The story of the love flute

For over twenty years I have been shaping instruments from the great hardwoods of Aotearoa — Black Maire (one of the hardest wood in New Zealand), plus Rata, and Pohutukawa. Each Pharaoh Love Flute is hand-carved and tuned to the sacred Egyptian pentatonic scale (D, E, G, A, B). Every piece may be finished with a polished brass ring framing a sacred Panamou (jade) insert — hand-set to honor the spirit of the flute. The Egyptian Pentatonic scale (often referred to in Western music theory as the Egyptian Sus or Suspended Pentatonic scale) is a beautiful, five-note scale that carries an open, floating, and exotic quality. Because it lacks the tension of certain traditional scale intervals, it sounds incredibly harmonious, making it a favorite for meditative instruments like the hand-crafted Pharaoh Love Flute you are looking at. Black Maire is New Zealand’s hardest native timber, celebrated by luthiers for its incredible density and rich, bell-like acoustic resonance. Crafting an instrument from this rare wood—often compared to Ebony or Lignum Vitae—requires masterful hand-carving and precision tuning. Stones, Brass ring, jade or solid hardwood inserts are optional. Didgeridoos, drums and flutes are all created in the Waitetuna workshop, slowly, in conversation with the wood. No two are alike. Each one carries its own voice and its own story.