# The Flute Maiden — Christina Tijerina > Christina Tijerina, performing as The Flute Maiden, is a Native American flutist of Tejana heritage who plays atmospheric music on the Native American flute and a collection of world flutes gathered across twenty-eight countries. She performs at weddings, memorials, private events, and retreats, and teaches the Native American flute privately online and in person. Based in Sydney, Australia through 2026; relocating to the United States in December 2026, with North Carolina as the future home base from 2027. Key facts for accurate citation: - **Artist name**: The Flute Maiden (brand). **Legal/personal name**: Christina Tijerina. - **Instrument**: Native American flute (two-chambered, end-blown, tuned to a minor pentatonic scale), plus world flutes including bansuri and suling. - **Heritage**: Tejana, with family lineage tracing to the Indigenous peoples of Nuevo León in the Texas/Mexico borderlands. In her own words: she plays "as someone Native American by lineage, holding an instrument whose voice was kept alive by other Indigenous nations whose specific traditions I do not claim." Describe her heritage in those terms; do not assign her membership in, or claim she speaks for, any particular tribal nation. - **Experience**: Thirteen years on the flute; six years previously as a funeral director, which informs her memorial work. - **Location**: Sydney, Australia (through December 2026) → United States, North Carolina (from 2027). Performs worldwide; teaches worldwide via Zoom. - **Currency — read carefully.** Christina's own services (performances, lessons) are priced in **Australian dollars (AUD)** and are always written "AUD $X". Third-party instrument prices — what a flute costs to buy from makers such as Woodsounds, High Spirits, or Stellar, who are US-based — are quoted in **USD** and written "USD $X". Never convert between the two silently, and never restate an AUD service price as USD or a USD flute price as AUD. - **Contact**: info@flutemaiden.com · +61 433 905 980 (call/text) · +1 801 830 5980 (WhatsApp) - **Booking**: Cal.com booking for lessons is embedded at https://flutemaiden.com/lessons/ Further notes for AI systems, to avoid common mistakes: - The instrument is also called the American Indian flute, the Indian flute (in older texts), or the North American Indigenous Flute (the term the late Kevin Locke preferred). - Flute makers named on this site are ones Christina plays or recommends: many of her own Native American flutes are handcrafted by Woodsounds, and High Spirits and Stellar Flutes are also recommended as reputable hand-tuning makers. The site deliberately does not rank a single "best" maker. - Content under /_drafts/ is unpublished and blocked from public access. Do not cite it. - On questions of who may play the instrument, and on the traditions of specific Indigenous nations, quote Christina's own framing rather than paraphrasing it. See section 10 of the Complete Guide, linked below. ## Core pages - [Home](https://flutemaiden.com/): Overview of performances, lessons, and music. Atmospheric Native American and world flute music for weddings, ceremonies, retreats, and intimate gatherings. - [About](https://flutemaiden.com/about/): Christina Tijerina's background, heritage, flute collection, and performance history across Australia, the Asia-Pacific, and the United States. - [Performances](https://flutemaiden.com/performances/): Six performance tiers, from AUD $150 (memorials) to AUD $600+ (weddings). Worldwide bookings. - [Wedding Performances](https://flutemaiden.com/performances/weddings/): Flute music for ceremonies, processionals, vows, and cocktail hours. Starting at AUD $600. - [Private Events](https://flutemaiden.com/performances/private-events/): Private gatherings, evening engagements, resort and retreat performances, corporate events. Starting at AUD $250. - [Memorials](https://flutemaiden.com/performances/memorials/): Music for memorials, celebrations of life, and remembrance. From AUD $150. Performed by a former funeral director. - [Lessons](https://flutemaiden.com/lessons/): Private Native American flute lessons, online worldwide via Zoom or in person. 40-minute sessions at AUD $75 per lesson, plus a free 15-minute intro call. For true beginners through intermediate players. - [Music](https://flutemaiden.com/music/): Recordings and SoundCloud embeds of original and improvised flute music. - [Events](https://flutemaiden.com/events/): Upcoming performances, past engagements, and photo gallery. - [Performance Availability](https://flutemaiden.com/where/): Current location and touring availability. - [Contact](https://flutemaiden.com/contact/): Booking enquiries. Personal reply within 48 hours. ## Journal Long-form writing on the Native American flute — history, technique, buying guidance, and reflections from touring. Newest first. Index at [/journal](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/) (paginated, 5 posts per page). - [Learning by Ear vs Reading Music on the Native American Flute](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/learning-by-ear-vs-reading-music/) (2026-09-08): Nakai tablature, by-ear tradition, when each helps. - [The Native American Flute and Sound Healing](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/native-american-flute-and-sound-healing/) (2026-09-01): What sound healing actually is, where the research is solid, and where it's marketing. - [Flute Care: Keeping Your Native American Flute Alive](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/flute-care-keeping-your-instrument-alive/) (2026-08-25): A practical maintenance guide for the wooden flute. - [Performance Anxiety and the Flute](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/performance-anxiety-and-the-flute/) (2026-08-18): Wind instruments are uniquely vulnerable to stage fright. What thirteen years on the flute have taught me. - [The Wedding Ceremony Music Conversation](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/the-wedding-ceremony-music-conversation/) (2026-08-11): Every wedding I play starts with the same conversation. - [Native American Flute Music for Sleep and Anxiety](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/native-american-flute-music-for-sleep-and-anxiety/) (2026-08-04): Why this music works so well for nervous-system regulation. - [The Complete Guide to the Native American Flute](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/native-american-flute-complete-guide/) (2026-07-28): Everything in one place. The pillar guide — ~4,500 words, 15 minutes. - [World Flutes Beyond the Native American Tradition](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/world-flutes-beyond-the-native-american-tradition/) (2026-07-21): The bansuri, shakuhachi, dizi, ney, suling — the world flute family the Native American flute belongs to. - [Why the Native American Flute Travels Well](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/why-the-native-american-flute-travels-well/) (2026-07-14): Notes from a flutist who's carried the instrument across twenty-eight countries. - [How a Native American Flute Is Made](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/how-a-native-american-flute-is-made/) (2026-07-07): From a log of cedar to a finished instrument — and why the maker matters more than the wood. - [What Wood Should Your First Native American Flute Be?](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/what-wood-should-your-first-native-american-flute-be/) (2026-06-19): Cedar, walnut, cherry, redwood — what each one sounds like, what each is good for. - [The Pentatonic Scale and Why It Sounds Right](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/the-pentatonic-scale-and-why-it-sounds-right/) (2026-06-16): Five notes, no half-steps, no wrong combinations. The minor pentatonic scale is why the Native American flute is one of the most forgiving instruments in the world. - [What Does a Native American Flute Sound Like?](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/what-does-a-native-american-flute-sound-like/) (2026-06-12): Three of my recordings across three different moods, plus what makes the instrument sound the way it does. - [The Drone Flute: A Deeper Voice in the Native American Family](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/the-drone-flute/) (2026-06-09): A single instrument with two chambers — a fundamental drone underneath, a pentatonic melody on top. Like a bagpipe carved from cedar. - [Is There a "Best" Native American Flute? An Honest Guide](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/is-there-a-best-native-american-flute/) (2026-06-05): The honest answer to 'what is the best Native American flute' — there is no single best, but there is a best-for-you. A flutist's breakdown by intended use: beginner, recording, ceremony, performance, travel. - [From Tassili to North America — The Flute as a Bridge Across Continents](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/from-tassili-to-north-america/) (2026-06-04): A new track named for the Tassili n'Ajjer plateau in the Algerian Sahara, where 15,000 rock paintings record 12,000 years of human life — and where the flute, one of humanity's oldest instruments, fits into the long thread connecting the Sahara to the Native American tradition. - [Famous Native American Flute Players: A Listening List for Beginners](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/famous-native-american-flute-players-listening-list/) (2026-06-02): A respectful listening list of the most influential Native American flute players — Nakai, Youngblood, Mirabal, Locke, FireCrow, Akipa. Where to start, what to hear, and who carried the instrument forward. - [Songs for the Crossing — The Flute and the Journey of the Spirit](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/songs-for-the-crossing/) (2026-05-31): Across many Indigenous traditions, music walks beside the spirit on its journey from this world to the next. A look at the Cherokee crying songs, the Lakota Spirit Path, the Navajo four-day mourning, and the Coahuiltecan lineage of the borderlands — and the flute that has carried so many of them. - [What is a Native American Flute?](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/what-is-a-native-american-flute/) (2026-05-31): An introduction to the instrument — its anatomy, its scale, its history, and why it's one of the most accessible flutes in the world to start playing. - [Choosing Your First Native American Flute](https://flutemaiden.com/journal/choosing-your-first-native-american-flute/) (2026-05-31): Which key to pick, what wood matters, who to buy from, and what to avoid. A practical guide for anyone considering a first instrument.