Apple Using the GarageBand Jam Pack: World Music Instruments - Manual (Page 32)

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Native American Flute
Native American tradition holds that music was given to people as a way of
communicating with the supernatural, and Native American folk music was mainly
used to convey a spiritual meaning, to pray for good luck, and to relate stories of
heroes. The origins of the Native American flute are unknown, but some believe it was
developed by the ancient Pueblo peoples who used it for meditation, courtship, and
religious rituals. The instrument saw a revival in the 1960s, and has since been widely
used in New Age and ambient music styles.
The Native American flute is the only flute with two air chambers. A wall inside the
flute separates the top and bottom chambers; the finger holes are on the bottom. The
top chamber acts as a second resonator and gives the flute its distinctive sound. A
carved bird is tied to the top of the flute, forming a thin, flat airstream for the whistle
hole. Native American flutes can have either five or six finger holes, pitched to the
notes of the pentatonic scale, often to the keys A or D. Modern Native American flutes
typically span a range of 3 1/2 octaves.