All about the Indian flute

The pimak or "flute of love" is an ethnic musical instrument of the Indians, whose tribes lived in the northern part of America. It was made with your own hands from wood. We will tell you about the history of this instrument, its sound and playing the Indian flute in the article.

Pimak is an Indian musical instrument that is a close relative of the longitudinal flute.

The device of this ethnic musical instrument is simple, but it has a number of certain features that distinguish it from other instruments belonging to the whistle family. These characteristics include the presence of an air chamber, which is located in front of the whistle. This hole helps to smooth out the attack of the air stream, which makes the sound of the instrument softer and somewhat sibilant. The diameter of such a part can be different, it depends on its size how soft the transition between notes will be.

In addition, the air chamber has a totem, that is, a cover that can be removed. This part is intended so that the musician has the opportunity to dry the air chamber, as well as to clean the pimak channel at the end of the performance of a piece of music on it.

In total, this musical instrument has 5 holes for playing, including octave, bass and others. They are the ones that make it possible to produce a wide variety of notes.

It is impossible to say about the exact date of the origin of this musical instrument, but it is one of the most ancient. Little is known about the appearance of this flute either. However, the Indian tribes have many different legends in this regard, among them is the legend of a young man who, thanks to his connection with nature and his ability to hear, discovered such a beautifully sounding instrument for people.

Besides, there is also a legend about a man who lost his entire family, including his spouse and children, because of which he fell into despair. He was inconsolable, nothing could soften the bitterness of his loss. Then the Great Spirit came to him in dreams in order to save a desperate soul, he recommended creating a musical instrument so that all suffering and despair would pass into music. This is how the pimak appeared.

However, let's turn to the history of the instrument.

Pimak was very popular in North America, and specifically among the tribes of North American Indians. Many of them believed that this flute possesses magical properties and is able to beneficially influence the health of people, as well as affect their feelings. That is why pimak was used literally everywhere: just for playing for entertainment purposes, and in various rituals, and sometimes even in religious ceremonies. Most often, it was used by young men in order to attract a girl they liked. The beautiful sound of the flute was supposed to captivate the chosen one, evoke reciprocal feelings in her, and also show the seriousness of the young man's intentions and all his advantages over others.

Besides, some Indian tribes had a special tradition. When the time for marriage came for the girl, free guys of the tribe came to her, each of whom intended to become her chosen one. The girl herself was sitting in her house and did not see any of them. Each young man took turns playing the pimak. The young man, the sound of the flute of which the girl liked the most, later became her husband.

The Indians made this instrument with their own hands, using river reeds for this, as well as some soft woods, which include cedar and spruce. Manufacturing took place using two halves of material, the middle of which was usually hollowed out, after which these two parts were glued. In addition to wood materials, beeswax, various aromatic essential oils, natural leather and threads were used to create the flute.

These flutes were not alike. Each of them was unique, had a certain size, its own visual appearance, as well as design and other features. Pimak does not have a specific manufacturing standard.

Indian flutes found their relevance in modern music only in the second half of the 20th century. During this period, interest in the ethnic culture of Indian tribes became especially acute in the United States. So, already in the 70s, craftsmen began to actively create pimak not only for their own use, but also for sale, because there were many who wanted to buy this instrument. The demand for this musical instrument was also influenced by such people as Doc Payne and Michael Graham Allen. Thanks to them, in the 80s of the last century, the pimak acquired its standard minor pentatonic scale.

Nowadays, the pimak is not forgotten as a musical instrument. On the contrary, it is still in demand not only in the American music field, but also in the field of cinema and not only. So, it is quite often used to create soundtracks for various films and games. You can hear it, for example, in the movie "Dancing with Wolves", as well as in the game "Gothic", designed for the computer.

The sound of this flute is quite soft, slightly sibilant and has a sibilant note. It enchants, evoking the sensation of something magical and mysterious.

Due to the peculiarities of the instrument, almost the entire chromatic scale can be produced on it, and this is within more than one octave. The pimak holes correspond to the minor notes of the pentatonic scale. In general, the entire set of notes sounds harmoniously in combination with each other, which increases the quality of the melody being played and allows you to improvise somewhat during the music performance. It is worth noting that the lowest note on this instrument is played when all holes are closed, and the highest are achieved by opening each of them starting from the end of the instrument.

Learning to play the pimak cannot be called a difficult and lengthy process, however, diligence and diligence, of course, are encouraged. In general, this instrument is quite malleable, and even such a person who has not previously had any contacts with the pimak can produce sounds on it. For this you just need to bring the instrument to your mouth and exhale slowly, directing air flows into the corresponding hole.

In general, both simple melodies and the most complex ones can be played on this Indian flute. But first you need to figure out how to breathe correctly when playing.

First you need to learn how to close and open the corresponding holes without looking, focusing only on tactile sensations. It should be borne in mind that the hole must be closed well and tightly, otherwise air leaks, as a result of which a clear distortion of sound occurs. Do not put strong pressure on the holes, do not strain your hands and fingers, while your movements when closing and opening should be quick and confident.

Now let's talk a little about how to breathe while playing the pimak. In general, this process is simple. For for your instrument to produce sounds, you need to use your lips to create a thin, medium-strength, air jet, which should be directed towards the cut. In this case, the lower lip should cover the end of the flute, and the upper one should be positioned above the cut-divider. The lips should stretch out, creating something like a relaxed smile, while a small gap should form through which the air flows will be directed.

For convenience, at first, you can use the mirror to accurately see your mistakes and correct them. After a certain amount of time, it will not be difficult for you to position your lips in the correct position for successfully extracting sounds when playing the flute - a few diligent training will be enough for this.