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Keywords:
Native American (14), flute (79), courting flute (4), pentatonic (7), drone (12)
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Description:
This is being played on a Native American courting flute. I'm adding the drone that might be added by a double flute by simply recording another track of drone. Perigee is the time the full moon is closest to the earth, which was Thursday and/or Friday night, October 25. We had nice, crisp and clear weather, so the moon was indeed spectacular!
This particular instrument is not a true native American flute, but it is a PVC pipe styled like one. I'm working on some of the ornamentation and stylings that are often used in this type of music. Although this is a six hole, diatonic flute, I'm keeping the 'half step' hole covered, so it sounds more like the five hole, pentatonic flute.
Hardware:
G4 laptop, Blue Snowball
Software:
GarageBand
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Nice &mdash 10/27/07 - 07:08:22 AM
If I hadn't read your comments I would have thought the flute was made of some sort of wood. Your tone and timing are wonderful. My wife is a bit of a flute player, are there directions on how to make this or is it a purchased instrument?
Thanks
Bill [ Reply to This ]
Sorry - &mdash 10/31/07 - 09:14:48 PM
I failed to use the 'reply' feature in my last reply. I have a student at school (3rd grader) who is going to make one of these with her dad from some directions they found on the internet. She wants to bring it to show us when she's done. If that comes to fruition, I'll let you know how it turned out. [ Reply to This ]
Hi, Bill &mdash 10/27/07 - 09:04:47 AM
It's been awhile since I posted here, so thanks for being the first person to comment with your kind words.
This is a purchased instrument. It's from 'Sounds We Make LLC'. The internet address is www.DrHal.net. It only set me back about $25.00, which is a lot less than a real wood flute would have cost. I also found some instructions on the net, check out 'courting flute' or 'Indian love flute', and there are free instructions offered by a couple of sites.
[ Reply to This ]
ingenious &mdash 10/27/07 - 10:45:50 AM
wow - i'm impressed. you've created a beautiful, tranquil mood of meditation. your minimal instrumentation produces maximum effect. lovely, kristyjo.
anne [ Reply to This ]
Thanks for listening &mdash 10/27/07 - 04:10:02 PM
This piece was improvised on Thursday night, as I sat by the light of the moon flooding through the patio door. It was as still as the house ever gets, because I was home alone. (for the first time in ages.) I enjoy being able to share the music that results here. I'm glad you enjoyed it. [ Reply to This ]
Parigee &mdash 10/27/07 - 12:21:25 PM
this song is so spiritual and heartfelt .
I like this flute sound .indeed its wonderfull
call of nature the mood and the earth the all
the nature elements .spirits ..! [ Reply to This ]
I'm glad you had a chance to listen! &mdash 10/27/07 - 04:40:01 PM
I've been very busy with basic stuff lately, so it was nice to sit back and play, letting the music just flow. In itself, that's a spiritual exercise. Thanks for listening. [ Reply to This ]
dancing sunset at dusk &mdash 10/27/07 - 02:32:46 PM
There's something quite beautiful and mournful about this playing. Was this your own piece? I loved the bend down to the note below, I was thinking just then that you should do that, and you did!
And, if I remember correctly, weren't you putting together instructions and kits for school children (or us other children) to build our own? Weren't you going to sell those?
Anyway, this is a nice solemn piece. Good to see you back!
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
Drak, thanks for visiting! &mdash 10/27/07 - 06:10:44 PM
I'm glad you enjoyed this. The instruments I'm making with kids are percussion instruments. I still have the 'Simple Drums' site going (http://www.simpledrums.com) but haven't had many sales of those drums. However, my continued investigation into African drumming with kids has led to an 'Unsung Heroes' Award, with an accompanying $2000.00 grant for me to use at school. I tend to go in cycles of learning intensely about one aspect of my discipline at a time. Right now, I'm into the native American flute, and I find that it is very calming for me, my students AND the teachers down the hall. I'm working from recordings and books right now, and have a new appreciation of the differences in cultures concerning 'composing' music.
Anyway, I'm glad to see you after my extended absence. [ Reply to This ]
There is &mdash 10/27/07 - 02:35:27 PM
a lovely Native American sound going on here, sounding really authentic. It somehow has a sound which conjours up an image of being played in the open, under the Moon and is very spiritual sounding, M [ Reply to This ]
Yes- &mdash 10/27/07 - 09:33:03 PM
It was played 'under the moon' but not outdoors, because I find 40 degrees too cold for playing flute. :)
I enjoy one of the Native American concepts of not really composing certain music, because this music is intensely personal, and flows from nature, through the heart into the flute, and is a 'one time' event, somewhat like a person speaks different things all the time, and doesn't really repeat the exact same thing over and over again. There are some new thoughts to explore along with the music for me. [ Reply to This ]
Authentic sounding... &mdash 10/27/07 - 04:11:46 PM
.. to my ears - as the oppressed tribe gathered under the full moon in silent homage to their departed leader ..
I could imagine a large crackling fire and the
occassional wolf crying in the distance .. some
outdoor type reverb/ambience would go down a treat
with this IMO.
Beautiful mournful playing. Great interesting post. [ Reply to This ]
It's great that you came to listen, &mdash 10/27/07 - 09:44:44 PM
I actually have a bit of reverb on here, but it might be fun to add a bit more, and see how it sounds. I might play and record in front of our big old wood burning fireplace, to see how it sounds with the crackling fire. I don't think I could get wolves to do effects for me, but maybe the sound of some deer munching on the bushes in front of our house. Thanks for lots of ideas and comments! [ Reply to This ]
your welcome &mdash 10/28/07 - 05:35:40 AM
.. I try to (as much as possible) return listens to those
that leave a mark on my songs.
I was thinking of using sound FX/samples, have you heard of:
The Freesound Project .. it's another Creative Commons place but more for short samples.. so if you use a field recording (say) in yur composition, you just attribute the uploader - and they provide a nice easy copy & paste way of doing that too.
Sometimes you need to convert with Export in Quicktime to
different bit rates the uploads, to get them into GB.
It's a pity you don't have Logic Pro .. as with the
Plug-in "Space designer" .. it really takes reverb possibilities to extremes.
Just to clarify what I was thinking *could* be done to
enhance this already wonderful piece. [ Reply to This ]
wow &mdash 10/27/07 - 04:50:21 PM
I am speechless. A blue snowball...huh?:-))) Must be a microphone... Ok, I'll say this, I enjoyed the tranquility or silence of the instrument, the subtle tremolo (or is it vibrato?) and the near perfect sounding playing. The shortness of the piece makes it (if I can stick to my night time ritual) something I play just before I go to bed.
love, Jb [ Reply to This ]
Yes, &mdash 10/27/07 - 10:13:11 PM
a blue snowball is a USB mic :)
I'm glad you stopped by to listen & comment. I'm tickled that this piece will fit into your evening ritual. [ Reply to This ]
I love this... &mdash 10/27/07 - 06:49:28 PM
...puts me in a very nice place. Very familiar and comfortable...
...nice to hear your music again, kristyjo... [ Reply to This ]
Hi- &mdash 10/28/07 - 01:01:24 AM
I'm glad you're in a 'good place' as you listen to this music. It's good to be posting again after a bit of an absence. I hope it's not this long before I have something of a quality I want to post again.
[ Reply to This ]
kristyjo &mdash 10/27/07 - 07:52:29 PM
i do believe this is one of the most interesting pieces of music i have heard here... wonderful and tranquil...absolutely lovely!! [ Reply to This ]
tranquil - &mdash 10/28/07 - 10:01:06 AM
is what I was going for, and one of the feelings that flow out of the flute so easily. Listening to unadorned Native American flute music actually physically relaxes my body, so I wanted to try playing the instrument. Playing it does the same thing for me. I literally feel my shoulders drop, my stomach unwind and my hip joints unclench. Not bad for an instrument that is designed to only play 5 notes. [ Reply to This ]
Beautiful &mdash 10/27/07 - 10:32:52 PM
piece of music Kristyjo. Brings peace to the soul.
Thank you for sharing.
Frank. [ Reply to This ]
Peace to the Soul - &mdash 10/28/07 - 10:42:42 PM
Yes, I think we could all benefit from a lot more of that! Thanks for listening and for your kind comments. [ Reply to This ]
peace comes to mind... &mdash 10/28/07 - 09:39:47 PM
So much peace here. Serenity, clarity, calming effects and just lovely. Never really listened to this before, other than on a movie. Quite relaxing. Thank you for sharing this. [ Reply to This ]
Gail, thanks for stopping by, &mdash 10/28/07 - 10:52:43 PM
The Native American flute is my new 'project' - trying to learn some of the traditions and stylings that go with it. The peacefulness of the sound and the music are just so grounding. When I play it for my students in 3rd & 4th grade, they are very quiet, and listen so well. I'm glad you heard the peace in the sound. [ Reply to This ]
PVC is it? &mdash 10/29/07 - 07:42:18 PM
It sounds GREAT, whatever it's made of! The pace of this is really fine. [ Reply to This ]
Pacing- &mdash 10/31/07 - 09:10:11 PM
Something I have to remind myself to do in lots of areas:) It took me awhile to appreciate the importance of long notes and silence in this style of music, but I'm learning! Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you liked it. [ Reply to This ]
Pretty remarkable... &mdash 10/31/07 - 07:09:23 AM
...recording for a PVC flute... I'm with Bill, I would not have thought anything but 'wood'...
It's also a nicely simple melody, meditative and reflective in quality... Reminds me of an old Carlos Nakai CD I have around the office...
It's particularly neat to hear an 'unhurried' quality to this. As with Mystified's latest, there's a sense that you are giving each note its time to sound...
Ed [ Reply to This ]
Ed- &mdash 10/31/07 - 09:32:03 PM
Thanks for really listening and commenting after my silly comments in the forum. I have listened to some Carlos Nakai recordings, and they are quite polished and very listenable. I'm not sure I like the additional instrumentation he uses (at this point in my own player development.) but I'm sure there has to be a balance of variety with authenticity for a NA Flute player to 'make it' on the concert music scene.
I'm actually surprised that a 25 dollar instrument has such a nice sound, but it is the construction of the two different chambers and the hole shape and distance that give the basic sound. There is a NA flute in the Wisconsin State historical Museum that is made out of a rifle barrel, so the tradition of using whatever was available to build a flute seems to be quite strong.
Thanks for your listening ear and thoughtful comments. [ Reply to This ]
The simplicity of &mdash 10/31/07 - 05:49:11 PM
the setting leaves room to notice the nuanced details in this beautiful music. Brings a great stillness. Thanks for sharing!
Best wishes,
Doug [ Reply to This ]
Thanks for - &mdash 11/01/07 - 11:36:32 AM
your nice comments. I'm glad you noticed the space- it is kind of difficult for me NOT to add something to every moment of a piece, but I think the silence is a really important part of this song.
Glad you listened! [ Reply to This ]
Wow! &mdash 10/31/07 - 10:08:37 PM
This was more enlightening for me than just the great sounding track you did! I've always enjoyed Native American sounds, but didn't realize they are (or usually, maybe) in the pentatonic scale. I'm not that far along in my piano lessons yet. When I noodle around on the keyboard, I'm usually doing pentatonic stuff (although I didn't know that) and 2 2 just "clicked"
Articulation isn't my strong suit, so I hope this made sense. Thanks for the music lesson and the wonderful song. [ Reply to This ]
Thanks for commenting &mdash 11/01/07 - 07:20:39 PM
and for sharing your own discoveries of pentatonic! I once was trying to move into more chromatic things, but I find that working in pentatonic is very freeing because there are no clashing tones, so I can improvise without fear. Go Black Keys!!! [ Reply to This ]
Reminds me of... &mdash 11/01/07 - 10:40:13 AM
my trips to The Grand Canyon, where Nature speaks volumes to me. The plaintive sound of the pipe is the perfect musical texture for our tiny voice, which calls out in the grand expanse of Nature.
I do believe a little more reverb would have given this a bit softer edge, but it is lovely as it stands. ;)
--- Joe [ Reply to This ]
Joe- &mdash 11/02/07 - 10:09:37 PM
Yes, I agree, additional reverb would be a good idea. I record with no effects, and then add things as I find they enhance the sound. This instrument is kind of hard to get to a happy medium. When I add reverb, on some speakers, it sounds great, On others, the accumulation of overtones is almost unbearably piercing. I'm working on it, and will be posting another Native American flute piece soon. Perhaps you can listen to that one, and see if I have improved the sound at all. Thanks for your ear, and for the time it takes to provide meaningful comments! [ Reply to This ]
Yow. &mdash 11/02/07 - 09:59:16 PM
And, &mdash 11/02/07 - 11:11:46 PM
My two cents on the PVC flute &mdash 11/03/07 - 09:21:17 AM
Kristijo,
There were already a lot of comments by the time I got here, and I am in agreement pretty much across the board. A PVC pipe? I don't care WHO made it: it sounds like wood and it sounds authentic. Amazing.
Of all the MJers I've heard, generally your music strikes me a always so "authentic" and presented without pretense. THIS ONE is a perfect example of retraint. Most of us are anxious to ornament. You are very happy letting the music speak absolutely for itself. The result is a lovely tune that provides a delicate mediation on the wonders of nature--unadorned and eloquent. (Obviously, there are a bunch of us who appreciate the honesty you bring to your music.) I am anxious to hear the rest of this set. What a perfect song to begin my Saturday. Thank you.
Peace.
Paul [ Reply to This ]
Paul- &mdash 11/03/07 - 11:17:26 AM
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate such positive comments from a fine musician such as yourself. I tend to be a pretty 'authentic' person all around, with the good and the bad that goes with that. I'm glad the spirit of the piece came through. As I listen, I hear some things that need to be changed, and have done a bit of remastering on this, although the changes aren't enough to warrant a reposting. [ Reply to This ]
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Thanks
Bill
[ Reply to This ]