Native American Style Western Cedar Flute By Gray Fox, Key of A# Minor

The media could not be loaded. I now own three Native American flutes. One of these was made by an award winning world-class flute maker, was very expensive (about $300) and I waited on his waiting list for 3 months. THIS FLUTE IS JUST AS GOOD AS THAT ONE. My point is that this flute by Gray Fox, which I purchase a few weeks ago and have used constantly since along with my other flutes and my piano, is as beautiful sounding as the other two more expensive flutes I own. This flute however, has a unique sound characteristic that I can't quite put my finger on, and is a way more beautifully unique that the other two. Maybe it's the lovely harmonics it generates, it's got a rich sound and when you play it you feel like you are in a forest somewhere far away from the noisy crowd. Well, sorry for waxing lyrical, it is a beautiful flute.This is a good starter flute. That doesn’t mean it’s beginner quality. It means it’s easier to play because it’s smaller. On this flute, the fingering is easy and the breath control is more forgiving. A big bass means more finger stretch and a lot more puff (and puff contonrol) as in breath control But be advised, this is a beautiful flute and if I recorded this alongside my more expensive flutes, and you listened to them, other than them being in different keys, they are the same quality of sound. This flute however has a woodsy, outdoorsy, forest like feel to the sound that makes it more beautiful. It’s a bird on a branch in the forest or a wind in the trees sort of sound/feeling. Just saying.If you play the piano or guitar, be advised that a flute is a different animal. It's keyed to one scale. So you will likely, if you are like me, own more than one in a few months or years. I have a bass Bb from Lee Nix, a mid range F# from Jonah Thompson, and this one which is above mid range and a bass D on order from James at Gray Fox.Note that this flute has one person who rated it very low, one star. The person who wrote that review liked the flute, but it took a long time to ship. I've been in email contact, the gent makes these each by hand, he's a craftsman. I just ordered a bass flute and he's working on it now. So give him some time, he's an artist. I waited three months for one of my other flutes (not from Gray Fox) and was happy to do so, so I advise patience.Look at videos on you tube. Start with scales and move to techniques. Look at videos on breath control. Just type in "native american flute lesson" or "technique" in the youtube search box. Then once comfortable listen to traditional native American flute music and imitate and improvise. If you are a musician you may be able to read sheet music and in that case there’s a book by Carlos Nakai which is good and is seriously about technique, musical notation for the flute and has quite a lot of scores, and then the one by Mel Bay called how to sit on a rock which is more about technique and the philosophy of flute playing.Unlike the guitar which I've played for 40 years, and the piano that I've played for two, this is a spiritual instrument. Not that it has a soul, although it sounds like it has one. But its very personal, and puts you in a spiritual mood and kind of sooths the soul. I use mine when praying, I play as I pray silently to our Creator. While other musical instruments are complex and allow you to play all types of music, I believe this one is best when you stay in its lane. It sounds best when playing "native american" music. I put that in quotes because some very eminent native american musicians like Carlos Nakai disagree with this type of opinion. He’s the expert. So all I can say is, for me, this is best when you use the pentatonic scale and go up and down the scale. Mind you I break my own rules a lot. But if you start with that idea you can’t go far wrong. This is a five hole. If you buy a six hole flute you keep the third hold from the mouth covered.

The media could not be loaded. I absolutely love this flute it sounds beautiful 😍 my only complaint is that it is a tiny bit flat. But otherwise it's perfect.

PROS:- beautiful resonance (this is my first pentatonic/5 hole flute, and I really love the A# key)- amazing quality, especially for the price. Most NAFs (Native American Flutes) of this quality (beautiful resonace) are much more expensive.- smells wonderful (cedar)- easy to adjust the block (over top air hole) to create beautiful sounds immediately - no tricky blowing techniques required (like with a quena flute)- carved out of one solid piece of wood. Not glued together. Less chance of splitting.- fast shipping (ordered late on a Saturday night, came by Monday afternoon)- exactly the sound I was hoping to create and easy to create it! Even a complete beginner can create beautiful tones once the block is slid into place. I can only imagine how amazing it will sound with experience!CONS:- No case or instructions of any kind, however you can easily find finger charts and sheet music online (Pinterest and Native American Flute sites online, also educational and informational videos on You Tube), and the lack of case keeps cost down. Saw some padded Flute cases on Amazon too.- It took me a minute to figure out I had to adjust the block over the initial air hole to create resonance. I figured it out quickly, but since I'm new to this type of flute, it took a moment. Instructions for that would have been appreciated.- The flute has no finish on the wood. The description says it;s oiled and waxed, but when I blew on it, saw dust went flying out of it, so I'm questioning if that was done. It does not feel oiled and waxed or look it. I'm contacting customer service to see what they say. I worry that it will dry out, split, or crack over time. That is why I gave it 4 stars and not 5.Overall - I love it, and aside from the wood finish (I'll see how customer service handles the issue - if it's not handled well, I'll be changing my stars and recommendations, but I expect they will handle it appropriately), I would highly recommend it. Beautiful sound quality easily produced with a very iconic Native American resonance. Exactly what I wanted at an amazing price in comparison to the many other NAFs I researched online. My only concern is that the wood is unfinished, but I'll look into care and maintenance as well as instructional info online.

When I saw this flute at amazon, the color was brown. What I recieved one is wood natural color and mouth side is dark brown (about 1inch ). My lips feel burning when I play. I think mouth side use stain, that's why my lips burn. Flute hall is not in middle and inside of flute is not smooth finished. I wasted my money.

Love it.

I’m not a musician, but have been very interested in native flute music after hearing it at the Grand Canyon. I received this as a birthday gift and I love it. I sit out on the back porch with my cup of coffee playing it. My wife even says it sounds great. So if your looking for a great value, great sound, and lots of fun order it.

Very beautiful decoration. Does not play tunes

Very enjoyable sound once the totem was set correctly (instructions included for this). The bore was not 100% round on my sample, due to two halves being glued together, but not an issue for its sound.I don't like the flavor of the cedar wood, so I cover the mouth piece area as a lip barrier. Beautiful sounding flute otherwise.