Flu-torial # 17: Two New Potawatomi Flutes by Darrell Hibbard of Ontario, Canada

Darrell's Native American-style flutes: https://hilliebakkerstudio.wixsite.co...

Whoa - it's been quite while now, hasn't it? For various reasons I had been unable to make more videos for too long, but... here I am again! This time around, I'm extremely humbled to have received a couple of new flutes that were made for me as gifts by Darrell Hibbard of Kincardine, Ontario, Canada. Darrell is a retired environmental engineer who was/is also a musician. He then became a luthier who made violins, and he has been building Native American-style flutes for 6 years now. He uses his own unique design, which includes both his distinctive "scroll" fetish and a flat fingerboard for easier playing. Darrell shapes all of his flutes by hand and very often combines at least two kinds of wood. Interestingly, he does not use a lathe at all, but he does in fact make many of the tools that he uses to bring his special creations to life. So far, he has made 40-50 flutes for the Oliver M. Smith School at The Six Nations in Southern Ontario, and they are apparently quite happy with his work. He has sold a similar number of his instruments throughout Canada, and on top of that, he has just finished 10 more for the Canadian music education charity MusiCounts. A busy man, this Mr. Hibbard! I'd never met or corresponded with him prior to this past March when he contacted me out of the blue and wanted to send not one but two (!) of his creations for evaluation: a low Bm and a D#m. He said he just wanted to hear me play them. Seriously, who could turn down such a generous and gracious offer?! He has also sent me photos documenting the whole flute-making process. These are included in the video as well as others taken by a colleague of mine here in Korea. These two flutes are rapidly rising to the top of my 60+ collection as far as ease of play, craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal, and TONE are concerned. Wait 'til YOU experience them on video, and you'll quickly see/hear what I mean. You're gonna want one...!
My website: http://nativeflutes.net