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A
Very Brief History of Us <g>
Publishing
and Music Background of the guys who own this website |
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DICK'S
COMMENTS: I have been a musician all my life. If I wasn't
singing with my family, I was playing an instrument. I began my
"instrument" life with a 12-bass piano accordion. Before
you gasp loudly, I was pretty darned good at it for a nine-year-old
boy. <g> But I eventually left that behind because my mother
insisted I learn to play the piano. Okay, so the piano wasn't
my instrument. Actually, I hated the piano. But it gave me a solid
basis in music, something I'll be forever grateful to my parents
for. Next came the guitar: chording, singing along with my strums,
then studying it seriously much like one would learn to play the
piano. Once I had some classical guitar knowledge under my belt,
extemporaneous finger picking was a piece of cake.
Years
went by where I gave a gazillion guitar and banjo lessons. From
that experience I learned a lot about how to make music clear
to a student, and I learned a heck of a lot about people, in general.
I swore I'd never give another music lesson. And I've kept my
word. But the itch to teach someone how to play an instrument
was still in me. About ten years ago that itch surfaced again
when I took up the Native American flute. I decided I would learn
how to play it well enough so I could eventually teach it to others.
But my life was too busy to take on individual students. Instead
I began to write instructional material that eventually coalesced
into a full-blown instruction book I named "Celebrate the
Native American Flute". And then I came upon Chris Fuqua—now
my partner in FluteFlights.com—and he built me three beautiful
bamboo Native American flutes. Those flutes inspired me to write
yet another book, "Campfire Flute", a book for those
who want to sound good on the Native American flute in a heck
of a hurry. Since then I've written "Christmas Carols for
the Native American Flute". All three of these books have
been well received, and that fact, along with Chris's flutes,
has given me the incentive to write even more material for all
you loyal customers.
Even
though I took up the Native American flute quite late in my music
career, I was so enamored by it that I have spent many happy hours
exploring its possibilities. And the possibilities are many. Most
people associate soulful, meditative music with the flute. And
the flute can be played beautifully this way. It's native scale
is the soulful-sounding Pentatonic scale, so "soul"
is built in. But you can also play several major scales on the
flute, opening the door to music you wouldn't believe possible
on this instrument. So you might say I'm musically curious. I'm
also fascinated with the limitations of the flute, and that makes
me work harder to get the most from this beautiful instrument.
It's been a great life so far!
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Chris
Fuqua: author, musician, teacher |
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CHRIS'S
COMMENTS: I recently met a young college man, double-majoring
in science and music—specifically, piano. What struck
me most during our conversation was the young man’s admission
that he’d “never really listened to music much before
college.”
Though
I’ve tried, I cannot imagine life without hearing its
music—the timbre of a child’s voice, the shriek
of a distant train, the beauty of a strummed guitar, fingerpicked
banjo, plucked shamisen. Within each phrase of a singer’s
voice, each bleat of a goat, each note of an instrument, exist
myriad rainbows that only sound can paint. Music is a culture’s
soul, a powerful blessing for venting grief, celebrating success,
amplifying protest, marking life’s events. My daughter
discovered that fact even before she could talk, plunking
notes on the piano and clapping in delight at the beautiful
sounds her fingers created through the instrument. For me,
music is an integral, indispensable part of life. It accompanies
me throughout the day. In my fiction, music is often critical
to the story. In my daily life, it marks events, from birthdays
to deaths and all between. The world is a better place through
music.
Already
a guitarist and flautist when I chanced upon a Native American
flute at a flea market some fifteen years ago, I was taken
completely by its haunting, breathy voice and ease of play.
My interest soon evolved into a desire not only to play, but
also to craft the native flute. Over the last dozen years,
I’ve learned through trial and error various techniques
critical to crafting a good sounding instrument from natural
materials and PVC. I now fashion flutes on a custom basis,
conferring with the customer to create an instrument that
fits the customer’s physical abilities and musical desires.
My goal is to craft the instrument you want—nothing short
of that. |
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