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A flute circle is an organization of musicians which focuses on the Native American flute. Flute circles typically meet periodically to create music together and engage in educational and recreational activities surrounding the instrument. Most flute circles offer instruction on the Native American flute, especially for flutists who are new to the instrument. Many flute circles have a facilitator with experience in group music facilitation and humanistic music education to structure the activities and the music-making.

Flute circle participants may be music professionals, amateurs, or enthusiasts of the Native American flute. Many flute circles focus raising the level of musicality of the participants at all levels of musical experience using basic song forms, music improvisation, and techniques of experiential music education. While some flute circles focus on aspects of indigenous cultures, they do no typically relate to a single culture or tribe.

Flute circles can also organize events for participants to play at events, festivals, school presentations, or in service settings such as senior centers, elder facilities, and group homes. Flute circles have also engaged in their own concerts, produced music albums, and broadcast live music performances.

Community Music
Flute circles are one type of community music gathering that includes drum circles, community choirs, facilitated dance, and community orchestras. However, Mary Jane Jones argues in her thesis that flute circles have particular attributes not found in other types of community music gatherings: "If the goal of flute players is to express themselves through a Native American-based musical means, it could be argued that they should be able to do that just as effectively through drumming or dancing. The answer may lie with the fact that, as a wind instrument, the flute uses not just the hands, but also the breath. Singing is the ultimate form of personal musical expression. The sound is formed from within the body and the words from within the mind. For people who feel that their voices are inadequate or are hindered from singing traditional Native songs because of their inability to speak their ancestral language, using the breath to produce sound through a simple cylinder may serve as a satisfying substitute. The flute can give them a voice."

Organizations
Several national organizations have formed to provide support to local flute circles:


 * WFS &mdash; World Flute Society (U.S.A.)
 * RNAFF &mdash; Renaissance of the North American Flute (U.S.A.)
 * JIFCA &mdash; Japan Indian Flute Circle Association (日本インディアンフルートサークル協会) (Japan)

A roster of registered flute circles is maintained by WFS and RNAFF.

The WFS roster numbered 115 flute circles in 2010, and 130 flute circles as of March 4, 2016. However, the rosters maintained by WFS and RNAFF only represent flute circles registered with those organizations; it is not known how many flute circles exist worldwide.

List of Flute Circles
This list of flute circles, sorted by location (country, then state or province). Only the name, location, and web address is maintained in this list; Please click through (where available) to see the details of the flute circle:

Canada

 * Northern Alberta Native American Flute Circle (Alberta)

New Zealand

 * Wellington Flute Circle

U.S.A.

 * Bentonville Native American Flute Circle (Arkansas)
 * Central Coast Flute Circle (California)
 * Northern California Flute Circle (California)
 * Central Florida Flute Circle (Florida)
 * Gainesville Flute Circle (Florida)
 * Native Son Flute Circle (Florida)
 * Riverwind Flute Circle (Florida)
 * Henry Presbyterian Church Flute Circle (Illinois)
 * Louisiana Native American Flute Circle (Louisiana)
 * Potomac Flute Circle (Maryland)
 * Finger Lakes Flute Circle (New York)
 * Cascadia Flute Circle (Oregon)
 * Spring Cypress Native American Flute Circle (Texas)
 * Zion Flute Circle (Utah)
 * Native American Church of Virginia Flute Circle (Virginia)
 * Northern Virginia Flute Circle (Virginia)
 * Good Medicine Flute Circle (Washington)
 * Washington Flute Circle (Washington)