Playing the 'F' flute at a Sunshine Coast hinterland waterhole.
I dedicate my music to my spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy, and to the peace in the hearts of all who listen. May this sound journey carry you ever deeper in your quest for self-discovery. Uniting through the unconditional love of Spirit your oneness with Mother Earth and compassion for all within our global family. In India, meditation on sound as a spiritual path for Self-realisation is known as Nada Yoga ('union with God through sound vibration').
The collection of Native American flutes (crafted by Matt Shooting Star from Spirit Song Flutes ) includes two drone flutes (F# and D). As you can see these are the two widest flutes. The drone flutes have in their mouthpiece two holes which can be played singularly or together. When played together the drone side of the instrument provides a constant base tone accompanying the melodies played on the opposite side. The other flutes are singles in the keys C, G and F. I appreciate the extra lung capacity from yogic breathing, the drone flutes require large volumes of air.
The flute maker's love for Native American peoples, their culture and music and his many visits to their homelands brings to each instrument an intimate connection to Spirit.
In the words of the flutes' maker, Matt Shooting Star...
"From my first experience with Native American style flutes I was awestruck by the captivating and moving power of the music they create. I have devoted my life to this instrument after experiencing the profound healings it has brought me. I craft flutes to bring this joy and healing into other people's lives."
I have also been drawn to playing the Bansuri flute (a bamboo flute that has a very long and significant history in Indian music). As synchronicity has it I acquired one in the key of F (from Arjuna at Bansuri Australia). This is the first transverse flute I have played. I am finding it an extraordinarily challenging flute to play - no doubt many, many years of learning to get the correct embouchure and fingering. I am thoroughly enjoying its beautiful voice and look forward to it revealing more of its warm and haunting tones. Of particular inspiration to me is that I purchased it the day before the anniversary of Sri Chinmoy's passing.
sahayak on flutes
Two experiences have had a profound impact on my flute music. The first was in 1994 as a member of the Sri Chinmoy Peace Run team running 11,000 miles across the USA, I ran my first marathon in Texas. On that early morning in the mist ahead of me a large eagle barely visible, was perched on a fence post. As I commenced running holding the freshly lit Peace Torch, the eagle turned towards me, let out a high-pitched cry, then gracefully launched its body with a flap of its large wings, disappearing into the mist.
A couple of hundred yards later I once again saw the eagle resting - this time on the opposite side of the road. As before, the eagle turned towards me calling out its now familiar cry, and took flight as I approached; my last sighting of this magnificent bird. At that moment I had an overwhelming awareness of the Navajo Indians who once lived in this area, and the sacredness of the eagle in Native American folklore, and that this noble bird embodied their Spirit, and was welcoming me as a peace-messenger on my peace-journey across their lands.
On the completion of my run, members of the Sri Chinmoy Peace Run Team had gathered and presented me with a music cassette by Carlos Nakai, the highly respected Navajo-Ute Native American flute player. The haunting sounds of his music captivated me, and for years reminded me of my marathon peace-journey and the sighting of the eagle, and its embodiment of the Native American Indian Spirit.
The second experience was on the opposite side of the world. Visiting China in 2006 with Sri Chinmoy and his students, an adventurous group of us climbed the sacred Huashan mountains near Xian in Western China. These towering granite peaks have been the home to Taoist monks and nuns for over 3,000 years. They live in isolation in temples on or near their four summits.
As I neared the first of the snow covered summits I suddenly heard a most beautiful sound echoing through the falling snow. I paused and sat to meditate. Many minutes passed before I continued climbing the icy track, then as I rounded a stunted pine tree I saw a Taoist monk dressed in black, sitting alone at the open doorway to his temple playing a Xiao (pronounced 'sho') - a long bamboo vertical flute played in their meditative practice. Holding his meditative music in my heart I continued climbing in the pristine silence of the cold mountain air.
So again my heart was filled with the haunting sounds of a flute! On sharing this story with a friend after we descended, he was so inspired and moved by my experience that he very kindly gifted me a Xiao. Then for over two years, until I purchased my first Native American flute, I played the Xiao each morning as part of my meditation - still holding within the depths of my heart the sublime experiences of the tranquil mountains echoing with the haunting melodies of the monk's playing.
And finally, I resonate with this emotive description of playing the Native American flute...Play the notes as if "singing" the notes through your flute - and "sing" the notes like they express a mood or feeling. "Sing" the note through the flute like sun beaming through misty Redwood trees. "Sing" it like the power of ocean waves. "Sing" it like a morning dove greeting the day. "Sing" it like a mountain lion stalking. "Sing" it like gently rippling water reflecting the moon. "Sing" the meaning from the centre of your being, up through your flute, and out to the world!!
My first flute, the Chinese bamboo Xiao.
The 'D' drone flute with the hang.
Playing the 'D' drone flute in Italy.
The collection of NAF's - so far!!
experiences
