Home · Lessons · Native American-Style Flute
Native American-style fluteNative American-Style Flute Lessons
One of the most welcoming instruments there is — most people play a real melody in their first lesson. One-on-one flute lessons at Rabbit Hole Studios, at your home, or on Zoom.
Taught by Nick Bradfield
The Native American-style flute is usually tuned to a pentatonic scale, so there are almost no "wrong" notes: cover and uncover the holes and it sings. That makes it one of the fastest instruments to start on — and one you can keep going deeper with for years, through breath control, tone, ornaments, and melodies of your own.
I teach the Native American-style flute as a musician, not as a representative of any tribe or its ceremonies. We learn technique and melodies, not sacred songs — and I encourage every student to listen to and learn from Native flute players and makers too.
A real melody, fast
The pentatonic tuning means you're making music from the first lesson, not just exercises.
Breath and tone
The flute is all breath. Learning to shape it is what turns notes into a voice.
Improvise from day one
Much of this music is played by ear — you'll be making up your own melodies early.
Studio, home, or Zoom
Come to the studio, have lessons at your place within 50 miles of Athens, or play over Zoom.
What flute lessons can cover
- Holding the flute, breath support, and a clear tone
- Fingerings for the pentatonic scale, and notes beyond it
- Ornaments: slides, bends, trills, and breath accents
- Playing by ear and improvising your own melodies
- Reading finger-diagram tablature
- Choosing a flute and a key that suit you
At the studio, at home, or on Zoom
At Rabbit Hole Studios
One-on-one lessons in a working recording studio in Athens, with microphones and playback on hand.
1001 Winterville RdAthens, GA 30605
At your home
Lessons come to you anywhere within 50 miles of Athens — the practical choice for drums and piano, where the instrument stays put.
Within 50 miles of AthensLive on Zoom
The same private lesson from anywhere, on Zoom in its musician mode — full-range audio with the usual call filtering switched off, so held notes come through the way they were played.
How online lessons work →Frequently asked questions
How much are flute lessons?
Do I need a flute already?
Do I need to read music?
Can I learn flute on Zoom?
Is this the same as the sound baths?
Other lessons
Erhu Lessons
Learn the two-string Chinese violin — the instrument whose voice sounds almost human. One-on-one erhu lessons at Rabbit Hole Studios, at your home, or live on Zoom.
Music Theory & Ear Training
Why songs work — and how to hear it. One-on-one theory and ear training for any instrument and any age, at the studio, at your home, or on Zoom.
Singing Lessons
Sing with more control, more range, and a lot less fear. Private voice lessons that develop the voice you have — at Rabbit Hole Studios, at your home, or live on Zoom.