Irish Flute Tunes

I don't know which Dillon liked this one - Bob, Thomas or the rabbit from the Magic Roundabout,  but I admire his, her or its taste.

Here's a 12/8 single jig.  It's a sort of pipey thing but a flute can think that it is a pipe when necessary.

There seem to be quite a few tunes with this name.  Most of them are slip jigs.  I think I know what causes them to slip. It took me about ten minutes to get anything even resembling a tune out of my flute this morning.  I'm sorry if this tune sounds excessively reluctant.

Here's a reel I think I heard from James Byrne who is a great fiddle player from Donegal. I'm not sure what scowling looks like (I've led a charmed life) so apologies if the attached image is erroneously selected.

Here's a jig which doesn't seem to get just as much playing as it used to.  Maybe scattering mud has been superseded by slinging it. This version is fairly close to the one on O'Neill's book although my copy is very old and grubby and it can be hard to tell whether some of the black marks are notes or just scattered bits of dirt.

Here's a tune referring to a multi tasking person who can also be drunken, yellow and have daughters.  I'm sure there there are more things to add to that list too.

Here's a popular reel.  I've probably seen an otter as recently as I have played this reel until now and I hope the notes have more or less landed where they belong.

Here's a reel which shares part of its name with a well known flute player.  I'll not say which part of the name applies. I might have played this one on my plastic flute but I'm not sure.  I've been to Dublin and appear to have left most of my memory there.

This is probably cruelty to a Crowley but here's the second half of the pair anyway. I'm posting this in absentia (one of my favourite places) so it will probably be on the wrong side of the introduction for a day. I'm sure that all means nothing but I wanted to type it anyway. (This is another plastic flute experiment)

Here's one I've been asked to play.  I was never sure what to do with the first part (maybe play it on a fiddle) so I might be floundering a bit here.  I hope I haven't mangled it too much.  If I was Charlie and was welcomed by an attempt like mine here I wouldn't be too pleased with Jenny but I did try.

Here's a Crowley's reel.  There are a few of them.  Michael Coleman must have been a fan of Mr. Crowley as he recorded a few tunes named after him.  I've played this one on my plastic flute.  I hope Mr. Crowley doesn't mind.

I know that I heard this tune from the Donegal fiddle player James Byrne but I don't know for sure whether this is it's name. He does play one of this name so there's a chance I'm right. As for whether I remembered how it goes; who knows? I think it sort of goes like this. There's a record of James Byrne's playing which has this tune on it but I have it as an LP and my machine to making LPs sing h...

Here's a tune I was asked to play and used to hear in sessions all the time.  Maybe that's got something to do with the fact that I used to go to sessions all the time.  I made slightly heavy weather of it here.  Maybe I should try playing the crowbar and floating the flute.

Here's a common reel.  I played it here on a plastic flute.  I'm not sure whether playing reels into a computer using a plastic tube is really all that wholesome, or holy for that matter.  I'm pleased with the flute, though.

Here's a nice thing, except if you're a fox.  I suspect no foxes ever look at this site so I'll not be overly concerned about upsetting any of them.

Here's a fairly popular reel from Fermanagh which I heard on a record of Cathal McConnell.  That's all I have to say on the matter.

This reel is also known as "The Mountain Lark".  Neither playing with packets of steam nor larking on mountains are particularly safe activities but playing this tune on a flute should be fairly harmless.

Here's a reel which fairly popular and which I like despite never knowing whether E, F natural of F sharp should be in second part.  Here's a go at it anyway.

Here's a nice reel which Michael Tubridy played on his LP "The Eagle's Whistle".  I've been stealing a lot of tunes from that LP lately which is odd as I haven't heard it for at least ten years.  I have it buried somewhere in my record collection which is, in turn, buried somewhere in my dust collection.

There are world wheels of the reel variety but here are the ones in jig time.  This jig can be found on one of Mary Bergin's records, among other places.

I had intended to post a different tune but I must have forgotten to upload it and as a result it is languishing on my computer at home.  I, on the other hand, am languishing somewhere else. Here's this tune instead.  I think Bobby Casey used to play it.

Here's a reel written by the great flute / whistle / saxophone player and singer Josie McDermott. I think it was called as above but I'm not totally sure. I'm sorry about the minor choking fit towards the end. I should really rerecord the tune but I have to go out before the shop shuts.

Here's a jig which had this name put on it when it was put on "Kerry's Own" Paddy Cronin's LP.  It was made into dots in Ceol Rince na hÉireann Vol. 3 (number 7). I don't think it's played all that often but it is a comfortable tune for playing on a flute.

Here's a nice jig (I have yet to admit to playing any horrible ones but I'm sure there are plenty of emetic melodies on this site) which comes from the tin whistle playing of Paddy Breen from Co. Clare.  Michael Tubridy put it on his LP "The Eagle's Whistle".  There's a recording of Paddy Breen to be got too, in case anyone is really keen. http://www.folktrax.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/menus/cassprogs/0...

I might start using this road myself instead of the train which took 5 hours last Saturday to get there from Belfast. This is yet another popular reel which I hadn't remembered until now.