Irish Flute Tunes

Here's a reel named after a great Co. Galway piper who moved to America and made a great success of his career as a musician and entertainer. I believe he was hyperphenominal. I just impaled my food (I meant to write "foot" - never ask a spellchecker to make your dinner - fish fingers are where I draw the line)  on a cassette (pre-recorded / legal and all that) of Matt Molloys's first record. Neve...

Here's one a good friend reminded me of recently. I'll now maybe give my poor old Rudall / Willis / Murray creation a chance to rest and settle into its newfound freedom from its 3 year long subescalatory incarceration.

Here's an Ed. Reavy composition.  I was reminded of it this week by the fiddle player Dónal O'Connor - one of Dundalk's finest musical exports to Belfast.

Here's another John Doherty tune. He's been ringing in my ears of late. I remembered after playing the tune that this old flute has low C keys.  Maybe I should have used the C# key in the first part.  On second thoughts, I shouldn't have.  That note belongs on a fiddle.

Here's a John Doherty sort of reel. I can't remember how many times each to play the parts. I was out playing last night and the person who started this very same tune had a similarly random approach to this matter also.

Like a cheap Parisian tablecloth or an Irish Times crossword, or maybe a flag you find by driving far too fast. I'm carrying on with my poor George Rudall's rehabilitation so please forgive the fluffier bits in this playing.

I've just found my poor, neglected George Rudall flute in the cupboard under the stairs. The thing is around three million years old (early 1820s - is that just 2 million then?) and Sam Murray rescued it a bit more recently than the 1820s. It's not firing on all cylinders due to my neglect but I thought this reel would be a fairly gentle device for coaxing it back into some sort of life. I heard t...

This title sounds more like some sort of cherry-topped cup cake but the tune itself sounds like a reel. It's another tune from a many years ago maestro. In this case, the fiddle player James Morrison.

A lot of horses (and a very good Londis supermarket as far as I recall).  This reel was made famous by Michael Coleman who recorded it many years ago.  That could really have gone without saying as he died many years ago.  I heard people saying they knew a tune so well that they could play in in their sleep but never ...

Here's a tune which I'm glad to be able to put on here.  I glad to and an on here at all.  The site www.went away for a while but the hosting people kindly got it back for me. This tune was previously recorded by a flute player called Matt Molloy.  I'm sure some people may have heard of him.

Here's another Reavy tune - a barndance this time.  I'm a bit rusty at it but you should get the idea.

Here's a jig from Mr. Reavy. I'm told it can break a person's arm with one of its wings,

Here's a reel composed by Edward V. Reavy.  I fear it may be somewhat decomposed here by Michael J. C.  Reavy's tunes are usually robust enough to survive even my minor brutalities.  Hopefully this version is learnable.

Here's a good tune (197 in Ceol Rince na hÉireann 3 is almost the same as this version). I played the bits twice in the slower version. I think once is more normal - the unity of one and all that. There's a bit of the bass of a Richard Thompson CD coming through the ceiling too - hopefully not enough to get me into bother for copyright infringement. I was feeling guilty for neglectful cruelty to a...

Here's a reel named after the Kerry fiddle player Denis Murphy - sorry Johnny Cronin. I'm not sure whether to play the parts single or double.  I never thought counting up to 1 would be such a challenge.

Here's a reel in A minor. It often appears in G minor but my fingers aren't feeling too Geed up just yet. It's a nice one for the flute in this key too.

Here's an ornate sort of hornpipe from Paddy Taylor's playing.

Here's a hornpipe which I think De Dannan did.

This poor jig is much maligned.  To add insult to injury I've put it in the 1100 rpm spin cycle towards the end. I think it recovered eventually.

Here's a slightly out of season reel.

I great piping reel. Sure, the flute's only a wooden pipe anyway.

It probably is ... G & T (I'm sorry if I've played this already, although I don't think I have)

Here's a fairly melodic reel.  I can never make out what they're chattering about.

It can be a bit inconvenient when they do that.

Here's a nice hornpipe from the South West.