How to Make a Native American Flute from Sumac

[kalvarez2414]

This is excellent! Thank you so much for posting this. Are there any other woods that you would recommend for making flutes?

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@kalvarez2414 i recommend trying it with cedar as well....and any other wood too...try them all ;)

[WaterGirl49]

I rename you "He who cries with the wind" Amazing, thank you for the video

[Ventura991974]

All I have to say is wow. As a fellow NASF maker sometimes we forget the simple way of doing things. A lot of us get too involved in trying to buy the right tools for the job that we forget to go back to the basics. I want to applaud you on an awesome job. I enjoyed this video a lot and look forward to others. If you have a sale price on your flutes please e-mail me at Ventura974@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing back from ya. Namaste.

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@Ventura991974 thanks so much...will send an email

[kalikoutas]

Bro this video is just amazing.Greetings from Greece!!! :D .U know the problem that i have 70% is that with the trees growing in our country(which are also inasane good for flutes)i cant cut the branch exaclty in the mid just like u did in the beggining of the video...Plz can u advice me about that ?I love making lfutes also and i make from simple cane(cause we dont have bamboo here)Soon ill add a video also!!!

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@kalikoutas the thing is some woods split easy and some dont.....all of them split better if completely dry tho....cant wait to see your vid

[flamefinger1989]

Man i want to thank you so so so much for this video

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@flamefinger1989 you are very welcome :)

[MysteryMan159]

question, if i can hear a faint low note and a kind of breathy high note which is also sorta faint. how do i increase the volume of the flute a bit to make it louder? i've got my flute just about done just working on the extremely delicate part and don't wanna spend another 6 hours carving out another sumac branch hahahaha.

[MysteryMan159]

@MysteryMan159 also, the low note only comes when i blow Extremely slowly. any advice you can offer would be much appreciated! :)

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@MysteryMan159 that is the note you are trying to emphasize....thats the key to a good NA flute...you breath into it slowly....dont blow.....to increase the volume is kind of tricky....one thing you can do is slowly increase the size of the sound hole with sandpaper...very slowly....also you want everything to be extremely smooth in the sound hole area....so very fine sand paper helps alot.....let me know if this helps

[MysteryMan159]

wow i have been totally looking for a video like this, simple, don't need any of that fancy crap like a lathe. good job!

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@MysteryMan159 simplicity is always my goal....thanks :)

[MysteryMan159]

@WildPrimitiveSkills also as a second note, i did not know sumac was all pithy inside like that, it could probably be used to make a fire piston for those paleo-pyromaniacs of us out there :)

[WhiteRaven01]

I love it you use only the most basic of tools! Very well done!

[PWL1371]

Loved the viedo . Would like to have had the oppertunity to had a Sumac flute of my own . I have one Native flute now and look to add . As you know each has its own song . Do you sell or take donations or trade ? Know the back ground of the flute and its orgin . Thanks for sharing a great art . Keep up the great work .

[PoorRichard1059]

Nice work Joshua. Question, I'll have to try this with some bamboo I have drying out.

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@PoorRichard1059 its very easy with bamboo...it only takes likee 20 mins because its already hollow and already has a wall in it for the sound hole

[RebLin51]

Awesome video. I got a flute at the powwow but it maker did not do a good job. Now I know how to make my own. He did not take the time to sand the inside well enough. Also, it was made for his hands. The holes are too far apart to play comfortably. I have very small hands for an adult female. So, I will have to keep my eyes out for some suitable wood next time I am out hiking in the wild lands.

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@RebLin51 cool when you make one send me some pics of it..or better yet make a video :)

[perlazam23]

I SUBSCRIBED.

[perlazam23]

take my hat off to you. wish to own one. From PHILIPPINES here

[MrSupersexalicious69]

Your video reconfirmed that the way I discovered was the one that has worked the best so far....

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@MrSupersexalicious69 awesome...glad it was helpful

[MrSupersexalicious69]

No problem, I verry much enjoyed learning more about making flutes, I am using a variety of Elderberry instead of Sumac & I am going for hallowed out/burned out versus splitting & glueing...I was having trouble getting the sound I wanted with other woods... Apparently I am carving the flue 2 deep & trying 2 use a flat fetish block is 2 difficult 2 get the flute & block cohesively flat with the little tools that I have...

[lamador27]

Great video. I'm not sure now if I could tell the difference between the sumac trees and other trees now that the leaves are gone. I will try in the spring., Thank you.

[VettRose]

I would totally buy one of those from you...

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@VettRose send me a pm and we can talk about it

[benevolentian]

Do you sell your flutes?

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@benevolentian sometimes i do...they are like a piece of my soul tho so i sell them to ppl im sure will respect and love them...no amount of money in the world could make me sell one if i wasnt sure about its purpose...these flutes are magical

[benevolentian]

@WildPrimitiveSkills For some reason, I'm glad you said that. It's wonderful to know that people still put their hearts and souls into things they create. I feel the same way when I make my dream catchers. God bless you Joshua.

[ohgaryo]

no one has ever made a better video that you do..you are the first to explain everything in detail...i made my first flute from one inch bore bamboo...it sounds more like a high pitch horn..could you please make a video to show a more close up of how you make the square sound holes and bird area..the low tone of your flute is my goal..thanks so much for all you do to help us...

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@KFairchild1000 idk i have no idea what that is

[mryellow123]

AHHH hole size as well as position for tuning!!!

As an ex-sax player, having played recorder at school, knowing some sound science and music theory, you'd think I'd have got that before now. Always thought it was experience and measurement.

[gabepinnick]

Could you leave the chamber small by hollowing only out the pith, or is it *necessary* to carve out the wood AS WELL as the pith as you did in the vid? I tried making a NAF (Native American Flute) by only carving out pith and I'm not getting any sound. Is that the problem, the bore is too small?

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@gabepinnick the walls have to be thin...it seems to mee once they are over half an inch thick i can no longer get sound...but half an inch is way to thick for good sound...the wood has to be able to resonate...the thinner the walls the better the resonation

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@KFairchild1000 im glad you enjoyed my frustration....lol

[theoriginalwah]

LOL, I need something to calm me down or I'm gunna kill people! Love it, awsome instrument bro, must be so satisfying to play something so beautiful that you made yourself like that, it's futile me trying this coz I don't have the ear for what notes should sound like, bit I'd like to. Great vid.

[TheTribeOfBenjamin]

Dude.. that flute is beast! Awesome video, I can't wait to try this. As far as tuning goes, should I size each hole to produce a note 1 full step from the next? I hope I am making sense I am used to playing the trumpet where I can go in halve steps all the way up a scale. Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks for making.

ben

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@TheTribeOfBenjamin traditionally these flutes are tuned to a penatonic minor...they are five or six hole flutes so the five holes are always penatonic minors...the six hole u can switch between a pnatonic minor and a penatonic major by switching which hole you keep covered...either the third hole (for the minor) or the 4th hole (for the major). I hope i explained that accurately

[TheTribeOfBenjamin]

@WildPrimitiveSkills Hey thanks for the info! Again great video, I'm working on mine right now!

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@TheTribeOfBenjamin cool take pics when its done or better yet make a video reply so we can all hear it :)

[MiWilderness]

The last thing I want is someone destroying my peace. :) That flute is really cool, thanks for sharing.

[WildPrimitiveSkills]

@kenny1979 thanks bro :)