Red Ute says, "When I make a flute I start with a piece of wood and I talk to the wood because it came from the earth and grew up in the earth from a little seed.  The tree was created by Grandfather for a purpose.  I hold the piece of wood from the tree and acknowledge the spirit or life energy that is present there.  It was created by Grandfather but now I pray that the wood will be used to create a beautiful sound that will come from Grandfather and that will touch the hearts of all who will play and hear the flute.  I say all of this in my Ute language, which carries a deeper meaning than can be conveyed in English.  But this is a close translation of what I pray for."

Long ago, Ute braves created their flutes out of locally available woods, such as Utah juniper, cottonwood and pine. Traditional flutes were often decorated with buckskin fringes and sometimes painted. Today Red Ute uses a variety of hardwoods; with cherry, walnut, African padauk, aromatic red cedar and mahogany being among his favorites. Generally speaking the more densely packed the grain of the wood, the clearer the tone the flute will produce. Hardwoods give the clearest tone, and the more porous woods, such as red cedar, produce more airy tones. Red Ute's flutes, made with either five or six holes, are considered to be in a "minor tuning" and are made in the keys of E, F, or G. (For a fingering chart and scale, click here.)

Native American Plains-style flutes are unique in their design because they are made with two air chambers. The air is blown into the first chamber and travels up through the first sound hole and then under the block (sometimes called saddle, baffle or bird) and out the second sound hole into the second chamber, which splits the air and creates the sound. The innovative shape of the mouthpiece of Red Ute's flutes-inspired by that of the saxophone-creates a more comfortable embouchure and improves playability.

Red Ute starts with two strips of wood stock that measure 1-1/2" by 22"-24". He drills the sound holes and the fingering holes into one of the pieces.  The inside chambers are shaped with a router bit and then the two pieces of wood are glued together and placed in clamps.  Once the glue has set, the blow hole is drilled in the top of the flute.  Red Ute uses an outside router bit to round the body of the flute.  After sanding it with three grades of sandpaper, a finish of clear paste wax is applied.  Then the reed is cut out of a thin birch veneer and glued to the top of the flute.

The final step is to cut out a block to fit over the reed.  Sometimes Red Ute will carve an eagle head,  a buffalo or an animal fetish out of basswood or red cedar.  Often he carves a simple shape as seen on many of the Ute flutes made in the past.  Each flute is then hand signed with a wood burner--"RU," for Red Ute.  Four dots are also burned around each fingering hole to symbolize the Four Directions and the Four Races of the World.  The flutes are then decorated with deer hide fringes and beadwork designs.