NAF-Related Newsgroups and Listservers

There are three main message discussion groups related to the Native American Flute: Yahoo newsgroups, Web-based discussion newsgroups, and the Montana Listserver newsgroup.

Background

A newsgroup is a groups of people who share a common interest, and communicate primarily through email messages and shared files. The newsgroup uses a computer called a listserver to forward the email messages.

People sign up for (subscribe to) the newsgroup, and the listserver records their email address. Then, anyone who is a member of the newsgroup can "post" (email) a message to the email address of the newsgroup and the listserver turns around and emails that messge to all members of the newsgroup. Notice that none of the basic features of the (original) idea of a listserver require a web browser. Listservers were invented long before the Web.

Yahoo Groups

Yahoo groups provide all the features of a listserver, plus many other features. You can join the group online using a web browser. You can also view all past messages posted to that Yahoo group, post photographs and files to the group, view others photographs and files, check out who the members are, control your own "profile" and how much of your information is seen by others, etc. For example, you can control whether other people see your email address and whether they can email you directly (sometimes a useful feature when people want to reply to you privately).

To use Yahoo Groups, you can either go to http://groups.yahoo.com or click on the links for the individual groups below. If you've never been to Yahoo before, you will need to create a "profile" to identify yourself. In terms of privacy, they are pretty good (although not perfect).

Here are some NAF-related groups. Text in Italics is the group's own description. Membership is approximate.

Main Yahoo NAF groups:

  • Native Flute Woodworking — Do you want to make your own Native flute? On these virtual pages you will find a wealth of information about making Native American style flutes ... wood, glue, tools, design, finger hole placement, scales, links, pictures, successes, failures, fixes ... and more. Ask questions .. get answers! You've found the most extensive source on the web for this information.
    Founded: October 5, 1998. 863 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Native American Flute Club — This is a place for folks interested in Native American Style Flutes to exchange information and ideals related to designing, making, decorating and playing Native American Style flutes.
    The prior name of this group was the Native American Style Flute Forum (NASFF). It was renamed to the Native American Flute Club in the summer of 2003.
    Founded: February 26, 2001. 212 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • FluteSpirits2 — A group interested in the Native American Flute and also the spiritual aspect of the flute as it relates to your life. Flutemakers, players and all related things are invited. A Flute group with a more spiritual orientation. Note that there was a prior FluteSpirits group, but it had to be "started over" because of a technical glitch.
    Founded: November 27, 2001. 185 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Native American Flute Musicsheet — This club is to learn how to play, compose and record the NAF and any other topic about the Native American Flute.
    Founded: May 30, 2001. 384 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Native American Flute Music Exchange — The purpose of this site is to facilitate the free and voluntary exchange of our own Native American flute music. Both sheet music and internet music files are welcome.
    Founded: August 15, 2001. 124 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Flute-Tech — Discussion of how flutes work, how they are designed, and the technical aspects of how they are built. All flutes welcome from Boehm to Baroque, folk, recorders, pan pipes, ocarinas, Shakuhachi, and tin whistles. Also, the ergonomics of the flute, woodwind mathematics, and the use of computers in the design and analysis of flutes.
    Founded: February 26, 2000. 328 members as of August 31, 2003.

Smaller, auxiliary, or performer-specific NAF groups:

  • Ancient Native American Flutes — Dedicated to discussion of playing tips and archeological/historical research on ancient Native American flutes, particularly the "Hopi" and "Anasazi" types.
    Founded: December 22, 2002. 16 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Choctawflutes — Information regarding Native American Flute events, tips, and hints.
    Founded: January 10, 2003. 26 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Earlyflute — A mailing list for those interested in historical (pre-Boehm) flutes: renaissance, baroquem, classical, or romantic. Postings must be related to the history, performance, or making of historical flutes.
    Founded: May 7, 1998. 383 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Flute Makers Marketplace — A marketplace for makers of Native American Style flutes. Bring your photos, open an album, and post photos of what you have for sale.
    Founded: June 1, 2003. 69 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Native Flute Woodworking Pictures Cont. — This site is an extention of Native Flute Woodworking and opened so we could post more pictures from the first site. So if you are searching for info on flutemaking...go there.
    Founded: December 14, 1999. 228 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Native American Style Flute Music — This site is an extention of Native American Style Flute Forum, established to provide more space for the core NASFF group.
    Founded: October 11, 2002. 50 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • NAFEDU - Native American Flute Teachers Forum — The mission of this group is to support music teachers, educators and Native American Flute players who are developing and presenting classes or curriculum focused on the Native American Flute. Any "education discussion" related to the Native American Flute is encouraged including history, music theory, techniques, construction, course materials, syllabusses and NAF resources. Members are encouraged to post and share their non-copyrighted material for the benefit of others.
    Founded: September 27, 2002. 13 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • WoodburningPyrography — This woodburning oriented site has many members who are flutemakers.
    Founded: November 2, 2002. 124 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • MiribalNews — An announcement list for concert & other info for native american flute player, dancer and performer Robert Mirabal.
    Founded: May 27, 2002. 103 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • Native Flutemakers Group (NFWW) — This is the former Native Flute Woodworking site starting over. NFWW2 (all one word) is where the "old club" ended up. No NFWW club info has been forwarded. SO...let's begin again. Learn all about making Native Flutes, secrets, mistakes, fixes, photos and more. Just ask.
    This was the predecessor group to Native Flute Woodworking. There apparantly was a glitch with Yahoo, and the group had to be "started over". I would sign up for this group, even though there are very few messages distributed. The group continues to hold a number of photos and files that are interesting and sometimes referred to in the current Native Flute Woodworking group.
    Founded: March 8, 2002. 175 members as of August 31, 2003.
  • FluteSpirits — Predecessor to the current FluteSpirits2 newsgroup. Abandoned because of a technical glitch, but still available for browsing of old messages and files.
    Founded: September 8, 1999. 38 members as of August 31, 2003.

Regional groups and flute circles:

Wooden Flute Web Site

An extensive site oriented to wooden flutes. This is primarily oriented to the Irish Flute, but also includes renaissance flutes, bamboo flutes, and Native American Flutes.

To join the group, visit the Woodenflute Web Site.

Musical Instrument Makers Forum

The "MIMF" newsgroup is oriented to makers of all styles of instruments. It has an extensive collection of resources and email-based conversations regarding construction techniques, as well a huge list of resources.

To join the group, visit the MIMF Web Site.

The Montana Listserver

The "Montana" newsgroup is an excellent NAF resource. Subscribing to this newsgroup is straightforward.

To subscribe, visit Dave Fields' home page or go directly to his page on How to Subscribe.

Web site by Clint Goss - Last updated September 19, 2008.