Welcome to My Precious Flutes.
I’m Brenda Rattle.
These Native American style flutes are, indeed, precious to me.
They have carried me through some serious health scares, through good times and bad. The sound of these beautiful instruments is both soothing and uplifting. I occasionally take one along with me to hospital and doctors’ appointments. The mellow relaxing tones are generally well received by other patients and staff. One lady in the discharge lounge said to me “I wish I could learn to play it whilst we’re waiting”.
These flutes are commonly used in sound therapy. That’s not my cup of tea. I’m more into what I think of as the ‘fun zone’. I like to play music that I can recognise, and many pieces of recognisable music also work well for relaxation. I enjoy listening to this type of flute music on YouTube but there is no greater feeling than being able to pick up a flute and play it for myself. That’s when I get the most benefit from it. I also enjoy just playing and experimenting with various sequences of notes. Some people call this ‘playing from the heart’ but I’m rather more pragmatic and just call it ‘making it up as you go along’. It’s a real fun exercise because, suddenly, you’re composing your own music.
I have had people say to me “Oh but I’m not musical”. That’s one of the beauties of the Native American style flutes. They are tuned to the minor pentatonic scale which makes them very easy to learn and play. You do not need to be able to read music, generally that’s more of a hindrance than a help. We work from finger charts which are diagrams of the flutes showing which holes to cover for each note. I would aim to give you the confidence to make a start on your first piece of recognisable music during your first lesson. That’s the ‘taster’ lesson which lasts for one hour.
My flutes have really changed my life for the better. I would not want to be without them now. I wonder, what could this type of flute do for you?
On that note (pun intended), My Precious Flutes and I would like to invite you to take a step into the realms of wonder and discovery.
If you already have a Native American style flute, that’s fine. You would need one for online lessons. For in-person lessons you do not need to have your own flute as I have two school flutes you can try, whilst you decide whether you wish to take up the Native American style flute as a hobby.
Please note, I do not sell flutes and cannot give personal recommendations for the various makes. The above photo is of one of my flutes.