Fundy Flutes - by Brian Townsend

Fundy Flutes - by Brian Townsend Fundy Flutes is dedicated to my interest in making and playing the Native American Style Flute. The flutes I make are unique handcrafted instruments.

Open by appointment.

Here at Fundy Flutes In these times of online accounts for just about everything , sign-ins, passwords, identity checks,...
08/31/2026

Here at Fundy Flutes
In these times of online accounts for just about everything , sign-ins, passwords, identity checks, etc., Fundy Flutes is proud to make one-of-a-kind Native American style flutes that never need to be plugged into electrical power, never need batteries, never need charging.

They never need more ram, never need a YubiKey, never need more memory, never need a software upgrade. No account must be created, no sign-in created, no app needs to be installed in order to use it, no password is required.

No association must be joined, no license is required, no tests must be passed, no certificate is required.

It works anywhere. But we credit you with common sense to realize it won’t work under water. And it won’t play well in a strong wind because this disrupts the airflow at the true sound hole. But if you can shield the sound hole from the wind it will play.

No wifi network is required. No one is going to tell you what to play, or when. No magic words or incantations are needed, no candles must be lit, but if you really like candles, go ahead.

You can play while sitting around a campfire. You can play while the sun rises, or sets. You can play under the stars or under a sunny sky, or a cloudy sky, or in the fog, but if it is raining you might prefer playing under some shelter to keep yourself and your flute dry.

You can play closed up in your closet, or in a large spacious room. You can play by yourself, or with friends, or with other musicians, or for an audience. You can play for your cat, or dog. You really have tremendous freedom to play what, where, and when you please as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rights of other people.

Your playing can be as personal and private as you like, or part of your daily meditation practice where you focus on your breath and the sound you make with your flute , or self healing, or an expression of your inner exuberance, or joy, or sadness. But if your playing is for sadness, then play it out until your joy returns.

You can share recordings or videos of your playing with friends, or online with who knows how many viewers.

You can play flute songs written by other flute players, or compose your own songs, or you can improvise to suit the occasion. You can make up a song as you play, or make up your own accompaniment to play along with the evening crickets, or the sound of a brook. Freeform playing is also called playing from the heart. Just start playing, open your heart, and hear what unfolds in real time.

You can record on location by a gentle stream, or at the beach with the waves and seagulls in the background. You can play in a cave, or a subway station, in an auditorium, in a church, in a building stairway, and feel how the sound of your playing comes back to you.

Your exploration of sound and music can be as big as you want it to be but whatever you do it will be rewarding.

New at Fundy Flutes - My 100th Flute!Overview: This is a one-of-a- kind, hand-crafted, 6-hole, Native American style Dri...
07/09/2026

New at Fundy Flutes - My 100th Flute!
Overview: This is a one-of-a- kind, hand-crafted, 6-hole, Native American style Driftwood flute, made in the key of E4 minor with a tapered bore and 432 tuning with Just Intonation, with an ergonomic finger hole layout for easier playing.

I started this flute a couple of months ago but I ended up completing flutes 101 & 102 for customers first and then went back to complete #100. I wanted to make this flute something special to commemorate the big #100. I also decided to make it a driftwood flute as a nod to what caused my to adopt the name Fundy Flutes.
I collected this piece of driftwood on the other side of the Bay of Fundy at Wasson’s Bluff while attending the Gem and Mineral show in Parrsboro, NS. I was there to find some Bay of Fundy Agate to decorate my flutes. The sad state of things is that it is cheaper for dealers to buy agates from 3rd world countries than it is to collect them from the Bay of Fundy (i.e., actual leg work), so there are few people specializing in local Bay of Fundy agates. I wanted actual Bay of Fundy agate for my flutes. This side of the bay has lots of pretty rocks but does not have any special Agate material.

In the comments section I have added a short video that shows the flute 360º around and includes a short sound sample of this flute.

In the photos I have included a picture of the jig I made that holds the flute at both ends leaving the middle in free space. This allows me to work on the artwork on all sides while allowing the paint on the bottom to dry without getting smudged.
In the photo that shows me painting on the flute, I’m wearing my close-up glasses plus some clip-on +3 magnifiers for the close work. In the foreground you can see my paper artwork prototype design.
The last photo shows the flute in my laser machine having just had the flute info and my Fundy Flutes logo laser etched on the back of the flute. It shows the key of the flute, the serial number, the type of wood, and my maker’s mark.

You have no doubt noticed I like to use an ergonomic finger hole layout on my flutes. I found that the playability of the flute (especially larger flutes) improved so much I never went back to the in-line hole layout. The Ergonomic finger hole layout appears graphically as an elongated “S” and I have made use of that shape in my artwork on several flutes with subjects like Fundy waves, seaweed, Morning Glory vines, etc. I like the flowing line it makes and on this flute I decided to make a school of fish swimming that S-curve through the finger holes. Besides the fish, I made a complete underwater scene with the sea floor at the foot of the flute complete with a moon snail, some rocks, a couple of starfish, a scallop shell, and some seaweeds, a jellyfish, and a young sea turtle in silhouette.

The idea for the fish came in the spring when the Serviceberry trees started blooming, followed by Pin Cherry and Chokecherry. Collectively these early flowering trees are known as Shadbush, because they flower at the same time as the Shad run in the Bay of Fundy. Shad is also a name comprising several similar species of fish such as Gaspereau. They travel up the Atlantic coast and enter the Bay of Fundy where they make one complete lap of the Bay and then return to the sea.

I made a special work stand for the flute that supports it at both ends while leaving the middle in free space. I can rotate the flute while working on the artwork and since the underside remains in free space the paint has the opportunity to dry without getting smudged. This is important since I typically use several semi-transparent layers of paint to create the gradations I like.

The flute totem is a small Bay of Fundy Moon Snail mounted on a piece of driftwood.

It is my experience that the only driftwood that survives the Giant Tides of Fundy while remaining in good enough condition to make a flute is Yellow Birch. As yet, I have never found a Spruce or Fir driftwood branch in good enough condition to make a flute. They always have too many cracks and splits to be usable.

For my lathe-turned flutes I use organic Walnut oil as a wood finish. It helps protect the wood from drying out and remains food safe. My driftwood flutes require a different treatment. Driftwood turns almost black when oiled so to preserve the driftwood appearance I use a particular Varathane wood sealer. It is safe when dried. When a flute has painted artwork it, too, requires a Varathane sealer to protect it.

Flute Specifications:
* Key: E minor pentatonic
* Tuning: A4 = 432 Hz.
* Intonation: Just Intonation
* Wood: Bay of Fundy Driftwood
* Overall length 585 mm
* Weight: 193.6 grams
* Bore Profile: single taper 26 > 22.3 mm
* Block: Driftwood with Moon Snail totem
* Bore Length: 423 mm
* Outside diameter: 34-36 mm
* Exterior finish: Varathane wood sealer

Every flute I sell comes with a set of (typically 9) PDF documents with information to help you on your flute journey. This includes fi*****ng charts, about the Native American flute, care of your flute, learning to play your flute, online links with free flute instruction, etc. Certain flutes with a particular theme, or Solfeggio flutes, have a couple more PDFs. I used to provide these documents by 3 emails but now I put them all on a USB flash drive and include it with the flute.

I prefer playing and making flutes in the E, D and C range, although I occasionally make an F flute, or a Solfeggio Healing Tone flute that is close to an F flute, and sometimes a lower flute like a B♭. I confess I find the higher pitched flutes irritating. I prefer the more meditative and relaxing sounds. An E flute has a finger hole spacing that makes it easy for a beginner to play, but with the tapered bore design I currently use, a D flute is very easily playable, too. The C flute is a bit more of a stretch unless you have longer fingers but you do get used to the greater finger span after a while. There is a simple finger span stretch that helps with that.

I welcome custom flute orders to feature a certain theme the customer personally relates to, a totem animal, or even custom finger hole layouts to help people with certain physical limitations.

Brian - Fundy Flutes

History of the Native American FluteIf you were a child in the 50s and 60s you might remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle T...
06/13/2026

History of the Native American Flute
If you were a child in the 50s and 60s you might remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show for kids, I remember it in black & white. (I just checked the dates - it was from Nov. 19, 1959 to June 27, 1964) and the segment called Fractured Fairy Tales that was presented by a rather professorial talking dog named Peabody. An actual historian might say my version of history is more like Peabody’s Fractured Fairy Tales. It is my gathered impressions with a smattering of actual facts.

There are a few people who specialize in the music of the flute played by Native Americans at the time of early colonization and played on actual historical instruments. The music suggests considerable musical sophistication but was very different to the musical experience of the colonists. You might say they struggled to understand the music of the Native Americans and the less understanding among them refused to credit it as being music at all. A good example of culture shock.

Flutes of that time period were matched to the voice of the player. A song or story was typically sung and then the song continued alternating between the voice and the flute similar to a verse and chorus pattern. The flute had to match the singer’s preferred singing range.

The Native American Flute has a long history. It originated about 5000 years ago in the Southernmost part of what is now the USA. The first flutes were not carved out of solid wood or tree branches but were made from a naturally occurring hollow plant called River Cane, that grows in Florida and Louisiana and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. River Cane is actually a Native American bamboo. It is very much like Asian bamboo except the distance between the nodes is longer.

A native legend tells how the first flutes may have been inspired by birds (woodpeckers?) making some holes in standing pieces of old River Cane. People walking in the area may have been curious to know the source of the mysterious sounds which turned out to be made by wind blowing across the holes in the River Cane. How long did that go on before someone thought “what can we do with this?”. And, how much longer until it became a musical instrument?

The original flutes were more like the South American Quena, which is a rim-blown flute that required the player to learn how to form the necessary embrasure before they could play a note. The version of the Native American Flute that is most familiar to us originated about 2500 years ago. It is believed that this version of the flute was made to make the flute easier to play. It is a significant leap in design from its original form. This is essentially the same design as modern day Native American flutes. The sound producing mechanism is unique to the Native American Flute. It is not a whistle and does not have a reed that vibrates. It is completely unique among musical instruments in the way the Native American Flute creates its sound. The southwestern US is the area most widely associated with the Native American Flute.

I have several modern tools at my disposal to use in making a flute but it remains an exacting process to get it just right. I often wonder at the persistence and skill it must have taken to make a flute using only sharp rocks as tools.

However, to take a boldly different, and perhaps unbelievable, path in the history, there is another persistent legend among Native Americans of the south-western US that says that the Native American Flute was a gift to them from the “Star People”. Yes, that’s right! Extraterrestrials. Although other people suggest these people were not space travellers but time travellers from the distant future of Earth. Perhaps going back in time to see where everything went wrong. In fact, there are many legends of interactions between the Star People and the Native American People of the southwest. It seems the Star People were happy to see how the Native Americans of the south west lived in harmony with nature and had a philosophy of doing no harm to the earth. Apparently there are many cave paintings that refer to these visits. It is just a matter of how you might interpret those cave drawings.

Different makers made their own adaptations or improvements to the design or making of the Native American Flute over time and some became the traditional form in certain areas.

The Native American Flute gradually spread north and east through trade throughout most of what is now the USA. But here is an important distinction. The Native American Flute never got this far north east and is not part of Indigenous culture in Eastern Canada. I’m told that the Native American Flute has been adopted into West Coast Indigenous culture in Canada but I don’t know how far back in history that occurred. Colonization interrupted the natural progression of trade among Native Americans and it could be that given enough time the Native American Flute would eventually have reached Eastern Canada.

You can imagine that if you had procured a River Cane Native American Flute through trade but now you wanted another one or two for friends and waiting for the possibility of another flute showing up in trade was unlikely. But at least you have one as an example so perhaps you could copy the design yourself.

The first flutes I made were bamboo. However, the garden centre variety of bamboo is often full of cracks so even finding a good piece of bamboo is a challenge. The next thing is that bamboo is not a consistent size, internally, so it is harder to predict what sort of flute you will end up with.

If you are trying to make a flute, and you don’t live in an area where River Cane grows you would be forced to find some other way to make a flute using the trees at hand.

Trees that had a naturally soft pithy centre, such as Elderberry and Sumac, were the first choices for making a flute in this way. It’s a lot more work to make a flute this way. After splitting the branch in half lengthwise (have you ever tried splitting a branch exactly in half, even with a nice sharp axe? Just doing that step takes a lot of practice.) Once you have the branch cut in half, then using sharp stones to scrape out the centre to make the bore bigger and then “glueing” the 2 halves back together with tree sap and binding together with sinew you have the basic form of a flute. You would still have to replicate the sound producing part of the flute. There have been flutes like this found by archeologists that exist in museums.

You can imagine how that split branch design is closer to the way modern flutes are made. The difference being we now have lots of woodworking tools at our disposal that were not available a couple of thousand years ago. Flutes made during the early colonial time also show the influence of materials the Native Americans never had before, such a thin sheets of lead or tin, which were used as a spacer in the sound producing part around the flue, rather than having to carve out the airway into the wood using sharp stones. Also, knives with a steel blade could be added to the flute making tools. Presumably, chisels could also be procured.

Another important aspect of the history of the Native American Flute was the influence of the US government to try to wipe out the native peoples and their culture. There was an active campaign of confiscating and destroying any Native American instruments they could find. When the government later abandoned trying to wipe out the Native Americans the Native peoples began trying to rebuild their culture but there were very few records or examples of what the flute looked like and how to make it.

There was one book that was written by a colonist who was interested in the Native American instruments that contained a page showing the dimensions of a flute he had measured and drawn to the best of his ability. However, the drawing had one flaw. There was only one measurement at the foot of the flute and it was not clear if this was the outside or inside diameter of the flute. Making 2 flutes, one using the measurement as the inside dimension and another as the outside dimension leads to 2 very different flutes. I think at this point the Native American Flute was somewhat reinvented through experimentation and some better tools and that brings us closer to the modern day flute.

There are still people who make flutes in a traditional way passed down to them generation to generation. Using parts of the body as measuring tools, for instance the middle finger joint length of the index finger or middle finger. They make a flute of one size based on their own body measurements. So many knuckle joint spaces down to the first hole. One knuckle joint space between the finger holes, etc. This method actually works to make a basic flute. But trying to make a flute of a different size would require a different set of finger joints.

There are a number of different variations of this basic design, mostly slightly different in the configuration of the flue and block design. In addition, through application of modern science we have a clearer understanding of how the flute works and how to use that modern science to optimize the flute design in subtle ways. For instance, what is the optimum bore diameter for a given flute key or bore length. We can now set out to make a flute in the key of F and actually end up with a flute that plays in the key of F.

Modern science also gives us a visual picture of what turbulence looks like and, more importantly, how turbulence can detract from the sound in a musical instrument and how to avoid it. It is surprisingly similar to the way I used to modify engine cylinder heads (porting and polishing) in high performance cars to improve flow by smoothing the port shapes and eliminating sharp edges. Smoothing sharp edges inside the flute is something I pay special attention to to create a turbulence-free air flow. This contributes to a purer sounding flute.

Flutes were not tuned to any particular key or reference but they were in tune to themselves. This is now referred to as Grandfather tuning. Otherwise known as letting the wood speak for itself. Flutes typically played a pentatonic scale and this scale seems to be common amongst indigenous peoples around the world. The Native Americans say that if you listen carefully those are the notes heard in nature.

The flute was starting to become popular in New Age music in the early 1980s and it became important for the flute to be able to play in tune along with other instruments like guitar and piano. Flute makers began adopting standard tuning and fi*****ng patterns to make the flute “play well with others”. Some people call this the “Modern Native American Flute”.

“Standard tuning” means making the note A4 = 440Hz. with Equal Temperament. Equal Temperament is a modified form of tuning made necessary by instruments, such as the piano, made to play in all keys in which certain notes could not be perfectly in tune in two keys at once. This led to “adjusting” the most out-of-tune notes to sound the least unacceptable in both keys. Not perfect, but people seems to have adapted to the slightly out-of-tune notes in the name of practicality. Whereas, an instrument that plays in only one key does not face the same tuning conundrum and can employ pure tuning. This is called Just Intonation and suits a solo instrument very well. But it doesn’t work as well when playing in an ensemble with other instruments because it point out how out-of-tune the other instruments are, and of course they don’t like that.

In my photo of some of my early bamboo flutes: they all work and play in tune, but they differ in sound quality. For instance, early instructions described a squarish sound hole but that leads to a rather breathy sound compared to the more modern wide and short sound hole that has a smoother and more pure sine wave sound.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - Flutes in the Photo- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
These flutes represent some of my own flute making history.

1- The top flute is an Fmi. It plays just fine but has a breathy sound. No notes in the upper register. There are several holes drilled and then filled when they turned out to be in the wrong place.

2- Second one down is a Cmi. My first one. But the bore is really too small for a C flute. It required a tall chimney on the block face to get the right pitch. I did not like the sound of this one.

3- Below that is a D flute with a larger bore. Actually a bore more suitable for a C flute. It plays fairly well, but the square sound hole is too breathy. The large bore also required a wider spacing for the bottom 3 finger holes. It plays OK, but not great.

4- The bottom flute is a C flute made somewhat later. I was saving this last good piece of bamboo for when I was more sure of making it into a good flute. This piece of bamboo is so straight that I put it on my lathe and trimmed the node bumps flat and polished the whole thing smooth. The normal way we see wind instruments is with the bottom end bigger than the top. But actually that is that is exactly wrong for a flute to be able to play the minor 10th note in the upper register. Notice also that this flute has a nest insert for the flue and true sound hole that provides greater width to accommodate the width of the block to match the wider sound hole. This flute is a keeper.

Fundy Flutes - the Why and HowFor all my Fundy Flutes followers. You have seen several of my finished flutes but perhaps...
06/06/2026

Fundy Flutes - the Why and How

For all my Fundy Flutes followers. You have seen several of my finished flutes but perhaps you don’t have an overview of what Fundy Flutes is all about. What inspires my work?

I was first attracted by the haunting sound of the instrument, that I first heard in New Age and meditation style music, even before I knew what the instrument was called. What made me decide to try making my first flute? Well, that’s too long a story to put here.
The first attached photo shows me playing one of my flutes at Joel’s Head beach (Alma) with Fundy National Park in the background.

First and foremost, I am dedicated to making top quality Native American style flutes. Getting from making a basic flute to making top quality musical instruments took a long time and a lot of dedication. But then, another twist, I didn’t want to make a whole lot of flutes all the same. I wanted every one to be unique and special. This had become a form of my personal expression. I am committed to making one-of-a-kind instruments and combining artwork in the form of wood carving, painting, and relief carving. My flutes typically have a theme that brings all of the elements together into a unified statement. My work focuses on local fauna, as illustrated by my project “Voices of Fundy”.
The 3rd attached photo shows my Blue Jay flute. It is an Alder branch flute. Part of my Voices of Fundy series.

I make Native American style flutes. What exactly is a Native American “style” flute? Why not just “Native American Flute”? Although this term is familiar to flute makers and many flute players, its significance might be unknown to the general public. In the USA there is legislation saying that for a person to be able to call the flute they make a “Native American Flute” they must be a registered member of a recognized Native American tribe or band. Everyone else must call their flutes “Native American style flutes”. This includes actual Native Americans who, for whatever reason, are not a registered member of a tribe or band.

You might wonder how this applies to me here in Canada. The Native America flute is predominately a USA phenomenon and to avoid confusion the rest of the world’s flute makers more or less go along with how things are done in the USA. I’m a member of a Native American flute makers forum hosted in the US and part of being a member is abiding by that definition. I respect the intention of that legislation and want to make it clear that I am not pretending to be Native American myself. I’m also careful not to copy any Native American artwork. Whatever artwork I use is made by me.
The 4th attached photo shows the totem of my Dragonfly Flute.

Another area where my flutes follow a different path is my use of driftwood to make some of my flutes. There is lots of driftwood along the Bay of Fundy shores but surprisingly little of it is suitable for flute making. The most likely trees lining the continuously eroding Fundy shoreline, at least in my area of the Bay, are Red Spruce, Balsam Fir, and Yellow Birch. As the shoreline is eroded and pieces fall into the tide the trees become driftwood. Some wood comes to the bay from branches chewed off by beavers and some branches eventually float downstream to the Bay. A few of my driftwood flutes still have the beaver-chewed end at the foot or the flute. I think it adds something to the story of that flute.
The second attached photo shows one of my early driftwood flutes, my Loon Flute. I typically make part of the artwork realistic, in this case the block or totem of the flute, and part stylistic - the lower end of the flute.

If I walked along the beach and were to examine 100 pieces of driftwood that looked to be about the right size and shape to make a flute, only 2 or 3 would be in good enough condition to make a flute. The rest would have too many cracks, splits, fractures, holes, etc. All of the driftwood flutes I have made turn out to be Yellow Birch. This is not by design but by natural selection. Perhaps it is the only type of local tree that is strong enough to survive the Bay of Fundy tides.

New at Fundy Flutes Blue Monarch fluteOverview: This is a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind, 6-hole Native American style flut...
05/26/2026

New at Fundy Flutes Blue Monarch flute

Overview: This is a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind, 6-hole Native American style flute in the key of C minor with an ergonomic finger hole layout for easier playing, and tuned to A=432 JI. It has a tapered bore and plays the minor 10th note in the upper register for some extended melodic range. It is “102 in my flutes made list.

This flute was commissioned by a customer as a special gift for a loved one and contains features meaningful to them. There is a remarkable story behind it. The flute is sold and safely in the hands of the customer. The flute has 2 additional features made after the flute was photographed.

I bet you’ve never seen a Blue Monarch. If you look up Blue Monarch online you will see lots of pictures of it but the article will go on to say that there is no scientific evidence that the Blue Monarch exists, in spite of many observers claiming to have seen one in tropical areas. However the Blue Monarch has gained mythic status in some areas with various properties ascribed to it. Most likely it all stems from people who are quite familiar with the regular orange Monarch and then while visiting tropical countries they see a large blue butterfly with markings that makes them think of a Monarch, and their imagination fills in the rest. There are similar sized blue butterflies in tropical countries that appear similar to the more familiar Monarch at a distance. Whether it actually exists or not the Blue Monarch is real to many people.

The Blue Monarch totem on this flute is 2/3 life size of a regular orange Monarch, and working from photographs of a real Monarch to make the necessary vector drawings of the front and back views of the wings in register to laser etch the lines on the wood. It is made of very thin Eastern Red Cedar with the pattern laser etched on the wood to make the painting easier. It has movable wings thanks to very tiny brass hinges and the monarch body is made with top and bottom halves with the hinges sandwiched in between. The Blue Monarch is attached to the flute block with a magnet so it can be easily removed for transport. It has legs made from guitar string wire and the whole thing required quite a bit of time wearing magnifying glasses to paint the fine details. I’m quite happy with how it turned out but making it life size would have been easier.

As you can imagine the Blue Monarch totem is too fragile to simply stuff the flute in a backpack so I made a small box with a magnetic mount inside to protect the Blue Monarch while in transit.

There is a Bird of Paradise flower painted just above the top finger hole. In the space between the upper and lower finger hole groups there is a special pebble with 2 holes drilled by boring clams. One of the holes has a small pearl mounted in it. At the foot there is a laser etched map of significance to the customer. It has a tiny heart shaped piece of red beach glass inset to mark an important place.

—— Flute specifications ——
Key: C4 minor
Tuning Reference: A4=432 Hz.
Intonation: Just Intonation
Finger Holes: 6-hole, Ergonomic finger hole layout for easier playing.
Scale: Pentatonic minor scale + 8 note major scale.
Upper register notes: major 9th and minor 10th.
Overall Length: 714 mm
Weight: approximately 235 grams
Outside diameter: 38 mm
Bore length: 535 mm
Bore Profile: tapered, 31.75 > 28.65 mm
TSH width: 20 mm
TSH length: 4.95 mm
Wood: Tempered Curly Maple
Nest/Sound Hole Insert: Ebony
Block wood: tempered curly maple
Totem wood: eastern red cedar.
Finger hole span: bottom 3 notes: 76.9 mm
Wood finish: organic walnut oil inside and out by total immersion for 24 hours. Then buffed.

This flute plays very easily, with a warm clear sound with some real power. Reaching for the upper register notes takes no additional effort.
Just Intonation tuning makes the notes purer in relation to each other.

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3586 Scenic Drive
Alma, NB
E4H1P3

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