Well,
I have bitten by the bug and have picked up the NAF and am learning to play. What say you fellow flute and whistle players, out of topic for faire music?. Being in a Gypsy camp, i know we have been everywhere, and i love the tone and sound, but is it relevant to faire?
Marcos
As a gypsy, I don't see why it would be bad for you to be playing. I mean St. Augustine, FL is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the United States and was founded in 1565. Jamestown was found in something like 1606-1607? The Roanoke Colony was around 1585. So the chance for the flute to be carried over is possible.
I personally have played a Native American Flute out at faire for years. Both as Puck (when we did Midsummer and the characters still wandered around parts of KCRF), and as my various Spanish characters.
Of course it's relevent. I just read something where the French were here in Michigan in the mid-1600's, so who knows what they took back to Europe from the Native Americans, and I really think the renaissance age ended around the mid-1700's, when chivalry and swords and flutes and drum music went out of fashion, and were replaced by firearms, and harpsichord and violin music took center stage. So yes, keep us informed on the learning process and good luck. Flutes are quite complex to master. I've tried to play and learn, but I just can't get it right. I'll stick to guitar.