Irish Flute Tunes

Michael Clarkson
  • 4.7 (24)
  • Music
  • Updated Semiweekly

Traditional Irish Tunes Played on the Flute (iflute@googlemail.com)

  1. May 27

    Introduction

    Hello. This site contains recordings I have made as a source of tunes for people who play the flute, or other instruments for that matter. They are often just versions of tunes as I remember them but, as my memory isn’t the best, in some cases I cheat and find the dots online. As often as not, the online versions and the dots inside my head aren't quite the same so there may be a sort of 'average' appearing. I usually play the tunes once through slowly (ish) to make them easier to learn, then I have a bit of a run at them to give another view of them. I hope this approach is OK. If anyone has any comments, or tune suggestions, please get in touch (iflute@googlemail.com). Thanks, Michael Clarkson (Belfast).             In the good old days, there used to be a tune index on the left hand side but Podbean "upgraded" the layout a few years ago and this index was lost. You can now list tunes by type, but this relies a bit on my having categorised them all properly; maybe not all that reliable. The search function at the top of the screen works fine though.

    4 min

  2. May 27

    The Parcel of Land (reel)

    Here's a reel composed by Charlie Lennon, who made up lots of great tunes. He had the ability to make a new tune sound like it had been there for years, thanks to his imagination combined with having heard thousands of traditional tunes thousands of times each over tens of years. Unlike Charlie Lennon, loads of people make up tunes all the time just relying on the imaginatioin bit. Leaving out the ex-perience factor rarely leads to anything useful. Thankfully this tune was made by someone who knew how. Sorry if the playing here lacks similar savvy.    The "session.org" setting   (Here's a picture of a beartán of land. A spleotán would have been too big.)

    2 min

  3. May 21

    The Drunraney Lass (jig)

    Here's a tune written by the concertina player William Mullaly (1884 - ca.1955) from Mullingar. I was reminded of it by a recording of the recently departed fantastic musician Charlie Harris. That recording, along with a recording of William Mullaly himself playing it in the extreme olden days, is available here: The Drunraney Lass on "The Session".   The tune reminds me of "The Lark on the Strand". I'm not sure whether that Lark's egg came before or after this particular Drunraney chicken.

    2 min

  4. May 14

    Jimmy Neary's Jig

    Here's a tune I learned from a recording of the Chicago fiddle player Johnny McGreevy. The session.org call it "By Golly". I was  surrprised to see "By Golly" written on the "session" site without an exclamation mark. So surprised that I nearly said "OMG!!!!!!!!!!".      There's more information about the tune and the Jimmy Neary (and it's played properly!) at https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/457.

    2 min

  5. Apr 7

    The Wexford Lasses

    I might have posted this tune under a different name in the days before AI, but here it is anyway, along with computer generated triplets in the picture below, to go with the flute generated ones in the recording. Sorry if the notation is a bit truncated and twisted. That's all my free Chatgpt account would give me. The rest of the notes are here: Wexford Lasses notation.

    3 min

  6. Mar 3

    John Egan's Reel

    Here's a second post for this Olympic-length posting period. A sensible reel without much musical tautology. Rare enough in our times.   My new (cheap) phone can't seem to handle anything louder than a sigh so the recording is a bit distorted. No harm: I can hide my dodgy tone behind the buzzing. I've been keeping my flute and my mouth in a cupboard for over 9 years so rich resonances are rare in my reels. Or in anything else I do.   John Egan's Reel (thesession.org)

    2 min

  7. Jan 27

    The Crib of Perches (reel)

    I was just reminded yesterday of the existence of this Irish Flute Tunes site by getting my annual subscription receipt from Podbean. So, I thought I might as well put a tune on it to get my money's worth.  I played this one on a very reliable Rob Forbes flute which I got off eBay a little while ago. My wooden flutes are also reliable but my ability to find them is less so. I'm in Belfast at the moment, on holiday from Luxembourg, so (another "so") I'm allowed to play the flute as it's not illegal here. I'll be back in Belfast FOREVER from 1st May. So ... I might go into work retirement and come out of flute retirement. So... À bientôt ...     The Crib of Perches (as "The Session" has it)

    2 min

  8. 06/04/2023

    The Wren Hornpipe

    Here's another tune from O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland. I hadn't noticed it before, despite its being there since 1907. I don't remember ever seeing a wren either. Maybe because they're so small.

    3 min
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About

Traditional Irish Tunes Played on the Flute (iflute@googlemail.com)

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Clarkson
  • Years Active
    2008 - 2026
  • Episodes
    699
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2010 michael clarkson. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Irish Flute Tunes