The Mojave Flute
A look at a
flute
of the Ancients
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The
Mojave flute During
last July's INAFA convention Michael Graham Allen
played what he called a Mojave Flute. It had
a sound very similar to an Anasazi flute but the
scale was quite different. Michael didn't have any
to sell at that time but I put in an order and got
my flute a few months later. I
didn't mention to very many people that I had one,
but surprisingly the largest number of emails I've
gotten lately with flute questions have been about
this flute. So instead of responding to each one,
one at a time I thought I'd post a short article
about them here. THE
OVERALL DESIGN THE
MOUTHPIECE As
you can see in the photo above the notch is very
shallow. However given the shorter length of these
flutes they are a little easier to play than their
bigger cousins. Nevertheless they are still hard to
play and do not compare at all with the ease of
play found in a NAF. Here
is another view of the mouthpiece. Again a very
subtle notch. In truth this style of mouthpiece is
more traditional for so called Anasazi flutes. The
original artifacts that were found by Earl Morris
and others in the early 20th century didn't display
any of the notch designs employed by modern
makers. THE
SCALE The
main notes are B-C#-D-E-F# a Hemitonic pentatonic
scale as it has a half step. As we have seen
pent is Greek for five. Compared with the
pentatonic scales found in modern Native American
flutes and Anasazi flutes the Mojave flute's is
quite different. However since it does have a basic
five note scale it is therefore a de facto
pentatonic scale. FINGERING PITCH INTERVAL All
holes closed B Root Bottom
hole open C# Maj
2nd Bottom
2 holes open D Min
3rd Bottom
3 holes open E Fourth All
holes open F# Fifth The
second octave can be played up to the E, but the
next notes, the octave + fifth and the second
octave B have to be over blown with all holes
covered. There are also a few crossed-fingered
extra notes hidden in this flute. Listen
to the Mojave Flute If
you do not see the QuickTime player above click
here
to
play the sound file. Watch
a video of a Mojave flute improvisation CULTURAL
USE The
Yuma have a strong flute tradition which can be
found in some of their origin storys. There is a
version in which one story involves supernatural
twins whose mother has made flutes for them. (Twins
are a commom ancient Pueblo and Meso American
theme.) While playing their flutes two girls are
attracted to the sound and follow it. After
encountering several imposters that claim to be the
flute player they find the boys. When the girls
return home the boys follow them and are killed by
the girls father. If
you want to learn more about the Anasazi flute
check out these articles ©
Cedar Mesa Music.
by Scott
August
These
flutes are shorter than Anasazi flute being 24-3/4"
long with a proximal (the playing end) bore width
of 7/8". They also only have four holes instead of
six.
The
"notch" on the mouthpiece is smaller, or less
pronounced, than on a Anasazi flute.
As
one would expect, a flute with only four holes,
compared to six, would play less pitches and
Michael's Mojave flutes are no exception. The flute
I have is in the key of B and can't play any notes
above the fifth of the scale, which is F#.
In
addition to being used in the Mojave culture these
flutes were played in the cultures of the
Coco-Maricopas, and Yumas, or Cuchans; tribes of
the Colorado River. Like modern plains style Native
American flutes young men would serenade their
female friends with them for entertainment, for
example during corn grinding, and courtship.
Although this modern recreation is notched to play
over the top an historic photo show a member of the
Yuma culture playing their flute to the
side.
The
Basic Scale of the Anasazi
Flute
The
Minor Scale of the Anasazi
Flute
The
Extended Scale of the Anasazi Flute
This
article and all images and sound files are the
property of Cedar Mesa Music. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized duplication (copying) in any form with
out written consent from Cedar Mesa Music is
illegal and is a violation of all copyright
laws.
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© 2007 Cedar Mesa Music. All rights reserved. |
Recordings
by
Scott
August
