FAQ:
Q - What is the Great Lakes Tuning Method
A - Each hole on a flute represents a musical note. When a flute is "tuned", each note will represent a note that corresponds to a scale. The scale is determined according to the key of the flute. Most all Native American flutes will use the European minor pentatonic scale. The most common method for positioning notes on a NA flute to play a scale is what's commonly called the Lakota method. With this method, the player will never lift his/her finger from either the 3rd or the 4th hole up from the bottom. This allows the player to play in different "modes" of the same scale. With the Great Lakes Tuning method, the player does not have to keep either the 3rd or the 4th finger down to play the scale. The player simply lifts one finger at a time starting from the bottom. When he/she gets to the 5th hole, they have reached the octave of the scale. The 6th note is an "extra" note a full step above the octave (except on some A flutes). The advantage of the Great Lakes tuning is that it is easier to play - especially for the beginner because it playes like the common recorder. The extra high note is easy to finger, and adds extra emotion the playing. The disadvantage is the ease which a player can move from one mode of the scale to another. In my experience, almost all flute players only play in the most common mode anyway.
Q- Are your flutes traditional?
A - The word traditional is a very relative term. In order for me to effectively answer this question, I need to ask; Traditional to what?
Q- Is the Great Lakes method traditional Ojibway?
A - My flute making teacher is Dan Haviland. Dan started making flutes in the late 1980's. He currently lives in Saint Johns Michigan and continues to make beautiful sounding flutes. Dan can be contacted at 989-224-0369. Dan is the man who I consider to be the founder of the Great Lakes tuning style. The term "Great Lakes Tuning" is a modern term used by flute makers from the Michigan area to describe what they believe is close to the traditional Ojibway method of making flutes. When Dan was learning how to make flutes, he consulted with several different Ojibway Elders about how to make a flute the old way. The Elders (mostly from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Mount Pleasant Michigan) told him that the Ojibway method was to measure from the sound hole one hand width for the 6th hole. The 5th hole would be placed two finger widths down, the 4th hole two finger widths from the 5th, three finger widths down for the third, then two finger widths for the second and two more finger widths for the 1st hole. Dan took this information, and applied it to the European minor pentatonic scale to come up with what he believes is very close to the "traditional" method for making an Ojibway style flute (Great lakes style). I have tried to research this method of flute making in an attempt to verify the instructions of the Elders who Dan consulted with. The closest historical documentation on a "traditional" Ojibway flute that I could find comes from a book published in 1929 by Frances Densmore. The book is called Chippewa Customes, published by the Minnessota Historical Society. Page 127 of this book shows a picture of a flute from the White Clay Ojibway Reservation. The flute is clearly made in the traditional Lakota Style - not what we call the Great Lakes style. However, Densmore goes on to describe the flutes made by Tom Skinaway of Mille Lac. She states on page 127 that the "position of the openings (in the picture) is different from the measurements described by Skinaway, who was an expert (Ojibway) worker". She then goes on to describe the Skinaway method for positioning holes on the flute. Unfortunatly, her description only covers the 4th, 5th, and 6th holes from the bottom. The position of the 1st three holes (from the bottom) were left vague. Dan refers to a paragraph in another Densmore document that verifies the instructions of the Elders, but I have not been able to find this document. So the question remains - is the Great Lakes tuning method traditional Ojibway? It remains unclear. If you go by Densmore's picture in the book, the answer is no. However, if you believe the Elders that Dan spoke to, the answer is yes. Personally, my money is on the Elders.
Q – I’m not musically inclined; will I be able to play the flute?
A – For most people the answer is yes. You don’t have to know anything about music.
All that you have to do is learn the scale and then play different patterns of that scale to make melodies. Some people will be able to do this very quickly. Others will need to practice.
Q – How do I decide what key flute to buy?
A – There are a couple aspects to consider for this question. First, I usually suggest a flute in the keys of F#, G, or A for a beginner. The finger holes are spaced a little closer together on these flutes making it easier to play for a beginner. The other question is; are you going to be playing it with other instruments? If so, you may want to choose a specific key.
Q – Is there a difference between wood types and the sound it produces?
A – Yes, but even within the same wood types you get different sounds. Bottom line is that each flute is different and holds its own personality. There are a few woods that I don’t like working with but for the most part, any wood can potentially make a great sounding flute.
Q – Are my flutes traditional instruments?
A – That is a complex question to answer. If you’re asking me if I make them exactly the way that they were made by the Native people 100 years ago, of course the answer is no. Do I make them in the same style as those people? Yes, I think I do. Did I learn from someone within a tribe who handed down the information from generation to generation? No. Do I use the traditional tuning methods? No. Because I use a European based scale for tuning, and because I use tools and materials that different from those used a hundred years ago, I usually say that my flutes are about 85% traditional. Beyond that, you decide for yourself.
