There are two diiferent approaches to the "tuning" of the native flute.

Traditional Flutes

Most likely, the very earliest of native flutes sounded awful (as any flute maker will tell you of their first creations). In time, flute makers discovered the relationship between the placement of holes and the length of the flute, as well as the distance between holes, and produced better sounding flutes. Exact measurements were most likely not used, instead it would have been things such as "arms-length " and "finger width." And like all things, such discoveries would have been passed along as oral tradition, as well as any measuring "sticks" that might have been made. "Tuning" was still relative. The basic or tonic note was not determined by comparisons to other sound-producing devices, and even if they were, it would have made no difference. The notes of a given flute would have been determined in relationship to each other. It would have been rare, if not coincidental, to find two flutes even from the same village that were tuned together. This is the true native flute that survived well in the mid 1900s, and can still be found today from a few flute makers. To traditionally tune a flute, measurements are taken on the player - arms-length to determine overall flute length, hand span, to determine distance from the fipple hole to the first finger hole, and thumb width, to determine spacing getween holes. A detailed discussion of traditional tuning is contained in Dr. Richard Payne's book, The Native American Plains Flute, and he points out that there were several traditional tunings. One interesting fact I deduced was that because of the equidistant spacing of the finger holes, traditional tuning is closer to diatonic than pentatonic.

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Contemporary Flutes

Since at least the early 1990s, Western tuning conventions have been used in the contruction of native flutes. Many of the flute makers even use electroic chromatic tuners to precisely tune their flutes to various keys. This means that contemporary native flutes can be played along with other melodic instruments. Thre are several makers and players, including E.D. Powell, who believe that getting way from the traditional method of tuning tends to throw the tradition out the window. Others, including Douglas Spotted Eagle, believe that traditions are dynamic, changing as needs change, thus keeping the core of the traditions alive. I personally believe there is a place and a need for both tuning methods. There are times I need the power of a soaring solo flute and a flute traditionally to the player would best achieve this. Other times, I need the power of the flute interacting with other instruments, and a contemporary-tuned flute is necessary for this. Now, more than likely, you're considering buying or have already purchased a contemporary flute tuned to a particular key. With it you could play along with other flutes or instruments. You might also consider getting at some point a traditional flute "tuned" to your own measurements. It will sing to you in its own voice. You probably won't be able to play with others but then ... the rabbit cannot run with the cougar, yet each alone runs just fine.

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Modes, Keys and Tunings

This section is intended to help you understand when you run across the phrase, "tuned in the mode 1/4 pentatonic minor key of G." Each of those terms refers to a pattern of organizing music in Western music (and this discussion will focus on Western music only). The basic organizational pattern in music is the octave which is comprised of 12 notes . Instruments that can play all 12 notes of an octave are known as chromatic instruments. The two most well-known are the piano and the guitar. In fact, it will be most helpful if you visualize the keys of a piano throughout this discussion. Between the notes of an octave are steps known as steps. Between the white keys of a piano (those having a black key between them) are what are called full steps, while between a white key and a black key are what are called half steps.

You will note that there are two places where there are not black keys between white keys and the interval between these white keys is only a half step. These irregularities are at the heart of what modes are all about. A mode is simply a pattern of full and half-step notes within an octave. There are seven white keys in an octave and each one begins a different mode. The note itself doesn't matter, what does is the interval pattern until the next occurance of that note. Within each mode you can tune to different keys. A key is a set of notes, identified by the first or fundamental note. Within each key there are patterns of notes, based on the interval pattern of the mode. It can become very confusing at this point, but all that's really important is that it is the mode pattern that determines whether the keys are major or minor. Some instruments, such as the dulcimer, can be tuned to a variety of modes and keys within each mode. Other instruments, such as our Native American flutes can only be tuned to one or two modes and that is what is meant by Mode I/IV. The two modes used in the contemporary tunings of Native American flutes are minor. Mode I is also known as the Aeolian Mode and Mode IV is also known as the Dorian Mode. Two other terms that come into play when discussing modes are diatonic and pentatonic. An instrument tuned to the diatonic can play nine notes (or ten if you count the fundamental note sounded an octave higher) of a mode, while pentatonic means the instrument can only play five primary notes. We can play more than five notes on a Native American flute because makers combine the two modes (I/IV) and we can get those extra notes through cross fingering (a hole open between two closed holes), but still there are some notes missing. A diatonic Native Amercian flute is usually only in one mode and thus can't achieve those extra notes thorugh cross fingering. If you desire to see the exact note intervals of the various modes, Barry Higgins of White Crow Flutes has a very detailed chart. Here's the link: Mode Intervals.

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