Ami Sarasvati

Native American Style Flute Teacher *2020-2025* Teacher of the Year for Native American Style Flute*

About the Native American Style Flute Instruction

If you have ever wanted to learn an instrument but never found the time…
If you have owned a Native American style flute but haven’t played it yet…
If you think that you are not musical and have no musical ability…

You are in for a healing journey with an instrument that is easy to learn to play and soothes the soul.

It is never too late to learn to play an instrument! The Native American style flute (NAF) is a great choice because it is relatively easy to learn to play. With group class options and private lessons, I hope I have an offering that fits your interests and schedule. I look forward to teaching you how to play this wonderful instrument!

Many of my beginner NAF students have never played an instrument. That speaks volumes about the ease of learning to play the flute at any time of life. Don't be discouraged if you have not been successful in learning to play another instrument. The NAFs an easy instrument to begin playing at any age.

My musical career started as soon as I was big enough to crawl onto the piano bench. From the time I was 6 until I was 21 years old, I took piano lessons. They have served me well as a foundation for becoming a music educator. But even though I had musical training, I was glued to the piece of paper on the stand. There was anxiety around playing, performing, and being judged. It was not the relaxing and freeing experience I yearned for in my musical life.

Many years later, a friend introduced me to a Native American style flute. I didn’t have a lot of time to learn a new instrument as my family's demands were very real, but this was a primitive instrument after all. I had been in love with the sound of beautiful Native American style flute music for some time and decided to do something healing for myself and learn to play this intriguing instrument.

In 2015, I enrolled in the Music for Healing and Transition Program (mhtp.org).  Over the next two years, everything changed for me as a flute player, a musician in general, and even as a person. I became a Certified Music Practitioner (CMP) in 2016.  Playing the Native American style flute, now skilled at using music to address a variety of patient conditions in clinical settings, mostly in a hospital gave me a deeper appreciation for the sound and potential healing ability of the flute. This changed my identity and focus in my musical career. I learned to be in service to those I played for. In numerous encounters, I witnessed how the NAF was a profound and powerful healing tool.

If you have heard the call of the flute, respond from your heart with a resounding YES!

Meeting my students where they are at!

Each student and each lesson is different. I meet my students right where they are in every lesson. For many students, learning to play the Native American style flute is a personal wellness goal. If they want to go the distance and become a performing artist, I will take them there. If they want to show up once in a while to learn, I’m there with them 100%. This is the guilt-free zone! I strive to offer a rewarding and wonderful experience at every private or group lesson. 

Here are the common things people want to work on: 
• Learning and developing a song
• Improvisation skills
• Learning to play along to rhythm
• Getting fluent in Nakai Tab
• Understanding music theory as it applies to the NAF
• Playing along to a backing track
• Embellishment and articulation development
• Pitch bending
• Preparing a NAF workshop for local people
The list goes on and on! 

I’ve developed an Interest Inventory, which I go through with new students at the very beginning to tailor the instruction to their goals and desires. 

Avoiding Bad Habits

I decided to set myself up for success and get good quality instruction right up front. One thing I knew from learning an instrument before, once bad habits set in, it is hard to undo them.  If I just learned the best practices from the beginning, perhaps I could actually make some music on my flute.

I was amazed to see where I was after just 10 hours of practice. Finally, I had found an instrument that I could improvise on. I even started to be able to express my emotions in my playing. I started to bring my flute with me and have enjoyed playing little interludes in so many different places in nature.

Writing the Books and Teaching Classes

I wrote my first book (Learn to Play the Native American Style Flute: Discover Your Heartsong) and started holding group classes which were popular. Within a couple of years, I was teaching three different levels of classes.  In a safe and supportive atmosphere, my students were exploring this new territory and developing nicely.

My experience deepened as I traveled to several flute schools around the country. I  brought all I learned home to my own classes and workshops and refined the courses. Next, I started to teach online quite a bit and found online learning to be a wonderfully viable way to learn the flute. These and many other learning experiences along the way brought me to the creation of my second book (Discover the Musical Modes on the Native American Style Flute), my CDs, and my full online courses.

Discover Your Heartsong

For those who have heard the calling of the flute and have a true desire to learn to play, I hope my online offerings will make it entirely possible in a way that is enjoyable, affordable, and engaging.

Truly, I am delighted to be a steward of this ancient and mystical instrument. The Native American style flute has provided an outlet for my emotions, a platform from which I could share the experience with others, and a place of solace and beauty.