A flute circle is an organization of musicians which focuses on the Native American flute. Flute circles typically meet periodically to engage in educational and recreational activities surrounding the instrument. Most flute circles offer instruction on the Native American flute, especially for flutists who are new to the instrument. Many flute circles have a facilitator with experience in group music facilitation and humanistic music education to structure the activities and the music-making. This use of the Native American flute in community music is notably different from traditional uses of the instrument for courtship, hunting, or ceremony. This new use of the instrument has not been without controversy, and flute circles are generally advised to use the instrument in a respectful manner because of these considerations. Flute circle participants may span a wide range of experience and training in music — from professionals to novice flutists or enthusiasts of the Native American flute. Many flute circles focus on raising the level of musicality of the participants across a range of levels of musical experience using basic

song forms A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

music improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

, and techniques of experiential

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

. These techniques include

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

and

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

improvisation forms that include

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

patterns, and call and response forms. Facilitation forms include ''traveling ensembles'', ''showcasing'', ''segmenting'', and general ''conducted improvisations'' — techniques that are shared with other community music structures such as drum circles. While some flute circles focus on aspects of

indigenous cultures Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

and

indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

, they do not typically relate to a single culture or tribe. Flute circles can also organize events for participants to play at events, festivals, school presentations, or in service settings such as senior centers, elder facilities, and group homes. Flute circles have also engaged in their own concerts, produced music albums, and broadcast live music performances.

Community music

Flute circles are one type of community music gathering. Other types include drum circles, community choirs, facilitated dance, and community orchestras. However, Mary Jane Jones argues in her thesis that flute circles have particular attributes not found in other types of community music gatherings:

Organizations

Several national organizations have formed to provide support to local flute circles:
WFS
—

World Flute Society The World Flute Society (WFS), a successor to the International Native American Flute Association, is a non-profit organization dedicated to "musical and cultural expressions of the world's indigenous and folk flute traditions." WFS has a particul ...

(U.S.A.)
FTF
— FluteTree Foundation (U.S.A.) (formerly RNAFF, Renaissance of the North American Flute Foundation)
JIFCA
— Japan Indian Flute Circle Association (日本インディアンフルートサークル協会) (Japan) A roster of registered flute circles is maintained by WFS and FTF.

Statistics

As of March 13, 2016, the roster of flute circles in this article listed 189 organizations in 9 countries, including flute circles in 44 States of the United States and 5 Provinces of Canada.

Historical

The chart below depicts the historical number of flute circles registered with the WFS (shown in darker blue) and its predecessor organization, the International Native American Flute Association ("INAFA") (shown in lighter blue). The data for years prior to 2016 were gathered on March 13, 2016 from historical WFS and INAFA web pages provided by the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

. The data for 2016 and 2017 were gathered from the live WFS web site on March 4, 2016 and January 3, 2017, respectively. The data point for each year was taken on the first date in the year that the respective web site was updated. Data for the years 2012–2014 represents the shift in organizations from INAFA to WFS. The data roughly agrees with the Jones thesis, which reported 115 flute circles on the INAFA roster in 2010. Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:650 height:350 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:150 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:20 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1999 text:1999 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2002 text:2002 bar:2003 text:2003 bar:2004 text:2004 bar:2005 text:2005 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2007 text:2007 bar:2008 text:2008 bar:2009 text:2009 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2012 text:2012 bar:2013 text:2013 bar:2014 text:2014 bar:2015 text:2015 bar:2016 text:2016 bar:2017 text:2017 PlotData= color:barra width:16 align:left bar:1999 from: 0 till:18 bar:2000 from: 0 till:23 bar:2001 from: 0 till:42 bar:2002 from: 0 till:45 bar:2003 from: 0 till:50 bar:2004 from: 0 till:54 bar:2005 from: 0 till:67 bar:2006 from: 0 till:81 bar:2007 from: 0 till:89 bar:2008 from: 0 till:104 bar:2009 from: 0 till:114 bar:2010 from: 0 till:124 bar:2011 from: 0 till:114 bar:2012 from: 0 till:116 bar:2013 from: 0 till:54 color:blue bar:2014 from: 0 till:104 color:blue bar:2015 from: 0 till:117 color:blue bar:2016 from: 0 till:130 color:blue bar:2017 from: 0 till:133 color:blue PlotData= bar:1999 at:18 fontsize:S text: 18 shift:(-5,5) bar:2000 at:23 fontsize:S text: 23 shift:(-5,5) bar:2001 at:42 fontsize:S text: 42 shift:(-5,5) bar:2002 at:45 fontsize:S text: 45 shift:(-5,5) bar:2003 at:50 fontsize:S text: 50 shift:(-5,5) bar:2004 at:54 fontsize:S text: 54 shift:(-5,5) bar:2005 at:67 fontsize:S text: 67 shift:(-5,5) bar:2006 at:81 fontsize:S text: 81 shift:(-5,5) bar:2007 at:89 fontsize:S text: 89 shift:(-5,5) bar:2008 at:104 fontsize:S text: 104 shift:(-8,5) bar:2009 at:114 fontsize:S text: 114 shift:(-8,5) bar:2010 at:124 fontsize:S text: 124 shift:(-8,5) bar:2011 at:114 fontsize:S text: 114 shift:(-8,5) bar:2012 at:116 fontsize:S text: 116 shift:(-8,5) bar:2013 at:54 fontsize:S text: 54 shift:(-5,5) bar:2014 at:104 fontsize:S text: 104 shift:(-8,5) bar:2015 at:117 fontsize:S text: 117 shift:(-8,5) bar:2016 at:130 fontsize:S text: 130 shift:(-8,5) bar:2017 at:133 fontsize:S text: 133 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(20,10) text:Historical number of flute circles registered with WFS / INAFA near the beginning of each year However, rosters of flute circles maintained by WFS and INAFA only represent flute circles that are registered with those organizations; it is not known how many flute circles exist worldwide. Two Contemporary Native American Flutes

List of flute circles

This list of flute circles, sorted alphabetically by location (country, then state or province). Only the name and location are provided in this list, along with a link. The link may be (in order of preference) to a Wikilink, a web address, a link to social media, or reference(s) to one or more web sites that maintain rosters of information about specific flute circles. Please note that inclusion in this list does not represent any endorsement or certification of the organization that is listed. You may click through the link or visit the referenced roster(s) to see details for that organization:

Australia

Flute Dreaming Circle
(Margate, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, and Bribie Island) * Earthsong Flute Circle (ACT — Kambah)

Canada

Alberta

Northern Alberta Native American Flute Circle
(

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

) * Kiwidinok Flute Circle (Edmonton)

British Columbia

* Nanaimo Flute Circle (

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

) * Vancouver Island Flute Circle (Vancouver)

Ontario

Native American Flute Association of Ontario (NAFAO)
* Kempenfelt Bay Flute Circle & Muskoka Woodland Echoes Flute Circle (Barrie) * Loon Echoes Flute Circle (North Bay) * Northern Woods Flute Circle (Uxbridge) * Muskoka Woodland Echoes Flute Circle (Bracebridge)

Québec

* Québec City Flute Circle (Québec City)

Saskatoon

* Saskatoon Flute Circle (Saskatoon)

Colombia

Flautas de Amor Flute Circle
(Montenegro)

Japan

Japan Indian Flute Circle Association
(日本インディアンフルートサークル協会) (across Japan)
Tokyo Flute Circle
(フルートサークル in 東京) * Happy Beat (Nagoya — Aichi)

The Netherlands and Belgium

Dutch and Belgium Native American Flute Circle
(Bergen op Zoom) - Last edited on 09-08-2009

New Zealand

Auckland Flute Circle
(Auckland)
Flute Swaray
(Kapiti)
Kapiti Flute Circle
(Kapiti)
Palmerston North Flute Circle
(Palmerston North) * Wellington Flute Circle (Wellington)

Peru

* Andean Native American Flute Circle (Cusco)

United Kingdom

* Walkingthunder Native American Flute Circle (West Midlands — Coventry) * North Kent Native American Flute Circle (Welling — Kent)

United States

Alaska

* Alaska Flute Circle (Anchorage)

Arizona

Westside Flute Circle
(Tucson)
Voyager Flute Circle
(Tucson)
Tucson Flute Circle
(Tucson)
Payson Flute Circle
(Payson) * CherryCows Flute Circle (Tucson) * Quartzsite Flute Circle (Quartzsite) * Green Valley Flute Circle (Green Valley) * Central Arizona Flute Circle (Cottonwood) * Tucson Five Star Flute and Drum Circle (Tucson) * Yuma County Flute Circle (Yuma) * Arizona Flute Circle (Phoenix) * Tucson Presidio Flute Circle (Tucson) * Tucson Kokopelli Native American Flute Circle (Tucson) * Raa-ca-coons (Apache Junction) * Montezuma Castle Flute Circle (Camp Verde) * Yavapai Flute Circle (Prescott) * Forest Sounds Flute Circle (Sun City) * Desert Whispers Flute Circle of Tucson (Tucson)

Arkansas

Bentonville Native American Flute Circle
(Bentonville) * Healing Hearts Flute and Drum Circle (Van Buren)

California

Central Coast Flute Circle
(Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo)

(Los Angeles)
San Luis Rey Native American Indian Flute Circle
(Oceanside)
Ancient Winds Flute Circle
(Orange County) * Inland Empire Flute Circle (Cherry Valley) * San Diego County Flute Circle (Potrero) * West Los Angeles Flute Circle (Los Angeles) * Pax Lobos (Gentle Wolves) Flute Circle (Auburn) * Orange County Wooden Flute Circle (Anaheim) * Mountainside Flute Circle (Cameron Park) * Southern California Flute Circle (Modjeska Canyon) * Yosemite Flute Circle (Oakhurst) * Coachella Valley Flute Circle (Palm Desert) * East Bay Flute Circle (SF Bay Area / Union City)
Northern California Flute Circles
** Bay Clan — San Francisco / Oakland / San Jose areas ** Joaquin Clan — Modesto / Fresno areas ** Loping Wolf — Sacramento area ** NoNahme Clan — Garden Valley area ** Valley Clan — Napa and Sonoma counties

Colorado

Pike Peak Flute Circle
(Colorado Springs) * Purple Mountain World Flute Circle (Evergreen) * Southwestern Colorado Flute Circle (Durango) * Native American Flute Players of Colorado (Colorado Springs) * Grand Valley Flute Circle (Grand Junction) * Northern Colorado Flute Circle (Fort Collins) * Mile High Flute Circle (Denver) * Rocky Mountain Flute Circle (Kittredge)

Connecticut

* Connecticut Native American Flute Circle (West Hartford)

Delaware

Whispering Woods Native American Flute Circle
(Wilmington)

Florida

Indian River Flute Circle
(Cocoa)
Central Florida Flute Circle
(Plant City)
Gainesville Flute Circle
(Gainesville)
Native Son Flute Circle
(Hudson)
Riverwind Flute Circle
(Leesburg)
Southlake Flute Circle
(Clermont) * The Journey Flute Group (Bonita Springs) * Woodland Echoes Flute Circle (Gainesville) * Cotee River Flute Circle (New Port Richey) * Emerald Coast Flute Circle (Pensacola) * Sunshine Music Circles (St Petersburg, FL)

Georgia

* Georgia Heron House Flute Circle / Healing Waters (Atlanta) Georgia Flute Circle of Atlanta

Idaho

* Boise Flute Circle (Boise)

Illinois

Senachwine Flute Circle
(Henry / Putnam)
River Spirit Flute Circle
(Peoria)

(Rockford)
Healing Winds Flute Circle
(Hinsdale) * Healing Earth Native American Flute Circle (Hawthorn Woods) * River Song Flute Circle (Evergreen Park) * Living Water Native American Flute Circle (Downers Grove) * River City Flute Circle (Chillicothe) * Sangamon Valley Flute Circle (Springfield / Chatham) * Spirits on the Wind Flute Circle (Bolingbrook) * Woodland Spirit Flute Circle (Crystal Lake) * River Spirit Flute Circle (Sparland) * Chicago Native Flute Circle (Wilmette)

Indiana

* Indiana Flute Circl
Indiana Flute Circle
(Indianapolis)

Iowa

* Fairfield Flute Circle (Fairfield) * Two Rivers Flute Circle (West Des Moines) * Rolling Hills Flute Circle (Centerville) * Cedar Valley Flute Society (Marion)

Kansas

* Prairie Wind Flute Circle (Topeka)

Louisiana

Louisiana Native American Flute Circle
(Baton Rouge) * Red River Flute Circle (Shreveport) * Cedar Branch Bayou Flute and Drum Circle (Holden)

Maine

* Spirit Raven Flute Circle (East Boothbay)

Maryland

* Maryland Flute Circle (Timonium) * Chesapeake Shore Flute Circle (Stevensville) * Windsongs Native American Flute Circle (Havre de Grace / Bel Aire)

Massachusetts

* Friends of the Native American Flute Circle (East Longmeadow) * Flutes of Noepe Circle (Vineyard Haven)

Michigan

* Chippewa Valley Flute Circle (Sanford) * Paint Creek Flute Circle (Rochester Hills) * Gitchee Gumee Flute Circle (Marquette) * Mitigwake Giiwitaashkaa ("Forest Circle") (Midland) * MagicWind Flute Circle (Clinton)

Minnesota

* Ten Thousand Lakes Flute Circle (St. Paul) * Bemidji Area Native American Flute Circle

Mississippi

* Hattiesburg Native American Flute Circle (Hattiesburg)

Missouri

Native American Flute Circle of St. Louis
(St. Louis)
Ozarks Heartland Flute Circle
(Springfield) * SpiritTalkers Native American Flute Circle (Kansas City Area) * Native Spirit Winds Flute Circle (St. Louis) * Joplin Native American Flute Circle (Joplin)

Montana

Northern Winds Flute Circle
(Bozeman) * Big Sky Flute Circle (Geraldine)

Nebraska

* Ni-Shudo Flute Circle (Omaha)

Nevada

* Desert Cloud Flute Circle (Boulder City)

New Hampshire

Ancient Voices Musical Community
(

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

)
Prana Flute Circle
(

)

New Jersey

* Skylands Native American Flute Circle (Hackettstown) * Open Flute Circle and Music Improvisation (Jersey City) * Whispering Winds Flute Circle (Monmouth Junction)

New Mexico

Wind Spirit Native American Flute Circle
(Albuquerque) * Songs of the Mountain Flute Circle (Sandia Park) * Desert Winds Flute Circle (Eunice) * Mesilla Valley Flute Circle (Las Cruces)

New York

Songcatcher Flute Circle
(Florida, Mid/Lower Hudson Valley)
Great Spirit Native American Flute Circle
(New York City)
Finger Lakes Flute Circle
(Rochester) * Tall Pine Flute Circle (Delanson) * Silver Lakes Flute Circle (Staten Island) * Hudson Valley Flute Circle (Staatsburg) * Sunset Serenade Native American Flute and Acoustic Rhythms Group (Stuyvesant) * Folkwinds Flute Circle (Fair Haven)

North Carolina

Asheville Flute Circle
(Asheville)
Neuse River Flute Circle
(Roxboro / Raleigh)
Piedmont Flute Circle
(Chatham, Orange, and Durham counties) * Bear Tracks Flute Circle (Hendersonville) * Kokopelli Native American Flute Circle (Highpoint)

Ohio

Cincinnati Native American Flute Circle
(Cincinnati)
Central Ohio Native American Flute Circle
(Grove City) * Massie Creek Flute Circle (Cedarville) * Miami Valley Flute Circle (Dayton)

Oklahoma

(Norman)

Omaha

(Omaha)

Oregon

Ashland Flute Circle
(Ashland)
Cascadia Flute Circle
(Portland) * http://www.columbiariverflutecircle.org (Hillsboro, Banks, Manning)

* Coos Bay Flute Circle (Coos Bay) * Mid Valley Flute Circle (Corvallis) * Oregon Flute Circle (Eugene) * Bear In-Stinx Flute Circle (Grant's Pass)

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Native American Flute Circle
(Harrisburg / Hershey) * Warriors of the Light Flute and Drum Circle (Templeton)
Susquehanna Native American Flute and Drum Circle
(Gettysburg) * Wind Dancers Native American Flute and Drum Circle (Nanty Glo)
Turtle Moon Native American Flute Circle
(Reading-Berks, Pennsylvania)

Rhode Island

* Rhode Island Flute Circle (Cranston)

South Carolina

Cherokee Foothills Flute Circle
(Greenville and Spartanburg counties) * Low Country Flute Circle (Yemassee) * Carolinas Flute Circle

Tennessee

Smoky Mountain Flute Circle
(Knoxville / Townsend) * Flute Circle of Lebanon (Lebanon) * Cherokee Winds Flute and Drum Circle (Winchester) * Texoma Native American Flute Circle (Burkburnett)

Texas

Lone Star Flute Circle
(Austin)
Heart of the Cedar Flute Circle
(Richardson)
Spring Cypress Native American Flute Circle
(Spring) * Greater Houston Flute Circle (Houston) * Fort Worth Flute Circle (Fort Worth)

Utah

Park City Flute Circle
(Park City area)
Utah Flute Circle
(West Valley City)
Zion Flute Circle
(St. George)

Virginia

(Bluemont)
Northern Virginia Flute Circle
(Vienna)
Potomac Flute Circle
(Springfield) * Winchester Native American Flute Circle (Winchester) * Spiritheart Flute and Drum Circle of the Shenandoah Valley (Staunton) * Virginia Piedmont (Culpeper county)

Washington

(Everett)

(Kirkland)

(Bothell)

(Everett)

(Maple Valley)

(Puyallup)

(Des Moines) * Golden Winds Flute Circle (Goldendale)

West Virginia

* West Virginia Native American Flute Circle (Elkins)

Wisconsin

Healing Spirit Flute Circle
(Milwaukee) * Central Wisconsin Flute Circle (Stevens Point) * Clear Water Flute Circle (Chippewa Falls) * Downtown Milwaukee Healing Spirit Flute Circle (Oak Creek) * Madison Four Lakes Flute Circle (Madison) * Mitakuye Oyasin Flute Circle (Ashippun) * Kokopelli Flute Circle (Metro Milwaukee) * Wequiock Falls Flute Circle (Green Bay) * North East Wisconsin Flute Circle (Baileys Harbor) * Wokini Flute Circle (Ashippun / Waterloo) * Spirit Lake Flute Circle (Baraboo)

References

{{Reflist, 30em Music education Music education organizations Native American musical groups