, or from Siberia across Beringia, a land mass once connecting Siberia with Alaska, or perhaps a combination of the above? The oral tradition of the Native Americans must be respected along with the archaeological, linguistic and scientific studies of pre-Columbian history. An ancient civilization has been discovered in Caral in the Supe Valley of Peru. The Inca of Peru, the Olmecs and Mayans of Central America, and then the Toltecs and Aztecs of Mexico were early Native American civilizations. The earliest peoples within our national borders were the Southwest Ancestral Puebloans, identified at sites such as Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and the Mississippian Mound Builders at places such as Cahokia on the Mississippi River.

Alaska Region- Alaska
Northwest Region - Idaho, Oregon, and Washington
Southwest Region - Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Nevada
Northern Plains Region - Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Southern Plains Region - Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas
Eastern/Woodlands Region - Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin
Arts and Crafts

The Native American arts and crafts are famous throughout the world. Native Americans made practical and beautiful crafted objects for everyday use. Their ceremonial clothing and sacred things were richly decorated. Painting, carving and embroidery told stories and were linked with the spirits through designs that had special meanings. Skills such as basketry, pottery and weaving have been passed down from one generation to another for many centuries.

Traditional Music No civilized music has such complex, elaborate, and changing rhythm as has the music of the American Indian.
Natalie Curtis Traditional instruments were at a time documented to be: the drum, whistle and rattle. Instruments such as the flute and bells or jingles developed afterward. The types and materials of instrument accompaniment differed by tribal affiliation:

Bells/Jingles Rattles Types: gourd, bark, turtle, tin can, double disc, baby, horn Whistles Types: eagle, bird, bone Flute Types: cowhorn Drums Types: hand, water, medicine, Powwow, frame, dance, peace Drumstick Types: disc rattle, water, bird-horse, bone, ceremonial

These instruments facilitated a symbolism of sound and image, multi-vocal information, and an interaction and relationship to all parts of the living world. Musical instruments throughout the world also have meanings associated with them that surpasses their physicality as sound producing objects. Made of natural or synthetic materials, the methods of their use surrounds the ideas concerning the people and culture that use them. As with Native American instruments, they can suggest something more powerful or meaningful, or even sacred. In Native America, the drum is the heartbeat of all that is. Even at Powwows, the sound of the drum is frequently described as "the heartbeat of the Indian Nation" Traditional instruments are considered to be either given by the Creator, i.g., gourds with naturally dried seeds, or are crafted by skilled instrument makers. Many "Types of Songs" existed in traditional Native American music. Some of these songs were made to be shared and used by all, while others were considered more sacred or holy, and only the selected were given rights to perform these songs. Various types of traditional songs included: Animal Songs Hunting songs Baby Songs (Lullab)/Cradle Songs Love Songs Barter Songs Medicine Song Birth/Baby Naming Songs Mescal Rite or Peyote Songs Corn Grinding Songs Rain chants Dance Songs Song of Happiness Death Songs Songs of Greeting Fables or Tales Sports songs Flute Songs Victory Songs Gaming Songs Wailing Songs Ghost Dance War Songs Society Songs Warrior Songs Hand Game Songs Wedding Songs Holy Songs/Medicine Songs Wind Songs/Songs of Loneliness Honor Songs Work Songs

Today, traditional Native American music and art continues to evolve while offering cultural preservation. Sacred songs are still performed at Sun Dance. INTRODUCTION ABOUT TOPIC
NATIVE AMERICAN’S MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Songs and the drums are the most important part of the American music. Music is often accompanied with dance for most of the celebrations. The music traditionally starts on a slow note and then catches up to a faster beat. The music also becomes louder and more emphatic. The musical instruments, shouts of the players, and whistles are a signal to the singers and dancers to change the performance. The description below will give you a detailed knowledge about the various instruments.

THE DRUMS The drums occupy an important place in the music of the native Americans. Though there are various drums that are according to the tribe and region, native American drum music formed the centerpiece for both sacred and secular music. Traditionally, these drums are large and unlike the native American flutes, they are communal musical instrument played by a group of individuals.
Simple skin drum: This is also known as powwow drums. The basic construction of the powwow drums include a wooden frame or a hollow log of wood with an animal skin stretched over the opening and fastened using sinew thongs. These are the two-sided drums. They are played in central areas and Northern Plains.
Frame drum: These are small, single-sided or two-sided drums. They are made out of thin frames or shells with animal hides of deer and cow stretched across a single or the double side.
Water drum: The native American drums also include the water drums. Their body is made of different materials, iron kettle being one of them. In this, a moist, tanned animal skin is stretched across a small wooden vessel containing water. The other common type of water drum that is popular among the Yaqui, a native American tribe, consists of a large, dried hard shell and a gourd floating in water. When the gourd is struck, the shell sends out vibrations into the surrounding water that amplifies the vibrations and produces the beats.
Square drum: Apart from the two basic types, there are square drums which are played by the native Americans of the Pacific Coast. These are made from wooden boxes or frames. They are large enough that men can sit on the drum and play with the thongs or feet.

THE FLUTS

Native American flutes are the only flutes in the world that have just two chambers with a wall dividing the top chamber and the bottom chamber. A traditional flute is made according to the body measurements of the flutist.
Structure: The length of the flute is equal to the distance between the armpit and the wrist, and the length of the top air chamber is equal to the width of the player's fist. The distance between the whistle and the first hole and that, between the last hole and the end of the flute is equal to the width of a single fist of the flutist. The other holes are one-thumb width apart.
Material Used: The material used for making these flutes range from hardwoods of the walnut and cherry to the softwoods of cedar, redwood and juniper. The softwoods were more preferred as these provide a softer tone to the melody of the flute. Clay, bamboo and bones of birds were also used to make these flutes. However, the construction of these flutes, for example: the length and the number of holes, varied according to the tribes they belonged to.
The native American flutes have a distinct plaintive sound due to the fact that they are played on a variation of the minor pentatonic scale. However, with new innovations, these can be played on other scales as well. Traditionally, native American flute music has a personal connotation as it was used in courtship, healing and meditation without any other musical instrument accompanying it.

THE RATTELS Gourd rattles: These are also known as container rattles. These rattles are made from gourd, raw hide, turtle shell and horn. Gourd rattles that are typical to the southwestern parts of the United States are made by drying the vegetable, scooping out the pulp and filling it with the dried seeds. The opening is then blocked by inserting a handle into it. Turtle rattles are made by filling a turtle shell with pebbles. Even the raw hide rattles have pebbles inside the animal skin, which is stitched and dried to shape. For horn rattles, buffalo horns are mostly used by the people in the plains. These are scraped, dried and filled with pebbles.Deer hoof rattles: Some tribes also use deer hoof rattles. These are made by attaching a number of deer hooves or holes to a stick or other material which rattle when the stick is shaken.

THE CHOOSEN INSTRUMENT
THE FLUTE
The Native American flute has been reported to be the third oldest known musical instrument in the world, with bone flutes dating back over 60,000 years. Drums were discovered first, and then various rattles were made, followed by bone whistles. Eventually, more holes were added and they were made larger. Over time, the instrument evolved with different materials being used in its creation - whatever was available in the area. Virtually, all types of hardwoods and softwoods were used for flutes at some point in time. Flutes had many different configurations - 2,3,4,5,6,7 or 8 holes. In parts of the southern United States, river reed was used to make flutes. This reed has a natural joint that serves as a sort of barrier that helps create a chamber. These flutes are relatively easy to make and may have contributed to the design of what is commonly referred to as the plains style flute. Which is the type that most flute players use today.
Native flutes and whistles were used for many reasons, usually varying by tribe. The Tribes of the NW Coast used bone and cedar whistles for different dances and spirit calling ceremonies. Still today, Eagle Bone Whistles are used at many Pow Wows. Flutes were used for entertainment by many tribes while traveling; many of these songs still exist today. The Hopi Tribe had flute societies that performed powerful prayer ceremonies with their flutes. The Lakota Tribes used the flute for courting and love songs.
Like many other parts of native culture, the flute was not allowed by the government in most parts of the United States for a period of time. There were those Elders on rural reservations that kept the tradition alive, and people like Dr. Richard W. Payne, helped to re-introduce it to native societies. The renaissance began in the early 1900s from the Southwest, and started to grow rapidly in the 1960s. Until today, when the native flute is now widely accepted in most parts of North America. The instrument is so advanced that very little changes have been made in the last 150 years or so.
DIFFERENT TIPES OF NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTES A Wind's Song flute in the key of G

A Moonlight Creek flute in the key of G

A Yazzie flute in the key of F#

bone flutes

Oldest intact, playable flute, from central China

The East-Texas Flute, on display at Heritage Village, Woodville TX. Photo by Robert Gatliff

The Hutter Flute 1880s Sioux

A-Minor 1870 Lakota Flute Replica made by Jon Norris of Jon Norris Music and Arts

"Doc" Tate Nevaquaya
Tom Machahty-Ware (a direct descendent of Belo Cozad), Kevin Locke, R. Carlos Nakai, and many others point to Doc Tate as the inspiration to pick up the flute ([Bee 2006]).
Native American Flutes Today
Today, Native American flutes give pleasure to people all over the world. They are beautiful to look at, wonderful to hold, and magical to play. Native American style flutes are as satisfying for beginners as for seasoned musicians.

The Native American flute has achieved some measure of fame for its distinctive sound, used in a variety of New Age and world music recordings. The instrument was originally very personal; its music was played without accompaniment in courtship, healing, meditation, and spiritual rituals. Now it is played solo, along with other instruments or vocals, or with backing tracks both in Native American music and in other styles. There are two different types of Native American flute, the plains flute and the woodlands flute, each with slightly different construction.

CHAPTER 2
AIM OF RESEARCH

This research is about traditional musical instrument in American native’s period. Different kind of instruments, the way they made instruments, the reason that their traditional music is so important and effective in their life, contemporary Native American music are some object that I will point in this research.
Also, here will be some information about regional music style of Native American types that include: Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Great Basin-Plateau, California, Northwest coast, Southwest pueblo and southwest Apachean.
The important aim of this reaserch that is about about native American and their musical life is that there is not much people who go to listen red Indian’s music and care to what is the story behind that or what impression each instruments have.
Therefore, this reaserch will explain helpful information about Native American and their traditional instruments from all different s view.People usually say ‘you are what you listen to’. Especially in these days listening to music is kind of spending so much time and the popular habit so it’s going to be more knowledgeable and interesting to people have some information about most kind of music’s style. RESEARCH QUESTIAN
1) What is a Native American Flute?
a) What are the parts of the Flute?
b) What is the difference between the notes?
2) Why is the NA Flute useful in Community music making?
a) Why the NA Flute is most often hand-crafted with care and attention to detail?
3) Why Native American Flutes are very different from other instruments that we have grown up with in the Western world?
4) How is the Native American Flutes in traditional and modern use?

METHOD’S OF COLLECTING DATA
This research is based on the local speeches which are written on the browsers and some PDF formats of different books which were about American natives and their musical instruments. Also the data’s is collected from other’s research and critical writings.

CHAPTER 3
Native American Flute Features Unique Design
The 'two chambered duct flute', now commonly referred to as the Native American flute, is a design unique geographically to North America. A two-chambered duct flute has a slow air chamber at the head end of the flute into which air is blown. Then, there is a duct or channel, which conducts air from this chamber to the splitting edge where part of the air is directed down into the sound chamber or bore of the flute. A solid area separates these two chambers.

Unwritten History of Native Amercan Flutes
Due to the lack of a written language, the history of the Native American Flute is not very clear. In pre-Columbian times, Native peoples preserved their history in the form of stories that were passed from generation to generation. These stories told of how the people came to be who they are and where they are, offering accounts of how they acquired different aspects of their cultural heritage. Many of the tribes expressed these stories in the form of song. Ethnologists sometimes refer to these stories "creation myths".

There are many such stories about how the flute was discovered, created, or given to Native people. A common one tells of a woodpecker, a hollow branch and the wind. Many others revolve around a young man wanting to attract the attention of a maiden.

The Hopi people have long had an organized group called a flute society. Among the Hopi, the flute is used by Flute Society members for ceremonial and healing purposes. It can be assumed that other Native American tribes had similar relationships to the flute. These ancient oral traditions usually confine the use of the flute to men, something that has changed in modern times.

Branch Flutes
Some flute makers begin their flutes from a branch of a tree rather than from lumber that has been milled. This method of making flute is typically used by makers who build highly individualized instruments and craft flutes one at a time.
The construction techniques vary widely, but some makers of branch flutes will attempt to split the branch down a centerline, hollow out the inside, and then mate the halves back together for the completed flute.
Here is a pair of branch flutes made by Bob Willasch that I photographed at the Native Rhythms Festival in November 2010: Branch flutes by Bob Willasch

And here is a branch flute crafted by Billy Crowbeak Faluski of Woodpecker Creations Flutes. This flute was crafted as a story flute for The Great Blue Heron Cherokee Legend. Visit this YouTube video to hear the flute and its story.

Branch flute by Billy Crowbeak Faluski

Detail of branch flute by Billy Crowbeak Faluski
CrossTune - Tool for Tuning a Native American flute for a Different Environment

This page provides a tool for the CrossTune situation:

You are tuning a flute in one environment (temperature and humidity) and it will be played in another environment.

The code for these calculations is taken directly from NAFlutomat. Thanks goes to all the authors of and contributors to Native American flutelutomat.

This page provides some background on the issues of temperature and humidity on the tuning of flutes. If you wish to skip the description, you can go directly down to the CrossTune Calculator. If you find any problems or suggestions regarding this page, please contact me.

Background

The vibrations produced by a Native American flute are generated by a air pressure wave travelling up and down the sound chamber of the flute. The frequency of the sound, which determines the pitch of the sound that our ear's perceive, is determined by how many times per second that the air pressure wave makes a round-trip up and down the sound chamber of the flute.

For a single, held tone, the length of the sound chamber does not change, but the speed that the air pressure wave moves up and down the sound chamber depends of the speed of sound inside the sound chamber. The faster the sound moves, the higher the frequency of the generated sound, and the higher the perceived pitch of the tone. See [Hopkin 1999] for an excellent description of this process.

So, pitch is determined by the the length of the sound chamber and the speed of sound inside the sound chamber. Since the length of the sound chamber is fixed (if you don't change your finger position), it is only the speed of sound inside the sound chamber that determines the pitch.

For the typical conditions of flute playing, the speed of sound changes with the:

Temperature of the air inside the sound chamber, and
Humidity of the air inside the sound chamber (to a minor degree)
Two other factors are the ambient air pressure and ambient air density. However, in a gas, pressure and density are tied together in an direct relationship (compress the gas and it becomes more dense). Conveniently, the effects of pressure and density on the speed of sound are exactly the opposite. So, the effect of the change in ambient air pressure exactly cancels out the effect of the associated change in ambient air density, and so ambient air pressure can be ignored calculating the speed of sound. The theoretical basis for this has matched observed experimental results ([Dean 1979], page 50).

Notice that I've used used the word "ambient" in the above paragraph. Sound is itself the local variation in air pressure, so air pressure is constantly changing in the presence of sound. However, "ambient air pressure" is used when talking about the general air pressure in the absence of the local pressure variations caused by sound.

Does the type of wood used in the flute affect the sound or voice of the flute?

Each flute has its own voice and there are similarities in the woods of the same species or density. It is not an easy task to describe in words the nature of these various differences. Once a friend, also a flute maker, used the words "sweet and mellow" to describe the voice of flutes made of hardwoods like Cherry or Walnut. He called flutes made of soft wood like Western Red Cedar "crisp and clear". I have always told my customers exactly the opposite. Yes, the wood used in the flute affects the voice, but you can see the dilemma created by trying to describe these subtle differences.

What is the difference between a five-hole flute and a six-hole Native style flute?

One hole! On a six-hole flute the third hole is kept covered if you wish to limit your playing to the minor scale. A five-hole flute simply does not have this hole. Both kinds of flute are capable of playing every note in the chromatic scale. A five hole flute makes a few of these notes with different fingering than the more popular six hole flute.

Who plays the Native American Flute?

Specific Native American Indian tribes (First Nation Peoples) developed and play this flute. Today, this instrument is played by a range of people, from recreational musicians to performing and recording artists. The NA flute is sometimes used by music therapists and music educators. Because of its simple and accessible design, virtually anyone can play the flute. For people with smaller hands, higher-rage flutes are recommended, such as those from G and above. Larger flutes, such as those from F# and lower are more appropriate and accessible to people with larger hands. The larger flutes, such as those that are tuned to E and lower, are sometimes called "bass" flutes. Very small flutes, sometimes called "pocket" flutes are easy to transport and even people with the smallest of hands can play them with little effort.

People who play the Native American-style flute include:
Native American Musicians
Performing and Recording Artists
Recreational Musicians
Music Therapists
Music Educators
CHAPTER 4
Native American Flute
The Native American Flute is one of the instruments that is original and unique to some Native American tribes. It is traditionally made from wood (cedar, walnut, and most hardwoods). It features five or six finger holes and a mouthpiece, which makes it easy to produce the sound. No special technique is used to produce the sound, other than blowing into the sound holes. The body of the flute is comprised of a tube that is divided into two parts, the mouthpiece and the sound chamber. The two parts are bridged by a short section that is comprised of a small rectangular hole, called the "flu," and a block that rests on the flute body, called the "bird" or "totem." The bird acts to send the air across the flu, thereby splitting the air stream and producing a pleasing tone.
Different notes are played by covering the sound holes. The basic five-hole flute is capable of playing a 7-note scale, however it is most common to play a 5-note (pentatonic) scale. The pentatonic scale on the NA flute is laved out so the lowest note is the 5th scale degree. In C "major" pentatonic, this note is A (CDEGA). The five-hole "A" flute plays the notes: A-C-D-E-G-A. Even through the scale is a C pentatonic, the flute is named after the lowest note, which in this case is the A below the C. Some people might call this tonality C pentatonic starting on 'La' ('La' being the sixth degree of the scale according to the solfege system: do, re mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do). Many flutes will indicate the type (lowest note) on the bottom of the instrument. Common pitches are C, A, F#, E, and D, but flutes are made in all keys.
Native American Flute in Community Music Making

The NA Flute is both accessible and easy to play. Because it requires no special technique to play, pleasing results can be achieved within minutes. The pentatonic tuning means that there are no 'wrong" notes to avoid. Virtually any note that is played will work well with the other notes, producing a tonality that is melodic and timeless. The A flute in particular blends well with other instruments, such as the ukulele and Orff instruments. Because of the long history and association between the flute and drums, the NA flute is a natural choice to include in community music making settings, such as drum circles, improvisation groups, and music for relaxation, healing, and therapy.
The flute provides someone with a melodic voice, which can substitute for voice or serve to prompt or accompany singing. When someone plays the flute, they engage their breath, using full, slow, deep breathing techniques, which in turn send positive signals to the brain and help oxygenate the blood. Depending on how it is used, flute play can help a person relax in preparation for sleep or serve to stimulate the mind and body in preparation for work. The flute a beautiful instrument that is most often hand-crafted with care and attention to detail. Flutes are made from different kinds of woods and carry what we call the "spa aesthetic," which most people find pleasing. The flute can serve as a path towards learning about different cultures, traditions, and music.

The NA Flute is useful in Community Music Making because it:
1. is easy to play.
2. is tuned to a pentatonic scale.
3. shares a long history with group drumming, and other forms of music.
4. provides a melodic voice, which can be used to elicit or accompany singing.
5. has the potential to help someone relax or become more energized.
6. is consistent with the spa aesthetic.
7. connects the player with a larger body of music, history, and culture.

NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTES ARE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER STRUMENTS
To experience the Native American flute (NAF) is to know that the instrument is very different from other instruments that we have grown up with in the Western world.
The Native American flute is deeply rooted in traditional cultures, yet blends beautifully with contemporary music. Makers do not strive to create instruments to a common standard, but each craft their personal style and sound into their creations. The music is rooted in an uncommon scale for Western music, but one that is home to much of World music, and one that encourages free expression. And it channels the energy of the player away from technique and toward creating expressive, beautiful music regardless of their level of experience as musicians.
Players and makers of the Native American flute are always bridging a wide span of cultures, music, and roles for the instrument. The traditions surrounding the instrument are honored at the same time as the boundaries are pushed forward.
Traditional and Modern use
Tradition has it that the Native American flute was primarily a courting instrument. A young man would make a flute, set himself off from the group he was with and play a song that he and his beloved knew. She would hear this and understand his intentions. Once he and his beloved were joined together, he would throw away the flute never to play one again.
Other traditions among the Plains nations held that a tribe could be identified from a distance by the sound and songs that a member of the tribe played as they traveled. There are many other traditions, some of which are very contradictory.
The lack of verified history can be traced to the early twentieth century when Native American children where taken from their homes and placed in "Indian Schools". Once there, they were prohibited from speaking their native language, performing rituals and wearing their traditional clothes. This forced abandonment stopped the flow of Native American oral history with its traditions, rituals and culture.
The Native American flute tradition died out and was soon viewed by many young native peoples as "un-cool", or worse, as an unwanted native icon. A few players persisted, and in the 1960s, thanks to the interest of people like Dr. Richard Payne, an avid collector, historian and author, the flute began a renaissance. Then in the mid-eighties, the Native American flute entered the New Age market and interest in it has been increasing ever since among both native and non-native Americans.
In native culture, songs are owned by the songwriter and are not played by others unless "gifted" to them. Many non-native people find these traditional songs "foreign" sounding, not unlike most music from non-western cultures. Historically designed flutes do not fit into western tuning and scales, but rather the personal scales of the maker. Measurements were traditionally based on the size of the maker's hand, finger or thumb.

Today the music of the Native American flute is blended with western instruments, in western scales. The sounds of Native American flutes can be heard in rock bands, jazz quartets, symphonic concertos, New Age music and mixed in with instruments from around the world. Its main appeal, however, remains as a solo instrument, with its very personal, soulful , haunting and emotional sound.

CONCLUSION
There are more than 550 federally recognized tribes in the United States, including 223 village groups in Alaska. “Federally recognized” means these tribes and groups have a special, legal relationship with the U.S. government. This relationship is referred to as a government-to-government relationship.A number of Indian tribes and groups in the U.S. do not have a federally recognized status, although some are state-recognized. The Native American flute tradition died out and was soon viewed by many young native peoples as "un-cool", or worse, as an unwanted native icon. A few players persisted, and in the 1960s, thanks to the interest of people like Dr. Richard Payne, an avid collector, historian and author, the flute began a renaissance. Then in the mid-eighties, the Native American flute entered the New Age market and interest in it has been increasing ever since among both native and non-native Americans.