Byron and Paula attended Musical Echoes the last week of April this year. They attended workshops, bought CDs of some of the performers there, and two new flutes! (In this photo, Byron shows off his new flute by Brent Haines.) It was a time of learning, fun, and most of all, music. For photos of the event, see our new photo page.
While shopping recently at Auto Zone, I came across this set of Kokopelli stickers for the car window. I’ve seen a lot of Kokopelli items in the southwestern states, but was surprised to see him here in Louisiana. The stickers were just too cute to pass up. Byron and I each put one on our vehicles. Now Kokopelli rides with us wherever we go.
Twohawks and Charlie “Crowdog” Myers performed in the St. Charles Parish Bi-Centennial program in Destrehan, Louisiana. The program, a stage play, was a one hour program on the history of St. Charles Parish over the last 200 years and the play included snippets of history beginning with the Native Americans.
Although our flute circle has not had a meeting since December, member Paula Ellis has not been idle. She has been busily converting children’s songs and other familiar tunes into Nakai tabulature. Why has she taken on this project?
“There are a number of reasons,” she says. “I have learned so much more about TAB and why some songs fit the Native American flute and others don’t seem to work. Also, playing even a ‘simple’ song like Row, Row. Row Your Boat, gets me playing notes in the extended range of the flute that I don’t often use. A song like Alley Cat keeps fingers nimble. It’s a real challenge for me. Of course, I also want to share what I’ve learned. Most of these songs are great for beginners and may make it easier for teaching children simple tunes they recognize.”
What’s next for this member? “I’ll still add songs once in a while,” Paula replies “but for now I’m working on stretching my skills playing the flute. These songs help, but I’m also working on composing songs of my own. I’m looking forward to attending workshops at Zion Canyon Art and Flute Festival in June. After that, I’ll just have to see where my flute journey takes me next.”
The Louisiana Flute Circle has been changing the look of it’s website. Beginning in December, we changed from a flash based design to one that is CSS based. What does that mean? Easier updates and maintenance. Since the basic design was uploaded, we have responded to requests for members’ bios, updated the performance page and now have a page for articles! In the next few days we will begin a page of music recordings you can use to expand your repertoire. Keep checking back for more. Want to contribute? E-mail us.
We believe Robin “White Deer in Autumn” Myers may have made a bit of history. This past Sunday, Jan 7 at 1pm Central Standard Time, Robin “White Deer In Autumn” Myers gave what may be the very first trans-continental flute lesson! Using Skype(tm), a web-based communication application that allows video-phone functionality, she gave a Native American flute lesson to a friend who lives in Israel (where the time was 9pm), with more lessons to follow. Both had a good visit and a great time playing Native American flutes!
Jeff sent these photos showing the details of his egret and bluebird flutes. If you are interested in his work, he can be contacted at jefftruax@cox.net
Of course, he also crafts fine cedar flutes in a variety of keys.
At the December meeting of the flute circle, Byron got to show off the flute he made at Zion, and the one Paula purchased. Then our resident flute maker, Jeffrey Truax arrived with his latest projects. He has expanded his repertoire to include carved bird ends. Each meeting he has something new to show and his skills continue to improve by leaps and bounds.
Charlie “Crowdog” Myers, who is the percussionist on the two Twohawks CDs, gave some hints on choosing a djembe. Our usual jam session followed with each person having the opportunity to show what they have been learning. The session closed with a couple of Christmas carols played by Twohawks.
Byron and Paula Ellis went to their first flute festival, this year’s Zion Canyon Art and Flute Festival in October. If you’ve never been to a flute festival, it’s something you really need to try! Byron took a flute making class from Raymond Redfeather on Friday. Saturday and Sunday Byron and Paula attended a number of workshops including those given by recording artists Scott August and Peter Phippen. Friday and Saturday nights were concerts that were truly amazing! For those new to the flute world, it was a good chance to learn new techniques, meet new friends, and buy more flutes. There’s something for everyone. Find one in your area and give it a try.
