6-Hole Native American Flute

Overview

Sheet music in our 6-Hole Native American Flute series includes melodies and chord symbols with Native American fingering diagrams for 6-hole flutes.

What Is Included

Music in our 6-Hole Native American Flute series includes:

Melody in notation and Native American fingering diagrams for 6-hole flutes
Lyrics if the original music includes words
Chord symbols above the music

What Is Not Included

Our Native American flute music does not include Nakai tablature. We include fingering diagrams to allow the music to be played on flutes in different keys.

Required Skills

Ability to read Native American flute fingering diagrams. You will also benefit from the ability to read notation to help with the rhythms.

Instrument

Our music is notated for 6-hole flutes tuned to the minor pentatonic scale with additional chromatic notes. The range of the flute needs to be a major 10th (A to C-sharp on an A minor flute) if you want to play all of the music, although many titles require less range than this. Consult your flute maker for information about the range of your instrument.

Music Notation and Chords

The music notation and chord symbols are for an A minor Native American flute. This is one of the most common keys, especially for beginners. However, the included fingering diagrams allow the music to be played by flutes in any key.

Chord symbols are included above the music. The chords may be simplified slightly to make it easy for guitarists, pianists, or other musicians to accompany you.

Fingering Diagrams

Fingering diagrams are included below the music. The diagrams are illustrations of a flute that show which holes to cover to produce each note. The diagrams allow the music to be played on flutes in any key as long as they are tuned to the pentatonic minor scale and have additional chromatic notes. Our ebooks include an explanation of how to read the fingering diagrams.

Using the Fingerings for Flutes in Other Keys

The fingering diagrams will work for Native American flutes in keys other than A minor. You will just be playing in a different key than what is notated. If you use a flute in a different key, anyone accompanying you or playing the melody on a different instrument would need to transpose the chords and/or melody to the corresponding key on your flute.

Alternate Fingerings

Note that while many Native American flutes use similar fingerings, you may find that your flute requires a different fingering for some notes. This is more common with the highest-pitched notes (these notes aren't even available on some flutes). Even different flutes from the same maker may require different fingerings. If any notes sound wrong using our fingerings, we recommend consulting the fingering chart for your flute. Your flute maker may recommend a different fingering for those notes.

If notes sound wrong, you should also make sure you are covering the holes correctly and using the right amount of breath. These things affect the pitch as well.

How We Chose Fingerings

Our fingering diagrams are based on common fingerings from a variety of sources. These include fingering charts from flute makers and instructional books for Native American flute. However, it is impossible to create fingerings that work for every flute. Different flute makers may use different fingerings or create flutes that don't include certain notes at all. Most notes in the first octave of the flute will work with our fingerings, but higher notes are more likely to be different. If any notes sound wrong, consult the fingering chart for your flute.

Flutes Used for Testing

The flutes we used for testing include a High Spirits Sparrow Hawk and a Butch Hall Little Horse (both in A minor). These flutes required different fingerings for a few notes. However, we found it easy to mentally substitute an alternate fingering for the few notes where this was an issue.

Half Hole Fingerings

A few notes may require partially covering a hole. These are often called "half hole" fingerings, but the amount of coverage may not be exactly half. Our digrams include only two partially-covered notes: A-sharp/B-flat and B natural on an A minor flute. These notes are used occasionally when there is no other choice. They require a little practice, but aren't too difficult as long as your flute includes these notes (not all do).

Other Fingering Charts

Below are links to some fingering charts that may help you if your flute didn't include one. Use these as a starting point to find alternate fingerings that work better for any notes that sound wrong on your flute when using our fingering diagrams.

Keys and Pitches

Keys are selected based on their suitability for an A minor Native American flute. The most frequently-used keys include C major, D major, F major, G major, A major, and D minor.

Lyrics

We generally include one verse of lyrics within the music. Other lyrics are included as text at the end of the music. Some lyrics may be omitted, but this is usually done only when there are too many verses to easily include (e.g., songs that include dozens of verses).

Lyrics may vary from the version you know. A small number of songs include many variations in lyrics, none of which are standardized. It isn't always possible to create a version of the lyrics that is familiar to everyone.

Tempo

Tempos are editorial suggestions in most cases. Feel free to choose your own tempo.