Choosing The Right Flute For You

Key Points for First Time Players

:: The Native Flute is one of the easiest melodic instruments to learn, you do not need any previous musical knowledge or experience.

:: The most important element in picking your first Native Flute is choosing one that allows the learning process to be easy, smooth, and fun. Using our guidelines and instructional materials will help with that.

:: All our flutes (except Pocket Flutes) are eligible for a FREE “How to Play” DVD and an easy to understand instructional booklet that has detailed teaching instructions and fingering charts; these instructional materials make the learning experience fun and playful. 

:: The flutes we recommend for first time players are high-quality, professional instruments. The reason we recommend these specific flutes for beginners is that their size makes them manageable for first time players. 

:: To choose your flute we recommend that you listen to the sound samples that are on the individual product pages and choose the voice/tone that resonates best with you.

:: Once you learn to play one of our easier, beginner-friendly instruments, you will be able to use those playing skills on most any other Native Flute.

:: Anyone who has previous experience playing a wind instrument will be able to easily play any High Spirits flute.

Recommendations for New Players:

For beginners with smaller hands we recommend:

Note: The mid-tone flutes in the key of “A” have the deepest voice followed by the high-tone "Bb", then “B” and finally "C" has the highest tone in this group.

For beginners with medium to large hands we recommend:

Our mid-tone flutes in the key of “G” minor

The key of “G” minor is deeper in tone than the flutes suggested for those with smaller hands, and they are popular for their smooth, resonant tone.

Flutes for Children:

It is always fun to have our kids show an interest in making music! Our experience is that most children can play these flutes easily. The only limitation is that their fingers and hands are a bit small to be able to reach and cover the holes on the larger flutes.

The smallest flute we offer is the Pocket Flute in "G," a 6-hole, 11" flute. It's made from aromatic cedar and has a high, sweet voice.

Somewhat larger (15") is the 6-hole Kestrel in the key of "D", made from walnut, a hardwood. It is a good size for ages 7 and up and is pitched lower than the Pocket Flutes.

If the child is tall for their age and has larger hands, we recommend the 6-hole Merlin (17.25") in the key of "C", available in walnut and madrone. It is the next size up from the Kestrel and has a deeper voice.

By the time children reach the age of 9, their hands are large enough that we can recommend either a 6-hole White Tail Hawk (17.25") in the key of "B" made from walnut, or a full-sized (19"), 6-hole Sparrow Hawk in the key of "A" made from aromatic cedar, Spanish cedar or walnut.

Which Keys Play Well Together?

What works best to play with the "G" flute would be another "G" like the Pocket Flute or Contra Bass "G". The other option is to play a "D" or "C" flute along with the "G", but you have to play both flutes ("G" and "D" or "C") note-for-note or it will sound dissonant. The complementary keys for each of our flutes are listed below:

About Our Wood Types

The three types of wood we most commonly use for out flutes are walnut, aromatic cedar, and Spanish cedar. The softwoods such as aromatic cedar and Spanish cedar have a warmer voice, and the hardwoods such as walnut have a clearer voice, especially on the high notes.

Walnut is dense, sturdy and durable, which makes it an excellent choice for younger players, or if you plan to play it outdoors or take it camping/hiking.

Aromatic cedar is also known as eastern red cedar and closet cedar. It's the most popular, partly because it is more traditional and the colors in the wood are beautiful.

Spanish cedar has unique grain patterns containing dark lines that are occasionally mistaken for check lines (cracks).These grain lines are a natural characteristic of the wood, and will not crack or have any effect on the sound.