-Reviews-

"For the beginner and accomplished player alike, Dick Claassen's Christmas Carols for the Native American Flute adds a much needed and desired dimension to native flute tablature and instruction. Following the success of Celebrate the Native American Flute, Claassen builds on basics for the native flute by providing detailed instruction and complete, easy-to-follow tablatures of traditional Christmas songs. Claassen has taken the flute far beyond its traditional roots, expanding its repertoire to include songs not before considered the domain of native instruments. Minutely detailed and richly illustrated, Christmas Carols for the Native American Flute will be a cherished addition to the native flautist's musical library." Reviewed by C.S. Fuqua, author of The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft

CAMPFIRE FLUTE: Picture yourself sitting around a campfire with your friends. You are far out in the woods, away from noisy civilization. The fire cracks and pops, and all are content as they find themselves literally melding with nature. Now you reach into your backpack and pull out your beautiful Native American flute. You blow a few soft notes. The children, nestled in the arms of their parents, sleep peacefully. Now you add some structure to the tune you've started. The notes are sweet as they weave themselves among the smoke and blissful life-giving heat. Before you realize it, you are becoming one with the flute. Those around the campfire are gently taken to a new place, a new space. Any tension that may have been present in any of you dissipates as the beautiful melody of the flute encircles and embraces you.

Of course, you can play the flute in any setting—not just around a campfire. You can play the flute for your children, your lover, your friends, your pet. Your beautiful music may even calm down an enemy or two. <g> And it doesn't matter if you're sitting around a campfire, or out on your patio, because the flute will perform its magic on you and everyone around you, regardless of the setting. All you have to do is play it. And that's what Campfire Flute will do for you. It will take you from knowing absolutely nothing about the flute, to playing it with expertise and authority, and with that expertise you will experience a great peace. Even if you've never played any kind of musical instrument before, you can play the flute. Not all of us have the potential to be great musicians. Not all of us are physically gifted so the instrument we choose to play becomes putty in our skilled grasp. And not all of us have the musical imagination to compose our own tunes from scratch. But this doesn't mean we can't enjoy the instrument we might choose to play. Countless enthusiastic people who have wanted to make music have undoubtedly muttered to themselves in frustration, "If I could just find a good book to show me how, I'd be a terrific musician." If you have had these same thoughts, this book is what you've been looking for.

Bottom line? Campfire Flute is the perfect introduction to playing the NAF in the Native American way.

CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR THE NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE: All the basic knowledge to successfully play the Christmas carols is in this book, even if you've had no previoius experience with the Native American flute. Although the companion book, Campfire Flute, helps you start playing the flute in the Native American way, the Christmas carol book has some very specific introductory material that will quickly help you navigate through the rules of the author's own particular tablature notation. It's easy, it's fun, and it's fast. Do you want to be a resounding hit at that next Christmas party? Learn a few carols and entertain your guests. Do you want to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas? Find a quiet place and play a few carols. Would you like to meditate on Christmas--get deeper into the Christmas experience? Quietly play a carol or two in your safe place of meditation, then begin your regular meditation period. When you're finished, end your session by softly playing another carol. There is real magic in your flute, and Christmas carols--the sacred music that belongs to us all, not to Christians alone--will take you to a place of peace and joy.

ADDED FEATURES: Along with the 25 carols in this book are three articles that will enlighten and entertain you. Rev. Dr. Kendra Vaughan Hovey, D.Min., the founding Elder High Priestess of the First Church of Wicca, has written an interesting article about how early beliefs of those who worship nature intertwines with the holidays of the Christian faith. C.S. Fuqua, author, musician and flute builder gives us an interesting look into the history of the Native American flute. And finally, Dick Claassen, the author of Christmas Carols for the Native American Flute, shares some of his experiences as a long-time music teacher.

Also included with the book are--

DOWNLOAD VERSION: 10 MP3 files--examples the author plays from the book. These files can be played on your computer or your iPod, or, using a utility like iTunes or MusicMatch, you can burn the MP3 files to a blank CD so you can listen to the files on any CD or DVD player.

CD VERSION: 31 highest quality MP3 files. (25 carols plus 6 additional tunes that help you get started andlearn how to read the tablature). These files can be played on your computer or your iPod, or, using a utility like iTunes or MusicMatch, you can burn the MP3 files to a blank CD so you can listen to the files on any CD or DVD player.

The table above tells you the following: If you're in a hurry, order the download version, if you want pure, full-length audio files and don't mind waiting for them to come in the mail, order the CD version. The choice is yours.

IMPORTANT: This ebook is available in PDF, only. (It's the only format you'll need.) When you receive your book, you can read it in the free Acrobat Reader application that's downloadable from adobe.com, or from Acrobat Reader you can print the book (recommended) so you can use it like any other paper instruction book you might have purchased in the past. The book is 100 pages long. The mp3 files that come with this book are playable on your computer, your digital player like the iPod, or you can burn them to a CD. If you order the download version, the first page or two of each book gives complete instructions on where to download the mp3 audio files, the passwords for opening them, and how to use them. Those who order the CD won't have to download the book or audio files: They're all on the CD, ready to use.

So what's actually in the book? Check out the INDEX below.

INDEX:

NOTE: The blue tunes are the MP3s included in the download version.

NOTE: Red entries are interesting articles about the flute and the
Christmas holiday season.

SCALE FINGERINGS -------------------------------------------------8

MATCHING TONES TO A KEYBOARD--------------------------------------9

HOW TO PLAY THE NOTES---------------------------------------------10

THE TABLATURE SYSTEM----------------------------------------------11

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB--------------------------------------------12, 13

GO TELL AUNT RHODY------------------------------------------------14, 15

SKIP TO MY LOU----------------------------------------------------16, 17

MICHAEL ROW THE BOAT ASHORE---------------------------------------18, 19

TAPS--------------------------------------------------------------20, 22

TAPS WITH REPEATED SECTIONS---------------------------------------23, 25

HAPPY BIRTHDAY----------------------------------------------------26, 29

PLAYING THE HALF-HOLE NOTE----------------------------------------27

SILENT NIGHT------------------------------------------------------30, 31

WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE--------------------------------------32, 33

O CHRISTMAS TREE--------------------------------------------------34, 35

GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN/SOULS---------------------------------36, 37

COVENTRY CAROL----------------------------------------------------38, 39

I SAW THREE SHIPS-------------------------------------------------40, 41

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH--------------------------------------42, 43

HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING---------------------------------------44, 46

WHAT CHILD IS THIS------------------------------------------------47, 49

BRING A TORCH JEANETTE ISABELLA-----------------------------------50, 52

AWAY IN A MANGER, Ver. 2------------------------------------------53, 54

WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS BY NIGHT---------------------55, 56

IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR-------------------------------------57, 59

THE HOLLY AND THE IVY, Ver. 1-------------------------------------60, 62

THE HOLLY AND THE IVY, Ver. 2-------------------------------------63, 64

GOOD CHRISTIAN MEN/FOLKS REJOICE----------------------------------65, 67

I WONDER AS I WANDER----------------------------------------------68, 69

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL--------------------------------------------70, 72

O COME O COME EMMANUEL--------------------------------------------73, 75

THE FIRST NOEL----------------------------------------------------76, 77

LO HOW A ROSE ER BLOOMING-----------------------------------------78, 79

ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY-----------------------------------80, 81

AWAY IN A MANGER, Ver. 1------------------------------------------82, 83

WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS-------------------------------------84, 85

BLANK TAB FORM----------------------------------------------------86, 87

Thoughts and Comments---------------------------------------------88

CHRISTIANS AND PAGENS---------------------------------------------89

THE NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE IN RITUAL AND CELEBRATION---------------91

THE CONFESSIONS OF A MUSIC TEACHER--------------------------------94

BONUS CAROL-------------------------------------------------------97

Away in a Manger DUET---------------------------------------------99

Closing Remarks--------------------------------------------------100

NOTES ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE ON THE LEFT:

What the INDEX shows:

1> The titles in blue are those that are available in the download version. (Both blue and black titles are available on the CD.) Rather than give you a random sampling of tunes for the download version, the author has chosen some of the more difficult tunes for examples. Everyone knows the tune to Silent Night, but you may be less familiar with a carol like Good Christian Men/Folks Rejoice. And even if a carol is very familiar, the author has chosen the blue tunes because they are some of the more difficult to play. It's helpful to listen to someone else play them so you at least know it can be done! <g>

2> Notice that the beginning tunes aren't Christmas carols. They are very familiar tunes that will help you understand the tablature. Just playing these familiar tunes will make the tablature notation easy to understand. (Tablature is a type of music notation that works for any flute, any key.) These introductory tunes, although probably not on your greatest hit list, is an excellent way to learn tablature notation. But notice the tune, Taps. We think of bugles playing Taps at military funerals. But Taps sounds absolutely spectacular on the Native American flute!

3> There's a bonus carol on page 97. You'll know what it is when you read the book. <g>

4> On page 99 is a flute duet. There are two distinctly different versions of Away In a Manger, and both of these versions are in this book. Version 2 is covered on pages 53 and 54, while version 1 is covered on pages 82 and 83. Surprisingly, when these two versions are played together, it sounds great! On page 99 the author explains how he played the duet with himself.

What the INDEX doesn't show:

1> You'll notice that the index is in that oh, so ugly Courier font. The rest of the book is much prettier. And it has gorgeous semi transparent illustrations throughout. The author is a graphic designer: He takes the design and layout of his books very seriously. <G>

2> The page that precedes each tune has a brief history of the carol. Who wrote it? When? Where?

3> Below the carol's history are the lyrics so someone can sing along while you play.

4> On this same page are playing 'notes' that will help you understand the tablature. The author points out features like, where the half-hole notes are, section playing order, tied notes to watch for, etc..

5> The three articles at the end of the book are very informative, as well as entertaining. You will learn some surprising aspects of the Christian tradition and how it has historically interwined with the Wiccan faith, you will learn about early uses of the Native American flute, (it wasn't just a courting flute), and you will learn that even old music teachers can use their past experiences to go into new directions with their music.

6> There is a tablature blank you can print out so you can write in your own tablature for your own tunes.

7> How the author played a duet with himself is explained so you can duplicate his incredible feat! <g>