Irish Flute Tunes

Hell...

Here’s a jig from the South West - mar atá Co. Clare.  I associate it with Willie Clancy.  I’m not sure whether its title refers to the direction the air flowed through his pipes while he played it.  I think my flute was more Mecca-wards when I was playing it on this occasion - that would just be a west wind - with slight precipitation towards the end of the tune. For disciples of the dot there’s always 

Here’s a Gan Ainm - one of a host of Gans Ainm in Breandán Breathnach’s Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2.  At least the person BB got the tune from had an ainm - namely Michael Ryan, a flute player from Co. Sligo, so (that’s ’so’ the conjunction rather than the Sligo ‘SO’ that you may see on a numberplate in Ballymote) I’ll call the tune after Mr. R.   Mr. B. gave the reel the rather appealing number 142 in his book.

Here’s another Lad O’Beirne’s reel.  I don’t know much about it. The notes in dotty form can be found here: http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=1209-misc-tunes2_A-M.abc-30-Lad~O~Beirne~s~Reel~%28a%29~%28key~D%29~%25~misc%3CBB Download Standard Podcasts

Here’s a close relative of the ‘Lark in the Morning’.  This one has fewer parts - from my playing it sounds as though it may be missing a wing and part of its voice. http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=87-cces-tunes2.abc-20-Morning%7ELark Download Standard Podcasts

Here’s a reel I was reminded of today by listening to a recording of Brendan McGlinchey, the great fiddle player from Armagh.  He plays it in C on the recording but I’m all at sea without a paddle in that key for this tune so I’ll wear my hat with a ‘D’ on it for now. Download Standard Podcasts

Here’s another effort on my Rudall and Lazarus flute.  The version of the tune here is decidedly dodgy.  I half learned it lots of moons ago before I ever heard a recording of it.  A more reliable version can be got here: http://tinyurl.com/auc5×3n .  I was reminded of the tune today about 10 minutes after the postman kindly delivered a copy of this lovely recording: http://claddaghrecords.com/WWW/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3521 (the packaging was quite har...

Here’s my latest attempt to play my old Rudall flute.  I’ve been using a combination of insulating tape, knives, scissors, super glue, our child’s skin moisturiser and kettle steam as tools of resuscitation; maybe I should be trying them on the flute. http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=2708-25.abc-1-John~Dwyer~s Download Standard Podcasts

Here’s a jig which comes from up Sligo.  Dots can be found up here: http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=2272-21.abc-1-Up~Sligo Download Standard Podcasts

Here’s an old jig played on an old flute. This poor flute is falling apart, maybe due to modern nasties like central heating which weren’t about when it was young.  It seems not to like being ‘My Warmer Fife’. Download Stand...