Innato Flute: The Ultimate Guide to This Healing Instrument
The Innato flute is a powerful instrument for promoting deep relaxation, grounding and inner peace. In this comprehensive guide, explore its origins, how to play, tips for what to look for when buying your first Innato flute, and taking care of the instrument.
The Innato flute is more than just a musical instrument. It’s a vessel for connecting to nature, spirituality, and inner peace.
Innato flutes are handmade with care. They have three chambers that produce earthy sounds and it is unique to any other instrument. Its minimalist yet refined design produces a pure, resonant sound that evokes deep tranquility and earthy tones.
Whether played for personal meditation, spiritual practice, or even therapeutic sound baths, the Innato flute carries the essence of ancient traditions and the wisdom of modern craftsmanship.
After experiencing the Innato flute myself during a sound bath, I was immediately inspired to purchase one. Since then, I have incorporated it into my offerings as a sound practitioner and consistently hear from participants about the positive impact it had on them.
In this article, we’ll explore the origins of the Innato flute, its various forms, how to play it, tips for buying your first Innato flute, and how to care for this unique instrument to preserve its beautiful sound.
This post is all about the Innato flute.
What is the Innato Flute?
The Innato flute is a simple yet beautifully crafted wind instrument known for its natural, calming sound. Typically made from clay, it produces soft, resonant tones that bring a sense of tranquility.
Innato flutes have three distinct chambers. You blow air in through the top, and the holes on each chamber produce different notes. It slightly resembles an ocarina, although it has the tripe-chamber design.
“The word ‘Innato’ means inborn, unlearned. it’s inside all of us. This instrument connects sonically to our pure innateness.”
Musicians and wellness practitioners often use the flute in meditation, spiritual practices, and traditional music, as it offers a direct connection to nature and emotion through its pure, organic sound. Its minimalist construction makes it accessible for beginners, while its expressive range appeals to advanced players.
It’s also worth noting that Innato flutes are handmade. It’s a distinct instrument and the craftsmanship plays an important part in the sound that’s produced.
History and Innato Flute Origin
The Innato flute was invented by Hans Houkes and Alan Tower from the Netherlands. However, it was inspired and modeled after various flutes from the indigenous cultures of the Americas. Particularly from South and Central America, and most notably the Teyuna tribes of Columbia, where people have been crafting flutes from natural materials like bamboo, wood, and bone for centuries.
People used similar flutes in rituals, ceremonies, and storytelling, believing they connected the player to nature and the spiritual world. Many saw flutes’ soft, resonant tones as a way to communicate with the gods or spirits, giving it a sacred place in various indigenous traditions.
The Innato flute is most similar to the ocarina. It is like the ocarina in the tones, craftsmanship and style, but it has three chambers instead of one.
Uses of the Innato Flute Today
The Innato flute became popular today as more people discovered its soothing, natural tones, especially with the rise of interest in world music, meditation, and wellness.
When used for wellness and healing, practitioners often play it directly over another person’s head, allowing the vibrations and frequencies to have a deep, transformative effect.
Its simple design and calming sound make it a go-to instrument for musicians and sound healers looking to create peaceful, introspective environments.
Lately, the Innato flute has found a place in modern music, film scores, and even wellness practices, where it’s used for relaxation and emotional healing. Its ability to promote mindfulness and connect people to a deeper sense of peace has helped it resonate with a wider audience, making it more popular.
I regularly use the Innato flute during sound baths and always receive positive feedback from participants. Most people are unfamiliar with the instrument and sound, but are touched by the beauty of it and the impact it had on their experience. It’s an instrument which really helps people feel grounded, connected, relaxed and aware of the present moment.
Types and Variations of the Innato Flute
The Innato Flute is a distinct type of instrument and doesn’t vary much in terms of different types like some other instruments. Innato Flutes are handmade, so the craftsmanship and natural materials give each one its own unique characters.
Tuning
The Innato can come in different tuning and scales. For example, an instrument tuned to D can play various notes like A, C, D, E, F, G, etc. and octaves according to the different chambers. You can also find various frequencies such as 440 Hz or 432 Hz.
Size
Going along with different scales, the size of the Innato flute can vary. The smaller flutes will produce higher-pitched sounds while the larger flutes generally produce lower, deeper tones.
Size can play an important factor when you’re deciding which Innato to buy because the size of your hands may impact how well you are able to manage the instrument and reach the holes in each chamber.
Decorative Variations
While Innato flutes are generally decorated with earthy feels that align with the instrument’s natural sound, there are various options for colors and designs to choose from. Typically, they come in tones of brown or beige.
How to Play the Innato Flute
How to Hold the Innato Flute
Hold the Innato with both hands, positioning your fingers over the holes. Use your thumbs to support the back of the instrument while your fingers cover the top holes. The Innato has multiple chambers, and you will cover and uncover holes to produce different notes.
Blow Gently
Place your lips on the mouthpiece and blow gently. Unlike a traditional flute, you don’t need to blow forcefully. Start with a steady, even airflow to produce a clear tone. While practicing, you want to be aiming to produce a relaxed and consistent stream of air.
Cover and Uncover Holes
Using your fingers, cover and uncover the holes to change the pitch of the notes. Fully covering a hole lowers the pitch, while uncovering it raises the pitch.
You can start by covering all of the holes and gradually lift one finger at a time to move into higher notes. This is a great way to develop a deep understanding of the instrument and each position of the fingers affects the note produced.
Make sure when you are covering a hold, it is fully covered. Even a slight gap can distort the sound.
Common Beginner Challengers
One of the most common challenges for beginners is running out of breath quickly. This is something that just simply takes practice to overcome.
If your notes are sounding breathy, unclear, or even squeaky, check that your lips are fully covering the mouthpiece. If you feel out of breath, take short breaks to reset your breathing. Controlling your breath will help to produce a smoother and fluid sound that is consistent.
Practice, Practice, Practice
The Innato sound is beautiful and earthy. The more you spend time practicing, the deeper you will understand the instrument and the different sounds it can produce. Play around with different melodies and opening and closing different holes.
This is an instrument where virtually any consistent sound produced through the instrument will turn out beautiful. It’s more about being able to understand the different tones it can produce which will allow you to create beautiful melodies on your own.
Playing the Innato Flute on Someone’s Head
In the realms of wellness, meditation and healing purposes, the Innato flute is often played over someone’s head. When doing this, it’s important the person is aware it’s going to happen and that you are watching to observe how they are feeling and responding. Be sure to play gentle and soft, consistent sounds. Do not play it too hard or loudly.
Playing the Innato flute over someone’s head can have deeply transformative effects on the mind and body. Nearly all individuals I have done this with have shared positive and deeply impactful experiences, even bringing some to tears. So, be aware of its effects and play with sincerity and awareness.
Video Tutorial
There is a great Innato tutorial video shared by Svaram, an incredible experimental sound and research center in Auroville, India. The tutorial covers basics like holding the instrument, blowing, different ways to play and more. It’s a great resource for beginners.
Our Immersive Sound Experience Team also has several videos of beautiful Innato Flute sounds you may enjoy or listen to for inspiration, including “Sounds of the Innato: Connect with Ancestors (from the Sacred Forest of Ghodoba).”
Buying Your First Innato Flute
What to Look For
You will want to decide which scale or key is best for you. One main factor in deciding this will be the size of your hands. If you have larger hands, you may find the bigger, lower-pitched Innato flutes are better for you. Likewise, if you have small hands, you’ll prefer the higher-pitched Innatos. You can also opt for medium sized.
Price
Being as Innato flutes are handmade and a unique instrument, they come with relatively high price. Expect to pay $700 USD as a bare minimum, and you will likely spend more. Depending on the size and look that you like, you can find quality Innato flutes between $700-$1,000 USD.
Do not buy anything cheaper than $700, or you will be making a big sacrifice on quality. The instruments are very dependent on their craftsmanship which is why the cost is high. Spending less money on an Innato means the instrument will not produce the same quality sound that the Innato is so uniquely known for.
Recommended Brands
We recommend two brands for purchasing the Innato.
Stonewhistle is an incredible company in the Netherlands that produces high quality ceramic instruments, including the Innato among other unique flutes. They can ship globally although it will take about 12 weeks to receive the instrument and possibly longer if they are having a high demand.
Another option is through The Innato based in the US. They source the Innato flutes from the same partner company in the Netherlands, but have a stock in California. Before purchasing, you will need to set up a zoom call to discuss the different options. They will demo Innatos in various keys and help you decide which is best for you.
If you are in the US, this can be a great option because if they have what you want in stock, it can be shipped the next day.
How to Take Care of Your Innato Flute
Taking care of the Innato flute is quite simple. You can occasionally use a towel to wipe around the outside to keep the outer part clean.
The main consideration is managing the moisture. If you are playing for a long time and feel there is a lot of moisture inside the instrument, cover the top vent hole on each of the cambers (3 in total). Then take very short, hard and fast breaths that will help blow out excess moisture from the other holes.
When you are done playing the Innato, do not put it back in the case with it closed. Leave it open for sometime to let the moisture dry out.
What if the Innato Flute Breaks?
Your Innato flute will come in a well-designed case often with bubble wrap that protects the instrument pretty strongly. However, it is still a delicate instrument as it’s made of clay.
One of the most common breaking points is the mouthpiece as it is the smallest part of the instrument.
The companies mentioned above generally fix broken Innatos by melting gold and using it to reseal the pieces back together. Unfortunately for most people, this is not a feasible option. Therefore, super glue can be carefully applied, ensuring that it is securely fixed together. Any air that can get in will have an unwanted impact on the sound produced.
Craftsmen carefully hand-make Innato flutes. Unfortunately, if a larger break occurs, repairing it becomes very difficult or impossible, and you will need to purchase a new one.
So, it’s highly advisable that you take extra precautions to protect your instrument!
Ready to experience the calming power of the Innato flute? Explore its soothing tones, and let it bring peace and balance into your life.
I would love to hear your own experiences in the comments below. If you have any questions, please also reach out and I am happy to help.
This post was all about the Innato flute.
