PDA

View Full Version : American Indian Culture and The Native Flute By R. Carlos Nakai



WhiteFeather
23rd February 2013, 14:55
A recent stage in my spiritual awakening, i have been captivated with The Native American Indian Culture as you all may know by now, and recently i since purchased a native indian flute from a flute maker in Arkansas. The flute is a gateway for me much like any other musical instrument is to others, i utilize this piece of a red cedar branch to tap into a spiritual wholeness, connect with nature and find inner peace. Needless to say after learning how to properly finger the notes and learning the scale positions, my family members are now getting used to it. They dont think Daddy is so weird anymore, and they actually kinda like it now. :p. Thought I'd share this with you in the spiritual section on Avalon.
Here I present R Carlos Nakai speaking and playing his flute in The Library of Congress.

R. Carlos Nakai performs American Indian flute music in a noontime concert in the Library's "Homegrown" series.

Speaker Biography: Of Navajo-Ute heritage, R. Carlos Nakai is the world's best known performer of Native American flute music. He began his musical studies on the trumpet, but a car accident ruined his embouchure. He was given a traditional cedar flute as a gift and challenged to master it, which led to his current path. Nakai views his cultural heritage not only as a source and inspiration, but also as a dynamic continuum of natural change and adaptation, subject to the artist's expressive needs. Nakai's first album, Changes, was released in 1983, and since then he has released over thirty-five albums. He gives educational workshops and residencies, and has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. He has worked with Grammy-winning flutist Paul Horn, guitarist William Eaton, and composer James DeMars, among many others. The famed American choreographer Martha Graham used Nakai's second album, Cycles, in her work Night Chant. Nakai also contributed music to the major motion pictures New World and Geronimo.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUgJWr-bXbM

WhiteFeather
23rd February 2013, 19:30
Here's a selection by R. Carlos Nakai - Sanctuary. Tranquil and Soothing. Great for Meditation and Relaxing. Light a candle, burn some incense and escape 3D for a while. Enjoy! ;)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXoRzcC9FoU

Kristin
23rd February 2013, 19:36
I've worked with Keith Bear long ago in New Orleans. He's one of the kindest individuals that I have ever met.

You'll enjoy this introduction to him and his flute making. BTW, Keith is also one of the sacred sun dancers. I noted this when I saw the scars back stage. All I could do was hug him for his contributions to the earth.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHKsrdos0uA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_aqZZqet8w

From the Heart,
Kristin

WhiteFeather
23rd February 2013, 20:23
R. Carlos Nakai at National Geographic's "Water Is Life" celebration on Martha's Vineyard. THIS FULL ONE-HOUR version includes rare video of Nakai sharing his LIVING PHILOSOPHY about the evolution of humankind and the flute music of various civilizations through time - along with an expanded selection of his Native American Flute music to flow with this celebratory water event.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0_Z6nos-fc

WhiteFeather
23rd February 2013, 20:43
I've worked with Keith Bear long ago in New Orleans. He's one of the kindest individuals that I have ever met.

You'll enjoy this introduction to him and his flute making. BTW, Keith is also one of the sacred sun dancers. I noted this when I saw the scars back stage. All I could do was hug him for his contributions to the earth.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHKsrdos0uA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_aqZZqet8w

From the Heart,
Kristin

Thanks for sharing and contributing here Kristen. On the 1st video you have posted at the 2:00 minute mark, this is what im experiencing from the native flute, and expression from the innerself. Highly peaceful and serene. I agree, Keith Bear seems like a very warm and humble soul. ;)

WhiteFeather
23rd February 2013, 21:15
Meet John Stillwell (http://atflutes.com/about-john-stillwell) Expert Flute Craftsman. His flutes are beautiful works of art in themselves.


http://www.atflutes.com/images/stories/thumbs/312x140-images-stories-titles-home.jpg

Biography -Starting as a small boy, I was carving and making things out of wood. I grew up under the trees of the mixed deciduous forest of the Eastern Seaboard. White oak trees 100 feet tall. Their roots growing deep down into the earth. Some of these trees had been alive since before the time of the white mans arrival on these shores. Maple, birch, hickory, elm, chestnut, beech, pine, cedar, fir, poplar, cherry, walnut, hemlock. All around and overhead, trees. As a boy I climbed and played in the trees. I grew up among men who knew the uses of each different species of tree and how to use different parts of the tree for different purposes . For these people wood was an integral part of their lives. They respected and loved trees. As if by osmosis, these individuals imparted this love to me. I learned to appreciate wood as a living thing, a sacred thing, something that was part of a man, a part of his life.

The first time that I got serious about working with wood was at a boatyard on Terminal Island in California. I was living on an old wooden schooner that had been built back in the 1930s. It had a mahogany hull 2 inches thick, steam bent white oak ribs, a teak deck and fir masts. The boatyard did repairs on wooden fishing boats which were still common at that time. Because my schooner was moored next to the yard I got to know the night watchman. When everything closed down and the workers went home, he let me go into the big shop and work on repairs for my own boat. During the day I hung around and watched, listened and learned from the old European craftsman who had spent their entire lives working in wood.


John's perspective to music, the spirit energy and its complete connection to the universe as a whole.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoPo6TTEZLU


Desert Flute Journey By John Stillwell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEmZRmpgFB8