"...Would you believe that on my first try I actually made one that works thanks to you and your brother's excellent teaching tools. I made mine from alder and it sounds great. Thanks to my wife who is an excellent clarinet player and teacher, she actually got the first note. It seems I was blowing too hard. I was amazed how little effort is required to actually get a note or tune from the flute. I am so excited that I have already started making another out of redwood. I am trying a little different approach and if it works I will tell you about it later"

PK, Spokane, WA.

Don and I are proud to present flutes made by our apprentice flute makers --those who bought our video and learned our flute making methods. Our invitation is open to you, and perhaps one day your photo will be in the flute maker's gallery. Keep up the good work!!!

I must say since watching your video my interest in woodworking has hit the top of my list. I first saw Jed Clampet whittling different figurines with his pocket knife sitting in front of his mansion in Beverly Hills "The Beverly Hillbillies" I tried and succeeded in only whittling fingers to the bone, very discouraged I left things alone. Now with the help of your video and all the new tools I invested in, be it horse trading with friends or outright buying items at sears, I finally have a nice little woodshop to hang out in and let my creative juices flow as they say, "Flute juices I think" Setting up was the hard part bores were offset, tuning holes were choppy my drills cut jagged holes, pieces split off the cedar, on and on and on anyhow now I have things in order and mainly have difficulty designing the birds that keep flashing into my mind. I create a flute then imagine what kind of animal would look good perched upon the flute and one always pops into mind so I dedicate each flute to a particular totem animal, and they are. The White tailed deer, The Elk, The Bear, the Buffalo, the Wolf, and I'm still working on my version of the Eagle. I will attach some pictures with this email for you to see, and THANKS again for putting that video on eBay.

G. T, NY.

Thank you Don and Dave Rivaldo for this excellent video on how to make Native American Style Flutes . The video is so easy to follow and fun to do and Don is an excellent teacher. I like the fact that when I send something to Don and Dave either in e-mail or regular U.S mail that they get back right away, unlike some other people may do.

L.Y., Luverne, MN.

I wanted something unique to make music with. I found a flute kit on eBay and built it. I then bought a second kit and built it for a craft show where I sold it for little more than I paid for it. Then I found your CD.

My wife has been buying me the tools needed for Christmas and birthdays and then right before last Christmas she told me that she sold one of my flutes to a woman at work. I hadn't made any flutes! She said, "You better get to it." So, I built my first from the CD. It was nothing as great as some I see on eBay, but the woman's husband loves it.

Since then I have built 5 more. I am attaching photos. They are all clear cedar (non-aromatic). I am purty darn proud of myself. I just can't believe I built them. I have NEVER put this much effort into anything (other than turkey hunting). I am OBSESSED!

Now my wife says that I should carve fancy "birds" for the flutes. I say I can't - she says I can. I reckon I'll try...

Thanks for your help. Thanks for the CD.

Charles C.

Rathdrum, Idaho

I have found by using the Don Rivaldo flute making CD I learned the basic mechanics needed to produce great flutes. Pictured is an Alaskan yellow cedar with an Eastern red cedar flute. It's a truly special feeling being able to produce great one of a kind playable "Instruments" as gifts to special friends. I have been commissioned to create some for sale also! The cost of the CD is so low compared to the skills learned. Thanks Don Rivaldo!!

Jake R

Downey, CA.

I again want to thank you guys for answering all my questions as though I was the only one who bought your CD. This was my second woodworking project, the first being a trivet made from ice-cream sticks back in the 5th grade.

The flute is birdseye maple with Oklahoma red cedar mouthpiece, and otter fetish. The endcap is Bocote, a Mexican hardwood. Variations on your instructions included dishing out the fingering holes, and completely opening the mouthpiece hole. This was more a Navaho characteristic, and I've found it gives me more breath control although some folks may find it uncomfortable.

I'm starting a 21" cedar shotgun drone w/ 3/4" bore today, and have no clue what key it will be or how to tune it. I should probably buy some bubble solution in case it makes no sound at all..............Thanks again guys.

R.H. California

I've never seen or heard one of these before, and built this based on an email I got from Don. It's interesting, a lot less wood, but I couldn't add material to the end, to change the fundamental note. Nevertheless, it's an f, above mid. C, Walnut and Padouk, w/ inlay of turquoise and cat's eye. The bore divider is Oak. I just wanted to share w/ you folks, and thank Don for redirecting me from an abandoned yahoo flute building site, to the current site. I imagine everyone rolling their eyes as I post a question, but they've been very helpful.

A few observations for what I think will improve as I continue to craft more flutes.

The sound holes could be a little smaller and more square.

The finger holes need to be more at top center of barrel.

Barrel could be a little thinner.

Over all for my first flute, I think it came out very nice. I am very pleased with your video instructions as they were well done with excellent close ups.

Thanks again,

A.S.

East Haven, CT

I ordered your cd about nine months ago and it has catapulted me into the obsessive world of flute making. lol I love making and playing flutes. I would send you some pictures but I have so many now.

You can check out my web site to see how far this has gone and I don't even have pictures of my new work shop yet. I'm a very visual person so your cd gave me the needed information to get started although since I have changed techniques and I'm always learning how to improve my flutes. Your cd definitely will get the first time flute maker started in the right direction and it gave me a successful first flute which is the one picture I did attach. This is so important because if that first flute had been a huge flop I would have had a longer learning curve; because it gave me the confidence a flop wouldn't have done.

Enjoy the Journey,

Larry

MockingbirdFlutes.com

Don,

Making my first flute with the help of your video was easy. I found it took very little time to come up with a flute that sounds and looks great. I can't tell you how much fun i've had in making and playing my flute. I am already planning several others using different types of wood and fetish designs.

Thanks for putting your knowledge down on the video!

Greg S.

Georgia

Don and Dave,

This is photo of five of the flutes I have made. I've been experimenting with different woods. The flute on top I made from walnut and soft maple that I retrieved from my firewood pile. I'm getting better at getting them tuned but still have some experimenting to do. Thanks for doing the instructional video and the full-scale plans.

"Dear Dave & Don,

Sorry to be out of touch for several weeks. I am sending a few pictures of my first flute made from your excellent layout drawing of the 'G' flute. Also included are a couple of pics of the radius gauge I used to carve the air chambers accurately. this particular gauge is for the 7/8'' size chamber. Not having a router table or boxend bit I had to do in the hard way.. Believe me, watching the little bits of Don on the samples of his video made me quite envious of the ease with which he cut out the chambers. I would still like to buy the video but still have to wait. I carved the 'fetish' or bird into the abstract likeness (I hope) of a roadrunner. I don't know if the roadrunner has any significance in Native American mythology but I definitely seem to have an affinity for the little guy. The real one, not the cartoon. Anyway, thanks again Dave for your advice, my flute does have a nice clear tone and I was very careful to get the edges of the flue and airhole as sharp as I could. I must have done something right, the job now is to figure out what. I have scaled down the layout drawing to try and build a smaller flute of about 15 inches in length. I'll let youy know if that works out. thanks again."

E.Z.

Hi Don,

Attached is a photo of my first flute using your instructional CD-ROM. I made plenty of mistakes, but really enjoyed the process and plan on making more to 'get it right'. This flute was a present to my daughter who is an excellent 'traditional' flutist.

Thank you again for the excellent video and getting me hooked on flutemaking!

Sincerely,

S.Y.

Waseca, MN

Now look what you made me do.

I only bought the video on the 30th april and here you go, the 21st may and not only have i made one (the one in front) but because ive never done any woodworking in my life i had to make a second one just to prove i could do it again.

Yes you heard correct NEVER DONE ANY WOODWORK IN MY LIFE except put up the odd shelf.

I know they dont look as impressive as some on the website but im chuffed to bits with em.

Id like to say a big thank you to you for making a crackin video that made it very easy to follow.

thanks again

Kevin, UK

"I was confident I could make a nice looking flute from Don's plans, but I was skeptical on what it might sound like. After final shaping and before drilling the holes, I placed the "bird" over the sound hold, held it place and blew into it. I was amazed and shocked at the sweet tone that came out of it. I was very anxious to get it finished to hear the full range of tones. I was not disappointed. It sounds great and I play it all the time. Don was a big help in answering questions and providing assistance. For fledgling flute makers, Don's plan and CD are the way to go."

Stephen W

Tallahassee, Florida