-online audio samples-

Most CDs have online audiio samples. The sample will typically play approximately 30 seconds of a tune so you can get an idea of whether you want to buy the album or not. iTunes, (explained in detail below), has a 30-second audio sample of every tune it sells. The audio player is part of iTunes, so you just click a title to start it playing. Audio samples not on iTunes are just as easily played. Every web browser has a built-in audio player, and most audio samples are MP3s, (a universal format). So, unless your web browser is very outdated, just clicking the audio sample link will start the music. If your audio player in your web browser doesn't work, go to the audio player website (which site that is appears in a pop-up window), and download the newest audio player version. They update these all the time, so you'll have to keep up with that, but it's simple enough to download an update, then install it.

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-iTunes-

There are many digital music download sites available, and each site has its own features. But iTunes is the only site, (to my knowledge), that sells music one individual tune at a time or one whole album at a time without saddling you with a monthly subscription. And the content you download is yours. Period. If you buy a subscription, you can play the music on your computer or MP3 player only as long as the subscription is current. If you drop the subscription, then sync files to your MP3 player, all those tunes you got with your subscription will magically disappear. That's because every time you sync files to your player, it goes to the digital music's website and checks to see if your subscription is current. If it's not, the website deletes the files on both your player and computer. iTunes doesn't take this route. It allows you to save what you bought on your hard drive, iPod, and even on a CD. And once you have it burned to a CD, it's yours, baby! So this is why I get all my tunes from iTunes. Another reason I favor iTunes is because they have a very strong New Age and folk music collection. It's exactly the kind of content we flute and penny whistle players want. And they have a great classical section as well. This is good news to all of you who love to play the recorder. No, I'm not secretly working for Apple. <g> I just know what kind of music I need for inspiration. iTunes works best for me.

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-Mythic Dreamer-

Every music genre has its "greats". Classical guitar- Andre Segovia, Solo cello- Pablo Casals, the Blues- John Lee Hooker, Native American flute- R. Carlos Nakai. These musicians were hugely instrumental, (pardon the pun, <g>), in resurrecting a music genre so we can all enjoy the music and the musician, as well as the musicians, who followed in their footsteps. R. Carlos Nakai is quite probably the one man who gave the Native American flute to the planet. Although there were many NA flute players before him, Nakai is the one who explored all kinds of music with this simple instrument. He threw tradition aside and opened up the flute to many music genres. His album, Mythic Dreamer, is very traditional. Since Nakai has so much music out there for us, we almost have to wade through it all to find the traditional flute music we have come to know. This particular album is a great introduction to the NA flute "sound". A mix of both traditional and newly composed, the whole album sounds as if the music is pouring out of the forest and off the plains, directly into our heart. If you want to invest in a great first flute album, I recommend this one. It has eleven arrangements of Zuni, Lakota, Kiowa, and Cheyenne melodies along with seven original compositions, including a work by classical composer, James DeMars. Nakai is of the Lakota tribe.

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-Two World Concerto-

In this album, R. Carlos Nakai plays his flute with the Canyon Symphony Orchestra of Phoenix, Arizona. James DeMars, composer and conductor, has written a concerto that will give you a whole new view of the Native American flute and Nakai's flawless playing. And just to make things really lively, the Black Lodge Singers and their big Powwow drum make you sit up and take notice! This is a classical music album. It's 180 degrees from Mythic Dreamer. Yet, it's not. The flute shines through in both albums as a bold, powerful instrument that can hold its own in any genre.

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-The Offering-

There is an NA flute player I especially favor. He name is Mary Youngblood. Although her playing is pure and flawless, she doesn't favor heavy ornamentation like some flute musicians seem to. Her melodies are straightforward and interesting, and her tunes are very accessible. What I mean but that is the rhythm of a tune is strict and easy to follow. This doesn't mean her playing is cold or hollow. In fact, it's just the opposite. She uses the structure she's laid down to work within it--to express herself fully. And to show you what lengths she takes to express herself, with this particular album she and her sound crew climbed 180 feet down into the Moaning Cavern in California in order to take advantage of the cavern space. Mary plays BIG flutes on some of her tunes, giving her tunes a powerful sound. Mary is of the Seminole tribe.

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-Heart of the Wind-

I discovered the recordings of Robert Tree Cody not all that long ago. He plays in the traditional vein, but many of the tunes he plays are of his own composition. This is how the Native American players are keeping the music tradition alive. And Cody does an excellent job of that. But Cody, like Nakai, (as well as many others), is adventuresome. On this album Will Clipman plays drums. Clipman is a contemporary percussionist who tailors his playing with Cody's traditional laments. It's easy to lose yourself in this album because the flute and percussion blend as if neither are traditional of contemporary. They simply fuse their sounds into one curiously interesting and joyful emotion.

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-World Meditation-

Not all of the music that inspires us to play our flute better need come from Native American flute albums. The flute is a meditative instrument, and there are many New Age albums you will want to explore. I stay away from the heavily orchestrated albums. Instead, I seek out the truly pure renditions of whatever meditative material may be available. One of my favorite meditation albums is this one. It's subtitled, "Six Daily Meditations From Around the World". There's a Gregorian chant, a Shakuhachi flute meditation, a chant from the Greek Orthodox Church, Buddhist drums, Tibetan monastic chanting, and the album ends with a simple drum chant. No voice. Just one drum. There is a Shakuhachi flute meditation I especially like. A drummer plays a simple beat in the background. It sounds like a heartbeat. The flute player plays against the drum beat, but s/he plays the flute freely. The drum holds a strict rhythm while the flute plays freely against it. It's quite an effect. I liked this particular effect so much that I now include a simple tom tom beat (recorded by flute builder Chris Fuqua), with my flute method books, Campfire Flute and Celebrate the Native American Flute so those who use the books can play the flute while the tom tom plays along with them.

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