Jeff Truax
"I started making Native American style flutes about 2 1/2 years ago.
I've been a musician since junior high school, but after high school, like so many other people, I put music aside to pursue education, career, and to concentrate on raising a family. As the years went by, I looked back and realized I missed having music in my life. But still engaged in the all-consuming work--and JOY--of raising a family, plus the demands of the "day-job," I knew my time for any musical adventures would be limited, but I started looking around for opportunities.
And I found the Native American flute, or should I say, the Native American flute found me. I was amazed that this simple instrument, this hollow stick with a few holes in it, could produce such a rich, complex, haunting, and yet sweet, sound. I was struck by this dichotomy and complexity of the instrument.
I've also long been interested in "how things are made." Nowadays, most of us are so far removed from the manufacturing of the goods we use and the food we eat, that we have no idea how cloth used to make our clothes is woven; we eat vegetables, but most of us have no direct experience in how food is grown. My desire to get closer to the processes of where things come from has led me to cheesemaking, papermaking, gardening, bowmaking, and other similar pursuits.
So my first flutemaking attempts were the marriage of my fascination with the sound of my new "discovery," the Native American flute, and my ongoing curiosity of how things are made, and I decided to give it a try.
My first attempts were not nice to look at, they did not produce a very pretty tone, and they were not well tuned, but that just caused me to try harder. With repeated attempts, working out the kinks, I gradually got a little better, and I wanted to share my efforts with others.
Web searches led me to the Louisiana Flute Circle. With encouragement and advice from flute circle members, along with other more experienced flutemakers, my flutemaking has improved bit by bit. But it is truly a journey, not a destination. I am constantly learning and experimenting. The art of flutemaking lends itself to creativity, experimentation, and and self-expression, and there is more to learn, and more new things to try as a flutemaker, than can be approached in one lifetime, in my opinion. I have improved to the point that I am now proud of my efforts and eager to share the fruits of my work with others, yet humbled by the realization that I have so much yet to learn. So the journey continues..."
