my first attempts on wooden flute dint go well. i was young and impatient... everything was about RiGHT NOW! so even though i had a gorgeous Terry McGee keyless and a few tunes under my belt, ther was much squeakin n' squawkin and she was permanently retired to her case. that was ovr a year ago (sigh). recently, after watching this great inspirational vid, and b'cuz of the covid-lockdown thingy, i gave her another go and i'am glad i did. for some unknown reason its going really well?! from the first day i took her back out of the case ther were no more squeaks and squawks? i cant hardly evn belive how nice low notes sound with that rasp the vid mentions and second octave notes ring clean and clear. the thing is... i havnt played for over year... i wish i knew what happened??? glad i happen to watch this vid :) kudo's to mr.whistletutor... thank u sir!
This is such a great reply. I find this has happened with various instruments in the past (and present), where a gap has happened for whatever reason which seems to have let the magic settle until next time human hands are on the scene.
Super video. Thanks. I've been playing for about 10 months now, after a year on the whistle before that and a life time of Irish set dancing :) . You are right about getting a good instrument straight away. I'm Irish but living in Belgium and we have Geert Lejeune here making fantastic flutes. I have his Keyless D standard model and it's perfect for learning. I'll be sure to check out your other videos. Thanks again.
Nice beginner/basics of Irish Flute video Sean! After a couple of years of playing the whistle I made the jump to flute too. I decided to get a great instrument right off the bat, so I saved up and placed an order for a keyless Olwell Pratten. It took a year to get it in March of 2019. I used the year wait to practice my whistle and learn a bunch more tunes. Those first few months after receiving the flute were tough but knowing I had a really high quality instrument helped me stick with it since I knew the problem was me and not the flute! It also makes me want to play as much as possible as I want to get good enough to do the flute justice. After a year and a half I feel like I'm sort of starting to get the hang of my embouchure. I still have good days and bad days and I think that is one thing every new player should remember...embouchure is a life-long pursuit and it takes constant practice and maintenance!
That's something I recently had to admit to myself, there are good days and bad :D Sometimes you pick up your flute and you're just dialed in and it seems almost effortless. Then you pick it up the next day and you're thinking "What happened? It's like I lost the last six months of practice." :D
Sorry to be so offtopic but does someone know of a trick to get back into an instagram account..? I was stupid lost the account password. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me.
@Hank Emory thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im in the hacking process atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
I’ve got a flute that’s your run of the mill wooden one, kinda like the one in the video but it’s black and a small bit longer and I’ve been playing flute for 5 years and never really became amazing so I’m just going back over the basic just to help myself. This helped so much because I genuinely wasn’t sure about proper flute care all I really knew was how to disassemble and assemble the flute. I am doing a ton of hornpipes now so this really helped fix my hand positioning for the faster tunes.
Hi, Just subscribed and found the beginner video very helpful. I started on the whistle and have a Killarney tunable D in brass. As far as flute, I bought a wooden one at a folklore centre and it turned out to be made in a medieval key. I contacted Ralph Sweet about it, before he died, since it was a Sweet flute and in exchange for sending it to him he sent me a keyless flute made of rosewood in D. Just starting out on it now. Thanks
I've been playing a Sweetheart blackwood six-hole D fife. I got it at Lark's downtown Seattle store about 30 years ago. It's an octave higher than a D flute. It's beautiful outdoors, but can be quite loud and step all over other instruments at a session. I'd like to get a traditional Irish flute, and your help is appreciated. Thank you for this video.
Very good advice and thanks for showing us your Irish flutes. I have played a Silver flute for about 5 years, not so much in the past 20 years though. I might get inspired again and try an Irish flute.
I'm learning how to play a Chinese Dizi which is shaped and looks exactly like the Irish flute; just sounds different. There's not a lot of guides for the embouchure on a dizi. But I found this video whilst looking for some help. I'm happy to say this video really helped me even though it's for a different kind of flute. The advice applies just the same and after just listening once I'm managing to reliably hold a note. Next step is to refine it as I'm loosing a lot of air. Thank you very much 😊
One thing I will say is that while his smiling-style embouchure works, it is nowadays somewhat frowned upon as it creates a lot of tension in the mouth, and as a result makes you tire sooner and is less flexible. It's why he is getting quite a windy sound when jumping between different notes. Put the flute to one side, and hold your hand a few centimetres away from your face and slightly below. Start with a "p" shape as he said, but instead of pulling your face back into a smile and tightening your jaw to get a tight embouchure, focus instead purely on the gap between your lips, and keep your jaw relaxed, directing the airstream downwards at a ~45° angle onto your hand. Try and get the stream as focused and consistent as possible without tightening your jaw. This results in a downturned but relaxed face, often called the frowning embouchure. Then just place the flute on your bottom lip, and roll it around until your directed airstream splits on the edge of the hole.
I play mandolin and whistle with a local fiddle group. On March, just before our group broke up because of COVID, one of my fiddler buddies handed me a Gary Somers 3-piece aluminum flute. Keep it, he said. I work on it 30-60 minutes at least four times a week. After about six months I finally got to the point that most of the tunes I play on whistle I can play on flute. Not ready for prime time though. My phrasing is terrible because my wind isn’t very efficient. I used to play trumpet so I have all kinds of breathing strategies at my disposal, but with the flute I’m breathing nearly every measure. I’m tempted to take a lesson or two with a Boehm teacher to solve that problem. If I can, then I might graduate to another flute. Thanks for the encouragement.
I’ve playing flute(s) since 1987. But never an irish one until now. I just bought a polymer flute from McNeela in Ireland. I’d love a wooden one, but I know I wont be able to play it on a regular basis, so polymer it is. Sound is surprisingly good and I’m excited to get to know her. 👍
Thanks for this Sean, after many, many hours of playing whistle (various) and the occasional Chinese flute I’ve decided to invest in a Carbony flute for my birthday. Your advice on this video is very well appreciated - thanks and I’m looking forward to getting this Irish flute journey going.
I just received a Doug Tipple pvc Irish flute and am quite happy with it. I have several whistles I play and have always wanted one of these. One day, when I get the money, I would like to buy a wooden one. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you for this video, it really is clearing up some detail for me. I'm seriously considering a flute; I just ordered a low D whistle after a few months of monkeying around with a high D one (my neighbors and friends have suffered enough lol). When we were kids our father sort of set us up to know how to blow across a transverse flute by blowing across our own clasped hands to make a flute-like sound with changeable pitch. Rudimentary but fun, and it got the idea across. He also showed us how reeds work by having us put a blade of grass between our two thumbs and blowing across the blade's edge. Not a pretty sound really, but again it got the idea across. God bless him...smart man...I have him to thank for my love of music.
Great Video. Now I know how to start. I bought and flute at Waltens in Dublin 20 years ago, and I had not had no idea what to do with it .( keyless flute ) . But now I know how to start
Great video. Going to the tin whistle first is a really helpful stepping stone (as well as a great instrument in its own right). Buying a vintage English or German flute can be a bit risky as they often don't play well at modern pitch (and some just don't play well at all).
Finally. I have just bought a Seery flute and kind of struggling because of my small hands.i just needed some encouragement and solution for playing, keeping the embouchure and my hands in the right position.
hey Jude (sounds like a good song title!) small hands here too. i jst got back into wood flute and if u havnt tried the pipers grip u got nothing to lose and maybe everything to gain? worked for me immediately and i couldnt be happier!!! i thot it would take some getting use to, but it really dint. good luck:) edit: for wat its worth... i only use the piper's grip on my right hand (furthest fm the embouchure)
I found a flute at Goodwill a while back as part of a "lot", and thought it's a bit unusual. It is a six hole flute, and does not have any keys. It is made out of a copper pipe, and has a bamboo "mouthpiece". Looks "home made". No markings on it at all. However, it is actually very well tuned in "G". Having only ever played recorders and whistles, I sometimes can get beautiful sounds out of it...most of the times however.... well, that's why I am watching your video now, LOL.
I started taking the flute seriously probably only a couple years ago, played whistles for years before that. The first flute I had was a really terrible used flute that wasn't in tune and was almost impossible to play cleanly. After I got my first low D whistle I became more interested in getting a proper flute so I bought a carbon fiber Irish flute from Erik Sampson down in Florida. I figured it would be a great flute to take my playing to the next level and would be cheaper than a wooden flute and a lot easier to care for. It's a great flute but now I'm looking at one of those Windward's you talked about in this video :D I live in Canada as well so that would probably be the next step up for me. I own a Carbony whistle and it's fantastic so if I wanted another carbon fiber flute I would probably go with them. I really like the feel and sound of carbon fiber for flutes and whistles but that Windward sounds fantastic :D
I very nearly bought a Carbony flute - I was at a festival and went back and forth a bunch and then when I decided to pull the trigger, it was gone. Live and learn!
@@whistletutor I was a little on the fence at first too because of the price but I heard nothing but good things about them so I bought a whistle and it's easily my favourite whistle now. Plays so effortlessly.
I ordered a Casey Burns a few years ago, probably near the end of him making his folk flutes out in Washington. The only things I wish I had were the Eb key and G# key.
I'm a classically trained flutist and I'm having the hardest time with the hand position on a wooden Irish flute. It's tough to figure out which hand position to seal the holes and to play fast technically
Just discovered your channel and wanted to say a big "thank you" for your introductory videos in particular. I've been a standard flute player for years and am now wanting to pick up the Irish flute as well. Would you recommend a "traditional" or a "standard" model in terms of intonation? I figure I will start off with a keyless flute and see how that goes. Then, over time, if it's something I'd like to stick with I'll get a fully-keyed flute. But for now, which do you think would be a better investment as a beginner on Irish flute who already has an extensive background with the standard flute? Thanks!
I've been playing the shakuhachi & the tin whistle for about 3 years now, and will most likely add an irish flute to my arsenal as well! Mostly cause i'm kinda getting sick of only playing my whistle at the local session xD What really surprised me as to how similar the shakuhachi embrochure actually is to that of the flute. I was able to get a good tone out of a flute i tried almost immediately!
@@jacebeleren1703 I think it's fair to say that " even now " the shakuhachi is one of those instruments that will spark the RUclips spellchecker, but not much else. I was staying for a few days in London with a schoolteacher pal, in 1973. He put on A Bell Ringing In The Empty Sky. He said " I was camping in the woods in California, and out of the trees came some guy with a load of shakuhachis round his neck, playing one - he went round making them and selling them " . Needless to say, I ordered a copy of the album a few days later.
@@PIPEHEAD Wow, that's an amazing story! I started out playing a shakuhachi since i heard a cover with it on RUclips, and found out i had a teacher living next door to me! I played it rigorously for about 3 years, and have now stopped to focus more on irish flute, but i can definitely see myself picking it up again in the future, it's such a different vibe!
@@jacebeleren1703 The bit I left out of the story was that the guy had some much better gange than us,. and I was absolutely massacred by Goru Yamaguchi. When he said he was going to put side 2 on I asked him not to, I couldn't take it, it was just so powerful. I ordered the album straight away and it remains one of my all time faves, along with another on the same label - The Voice Of A Hundred Colours, a sarangi album by Ram Narayan. As for the flute, I have a Tony Dixon plastic flute, and I've decided I wouldn't even want a nice wooden one, because of the weight. There's more to life than tone, and where I come from, tone means classical, and that's bad .....................
Hi Sean, I'm transitioning from classical flute to Irish, and the biggest issue I'm coming across (besides learning to play by ear rather than reading) is the grip. Coming from classical flute, I naturally want to use the same grip you do, but my fingers can't easily reach the holes and I come away from a practice session with pain, especially in my left hand. I'm slowly getting used to a piper's grip in my right hand, but I can't for the life of me cover the holes enough in my left hand unless I go back to a classical grip, which of course brings back the pain. Even when I concentrate on keeping my hand relaxed, I develop soreness because of the stretch, particularly between the second and third holes. Any suggestions? It's also worth noting I am very petite. I'm hoping to be able to stick with my Pratten style flute because I love that more gritty sound that you mentioned, but I of course don't want to cause myself any permanent damage.
I hope that makers will create a vertical ‘serpent’ flute with the swan neck headjoint in very low pitches: alto, tenor (former bass), bass (former contrabass), contrabass (former double contrabass) etc and made in Grenadilla with low G. These will be simple fingerings and less expensive than a Boehm system. Also I hope that they will make Sopranino and garklein tin whistles and keyed whistles, which are held horizontally.
Do you recommend any particular embouchure cut? Many builders offer either a traditional oval or a more square cut. I’ve seen some cautions against square cuts for beginners because it may shortcut your learning in a way that hurts long term progress.
Thanks for all the good info. I backed off flute because I started having issues with my neck but I am beginning to think it may have been tension I was causing by not relaxing and trying to make my clear notes. I had gone back to the whistle thinking if I kept my head forward I would have no issue which did work. I am checking out flutes again because even with a low D whistle that I have you can not beat the sound of a low D wooden whistle which I just love. I am looking at a cocus wood or rosewood whistle but think the cocuswood whistle may sound a little better. They are keyless but sectional. I really wonder and think to myself the stiff neck issue must have been caused by myself not relaxing. Any comments would be appreciated. Thank you.
Anytime it's hurting, something's wrong. You bring up a good point and one which I didn't really go into in the video, that of posture. I think I'm not alone in Irish session players when I can say I have terrible posture. I kinda goes with the territory: squished up against a bar jammed in with other folks isn't the best environment for perfect posture. That said, if I'm playing and feel my back or my neck hurting then I know I need to sit up or at least sit differently because if there shouldn't ever be any pain while you're playing.
I play Tin Whistle and decided to buy a flute. I have a Rob Forbes D flute (he's in Colorado). I've tried and tried to build my embouchure but it's been dicey, to say the least. This video really helped me to see how to place my mouth and most importantly, where to aim with your breath. Just picked it up a few minutes ago, and it's like "night and day." Haven't ventured into the upper octave yet, but the lower octave is so much better. Thank you so much for your tips. Do you teach, by the way?
Have been playing a silver concert flute (in C) during my high school year. Only now starting with Irish music and a wooden flute. Loving the sound!🧡 The fact that it's in D and the ornaments are my biggest concern. Is that mostly the same as with your tin whistle then? Does somebody have tips for that transition in specific?
Unfortunately I can't play silver flute to save my life - I can get a tone because the embouchure concepts are pretty similar - but the fingers are significantly different and I have no idea what I'm doing when I'm handed one of those. You might have luck starting with the whistle and getting a feel for the tunes and the different phrasing in Irish traditional music. Once you get that down I bet you'll have no trouble switching to Irish flute since you've already got the embouchure sorted out. Good luck with it!
Have you kept with the wooden flute? Do you have any pearls of wisdom now. Interesting fact about the lip plate on the silver flute compared to no lip plate on the wooden flutes shown: The lip plate was created so that a metal flute would have the same thickness as a wooden flute at this point. Theobald Boehm-the pioneer of the metal flute-proposed adding the lip plate in order to make the instrument easier to play.
L'archipel du corps (2011) for flute, guitar, accordion & percussion will be rearranged for a A-flat Piccolo, B-Flat Mezzo-Soprano/D'Amore Flute, and a D Tenor Serpent Flute (Irish counterpart to the C Tenor Flute) and the last two have extended footjoints to Low A (G) and Low G respectively. The guitar, accordion, and percussion parts are going to remain the same!!!!!!
I’m coming from the concert flute so I think I’ll just dive right in to a fully keyed Irish flute. I’m also really excited to get one because the Irish flute sounds so similar to the baroque flute so I can’t wait to try playing baroque music on it once I get the hang of it. Curious though. Have you tried playing a concert flute yet, Sean? How are you on it?
I hope that makers will create a vertical ‘serpent’ flute with the swan neck headjoint and flute-type embouchure in very low pitches: alto, tenor (former bass), bass (former contrabass), contrabass (former double contrabass) etc and made in Grenadilla with low G extension. These will be simple fingerings and less expensive than a Boehm system. Also I hope that they will make Sopranino and garklein tin whistles and keyed whistles, which are held horizontally from high Eb to bass G!!! It'll be innovative!!!!!!
Hi, I’m a new player of the Irish flute and having a hard time covering the holes consistently. I bought a Carbony flute with “silver flute spacing” ( I play a silver flute) and even so, I’m having a hard time. Any advice?
Thank you for this wonderful informative video! Perhaps you’ve already answered this, seeing as your video has been out on yt for a couple years, but I’ll ask it anyway! I have played the trad flute since age 12 (now 52) and would like to learn how to play Irish flute(s). Can a traditional flute be played like an Irish flute? I’m so comfortable on/with my instrument that I’d of course prefer to stick with what I’m familiar with, if possible! But if that is perhaps frowned upon, or if it would help me to learn to play a completely different flute altogether, I’d like to know that. Tin whistle? One of the other flutes you demonstrated? I can easily play and am skilled in all basic key signatures, but my quick fingering skills will definitely need a lot of work. But will my “band” flute suit my wish to play Irish tunes?😊
If by trad flute you mean Boehm/silver flute then yes, it definitely can be done it's just pretty rare to see it done well. Joanie Madden is and incredible silver flute and tin whistle player in the trad world (what we call Irish trad, hence my possible confusion) but there aren't many others that I'm aware of. You have a huge advantage in that you've already got the embouchure down which is so much of the struggle with any type of flute. Your challenge will be the style but as Joanie's proved, that style can be applied to the silver flute just as it can be to the whistle or the wood flute. That said, a whistle is useful because it lets you focus on the fingers without having to think about the embouchure. Maybe even consider it a practice tool? Cheers!
Is the keyless flute you have there with a metal interior or fully wood. I have a 400Hz D baroque flute but only thing is you cant play outside anywhere cold as risk of breakage to the wood
No, the head joint is only wood - the metal tuning slide is surrounded by cork and wood which (I'm assuming) gives the wood the ability to flex against the inflexible metal
When I play the flute my left hand always cramps up? I’m putting barely any pressure or gripping it hard it’s just starts to cramp when I play? Any idea why?
Thank you for the info. I know this video is a year old but I''ve been playing tinwhistle for a while now and looking to start Irish flute (I'm classical trained)...is 6 months too soon or would you wait longer?
Not at all, if you're ready to dive in then go for it - I'd just advise to work on both (whistle and flute) as continuing to play the whistle will definitely help the progress on the flute. Cheers!
I hope because of the advancement of technology, The Irish flute makers will create the (Alto, Tenor, Baritone (Contralto), Bass, and Contrabass etc) flutes in a serpentine or a traditional flute style with low G footjoints made out of 3D printing or Blackwood. They’ll use simple fingerings and ornaments. They’ll have swan neck horizontal embouchures and headjoints. They will be held vertically. Boehm-system versions of these instruments will also be available. The most common of these will be the tenor size (an octave below the standard D flute)!!!! It’ll be innovative!! They’ll be called serpent flutes!!!!
thanks for the brief mention on maintenance, I just purchased a mcneela black keyless, (and by the way what's your opinion of them) it's my first wooden instrument and i'm not sure about assembly or maintenance, any suggestions?
I've never played one of their flutes but I've played a couple whistles and they're lovely - I'd be surprised if the flutes were sub-par as McNeela puts out some good stuff across the board, as far as I've seen.
How do you like the flute from McNeela? I've just ordered one (coming from a background in classical flute). I got the Lon Dubh as I didn't want to deal with the wood maintenance until I'm sure I want to keep going with it. I don't know if the transition from one flute to the other might drive me crazy, lol.
Having played classical flute in the school orchestra many years ago, I was surprised how much work there is in getting that quality sound from a naturally soft embouchure. Doesn't help having a beard either. So I have a hybrid grip - pipers grip left hand and fingertips for the right hand. It seems to work well. But I quickly ran up to the limits of a cheap first flute from Carbonny. I am not going to buy anymore carbon fiber instruments, without being very strongly urged to consider the material. It just doesn't sound good to me in flute or whistle.
How old is this type of of flute? My 2 x great grandfather brought a flute with him from Ireland in 1849. He settled in Philadelphia. His wife who lived to a 100 mentioned this flute in a 1915 article from a local Reading Pa article. My dad said he use to play with a flute his grandfather had, and a diary entry of a great aunt talks of this flute.
I recently started playing recorder and I am loving it. The only thing I don't like about the recorder is that I would like a louder wind instrument. Without going into concert flute territory, Is there anything like the Irish flute but chromatic? Something that would work well with folk music and is open holed?
@@whistletutor Awesome, thanks! I'll keep on with the Adris' Dream recorder for now while I learn the fundamentals, and start learning about these transverse flutes.
I'm on the tin wistle for now. But what's the difference between a Irish flute and a any transversal flute? Like those old Chinese bambu ones (if you have said that in the video I didn't got there yet)
An "Irish flute" is technically just an old style of flute usually made of wood before they were made out of metal and all the keys added. It's what somebody would have used in a band or orchestra before the metal flutes came about. Then when the metal ones came out, people sold their wooden ones and their were a glut on the market for people to buy up and use for traditional music, or at least that's what I had read somewhere. If you get into more exotic LOOKING flutes, then you may have different scales or different ways of even making a sound. A fife, for example, is completely different...well...mostly. It's not played with the same fingerings, and if you try to, it'll likely be in a different key, so you can't play with others, and it's not made to be played in the same register.
I bought an Irish flute a few weeks ago, but honestly what I’ve been having more trouble with than anything is actually getting any sound out of it at all. I can tell I’m hitting the correct spot, but still, nothing is coming out at all.
I play the concert flute. And would love to play the Irish flute .but I gave found my hands .ie fingers are nowhere big enough to reach. .do they do a smaller sizes ?
Yes indeed - there are smaller-holed flutes such as some of the Rudall & Rose/Carte styles. If you want to go on a deep dive I'd recommend Terry McGee's website. The man is an encyclopedia of flute knowledge! www.mcgee-flutes.com/
My mother inherited a wooden flute from her parents. We always thought it was ebony, but when she loaned it to a musician, she was told it wasn't. He said it was most likely used in an Irish band in an Irish pub a couple hundred years ago, which makes sense to my mother as she remembers her father talking about Irish ancestors who moved to Australia (my mother is 76 and her father died in 1987 aged 79). It looks more like the keyed one you have, but I haven't laid eyes on it for 20 years so can't be sure. Are there different types of those flutes? My mother isn't the best with remembering important information (she never has been) so she can't even remember what the guy told her just a couple of weeks ago. How do I get more information about black, keyed, wood flutes without having the instrument to look at?
Ooo that's tricky - most wood flutes will have a makers mark either on the main part of the barrel or on each section (or possibly each key) so if you can get your mom to inspect for that it might be a good start. But if you're in Australia and if you happen to be anywhere near Canberra there's a brilliant flute maker and flute historian named Terry McGee who would probably be a good option if you were able to get him to take a look at it.
Well I'm not sure what your home situation is like, but there's a good chance you don't *have* to do anything :) If you'd like to learn music notes you're more than welcome to do so, but there are plenty of Irish musicians who can't read music so it's really up to you.
Can you play the Irish flute left handed? I’ve played tin whistle as a kid and am thinking about getting a flute but accidentally taught myself the tin whistle backwards with my right hand on top.
Definitely - when it comes to keyed whistles you'd need to have one made to suit right-over-left playing, but it's not too hard to make that happen since all good keyed flutes are handmade anyway. That said, I started out playing right-over-left by accident as well and switched after about 6 months or so because I started into the highland bagpipes and it was harder to find left-handed pipes at the time.
Interesting question - and one I just got recently in-person. I'd say it's probably still useful though not as much as it would be for someone coming at the flute brand new.
question, I would like to try playing an Irish flute, but i did not wish to pay several hundred dollars/pounds ,is there any point in buying one of the very cheap wooden flutes on ebay as a starter?
I wouldn't suggest it. I've played one or two that somebody has purchased near me and on one, the crown at the embouchure end wasn't secured enough to stay in, which means it surely wasn't keeping are inside the instrument. I ended up ripping off a long string of paper and wrapping it around the part of the crown that would usually be inside the flute. I was able to seal it up enough for it to make a sound, but the intonation was bad and it just wasn't fun in general. The only thing that I might say, if you can spend on a Tony Dixon low D tunable whistle, maybe consider also getting the flute embouchure as well? I've heard it isn't great, but at least at that point you have a half decent whistle at least. Occasionally I've been able to play somebody's instrument at a session, so if you already go to any, you might see if you can try any of theirs, if you're able to play any flute that is, like have the ability.
No, both of my flutes are Pratten style - (tunable) headjoint -> main body -> footjoint. Rudall style are headjoint -> top hand body -> lower hand body -> footjoint. And they tend to have smaller holes as well.
I don't play whistle at all. I used to play clarinet and was very good, but it's been a while. Would it be foolish to start with the flute instead of the whistle?
Whistle is usually no more than $20 for something even halfway decent, that's if you buy one locally and don't have to pay for shipping. To me, it just makes sense to have a whistle, especially a cheap one. It gives you a different feel while basically doing the same thing, at least in terms of fingering.
Do you know if there is a major difference between traditional flutes and western concert flutes (wcf). I have been playing a wcf for 26 years. Should I still start with the tin whistle?
Biggest difference is your Fnat is now F#. That's good because most Irish music is in G, D and their relative minors. Accidentals are rare, so your F is almost always sharp. Easier to have the fingering consecutive rather than skipping to the middle or ring finger. There is no embouchure plate, middle C is fingered differently and wood gives you a darker, mellower sound. The bore tapers like a cone from end to end, so you might find it takes more air at first. There are some fine players that use the metal Boehm flute, but I've never liked the sound for Irish. After 26 years, I would bypass whistle. It's a different animal than flute and would set you back.
When you say wcf, do you just mean like something somebody would start out in a band class in the key of C? Look at the flute that Joanie Madden plays. I began playing flute with my silver flute in 1995. There's really no reason to NOT have a tin whistle, since they're so cheap, but there's no reason you'd NEED to play one first. I play a Powell as my main flute and it was my degree in college. The only downside is that it costs a bit more to find a wooden trad flute that you're happy with if you've got even a GOOD silver flute, a flute that you've recently had serviced and you know that all the keys close perfectly and the pads are good. My wooden flute was $400 and I'm fairly happy with it, but it doesn't BARK in the low notes the way my Powell does....which is of course substantially more expensive. Just get a $15 whistle, like a Generation or a Clarke, and find a trad flute. If you've been playing flute the whole time, you should have no problem with the embouchure. The reason why I suggest a whistle is because it's got a different tone, can play different stuff, and just has a unique sound that is easy to jump into. Then if you have a low whistle at all, like a D, it can have a pretty mysterious, folk-like sound even more. It's just an awe really.
I'm loosing consciousness, this is hard. 😅 Is there anything to help set your lips? I'm thinking computer keyboard F and J key nubs. Maybe use the bottom lip to feel the hole? I know it's possible but I can't for the love of me to get any decent sounds out of this flute. Just like yours. 7 holes
I'm curious about the Irish Flute. I am also confused. I played Bb clarinet in school. I still have one. To me, a C flute with the chromatic keys is a flute, it plays any note put in front of it. In any key that music is written. I think? that an Irish Flute is more like a tin whistle that you blow across rather than blow into the...fipple? Not sure. You were playing an Irish flute with no additional keys and called it a certain key flute. So again, it's like a penny whistle and you have to buy a bunch of different flutes in different keys to play music? Why not just get one flute and use the keys to play in every key? I don't understand why that wouldn't be the norm. Is there a chromatic Irish Whistle?
It's more a matter of using the right tool for the job. The keyless Irish/wooden flute and tin whistle are both great for tunes and songs in the keys of D, G, and A major, as well as relative minors Em, Bm, Dm, and Am. Not-coincidentally-at-all, 99% of all Irish tunes are written in the keys of D, G, and A major, plus the relative minors. So those instruments work great for what they're meant for. If however, you want to play Mozart in Bb then you're going to need a fully-keyed Irish flute, a lot of alcohol, and a therapist; or you're going to want a classical, Boehm-style silver flute since that's the right tool for *that* job.
@whistletutor lol! The Baroque period is my favorite to play and sing, much less harpsichord and more robust and challenging fugue. I have high D, high C, and a Bb penny whistles so far. 2 regular band flutes, a clarinet, 2 ukes, and a mountain dulcimer. It's a fugue in my head trying to fathom keys and... ionian, I have no idea about the other stuff. I never played a chort until the ukulele a few years ago.
my first attempts on wooden flute dint go well. i was young and impatient... everything was about RiGHT NOW! so even though i had a gorgeous Terry McGee keyless and a few tunes under my belt, ther was much squeakin n' squawkin and she was permanently retired to her case. that was ovr a year ago (sigh). recently, after watching this great inspirational vid, and b'cuz of the covid-lockdown thingy, i gave her another go and i'am glad i did. for some unknown reason its going really well?! from the first day i took her back out of the case ther were no more squeaks and squawks? i cant hardly evn belive how nice low notes sound with that rasp the vid mentions and second octave notes ring clean and clear. the thing is... i havnt played for over year... i wish i knew what happened??? glad i happen to watch this vid :) kudo's to mr.whistletutor... thank u sir!
I would love a wooden flute
This is such a great reply. I find this has happened with various instruments in the past (and present), where a gap has happened for whatever reason which seems to have let the magic settle until next time human hands are on the scene.
Super video. Thanks. I've been playing for about 10 months now, after a year on the whistle before that and a life time of Irish set dancing :) . You are right about getting a good instrument straight away. I'm Irish but living in Belgium and we have Geert Lejeune here making fantastic flutes. I have his Keyless D standard model and it's perfect for learning. I'll be sure to check out your other videos. Thanks again.
Nice beginner/basics of Irish Flute video Sean! After a couple of years of playing the whistle I made the jump to flute too. I decided to get a great instrument right off the bat, so I saved up and placed an order for a keyless Olwell Pratten. It took a year to get it in March of 2019. I used the year wait to practice my whistle and learn a bunch more tunes. Those first few months after receiving the flute were tough but knowing I had a really high quality instrument helped me stick with it since I knew the problem was me and not the flute! It also makes me want to play as much as possible as I want to get good enough to do the flute justice. After a year and a half I feel like I'm sort of starting to get the hang of my embouchure. I still have good days and bad days and I think that is one thing every new player should remember...embouchure is a life-long pursuit and it takes constant practice and maintenance!
Congrats! Can't go wrong with an Olwell!
That's something I recently had to admit to myself, there are good days and bad :D Sometimes you pick up your flute and you're just dialed in and it seems almost effortless. Then you pick it up the next day and you're thinking "What happened? It's like I lost the last six months of practice." :D
Sorry to be so offtopic but does someone know of a trick to get back into an instagram account..?
I was stupid lost the account password. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me.
@Reign Bishop Instablaster =)
@Hank Emory thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im in the hacking process atm.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
Finally picked up an irish flute from previous classical flute and whistle, excited to dive in :)
Nicely explained and very helpful.
Thanks for making the video and for taking the time to upload.
I’ve got a flute that’s your run of the mill wooden one, kinda like the one in the video but it’s black and a small bit longer and I’ve been playing flute for 5 years and never really became amazing so I’m just going back over the basic just to help myself. This helped so much because I genuinely wasn’t sure about proper flute care all I really knew was how to disassemble and assemble the flute. I am doing a ton of hornpipes now so this really helped fix my hand positioning for the faster tunes.
Hi, Just subscribed and found the beginner video very helpful. I started on the whistle and have a Killarney tunable D in brass. As far as flute, I bought a wooden one at a folklore centre and it turned out to be made in a medieval key. I contacted Ralph Sweet about it, before he died, since it was a Sweet flute and in exchange for sending it to him he sent me a keyless flute made of rosewood in D. Just starting out on it now. Thanks
Sir, your teaching for beginners is excellent. Wish you the year 2024, a very happy, prosperous and peaceful year!
This is a high quality video . Excellent explanations . Thank you
Thank you so much for this video.... so helpful. Greatly appreciate all the information you shared.
I've been playing a Sweetheart blackwood six-hole D fife. I got it at Lark's downtown Seattle store about 30 years ago. It's an octave higher than a D flute. It's beautiful outdoors, but can be quite loud and step all over other instruments at a session. I'd like to get a traditional Irish flute, and your help is appreciated. Thank you for this video.
Very good advice and thanks for showing us your Irish flutes. I have played a Silver flute for about 5 years, not so much in the past 20 years though. I might get inspired again and try an Irish flute.
Excellent video. So clear and informative.
That is cool that you include the link to the Irish Flute Store. I have actually been talking with them about a Tipple D flute
I'm learning how to play a Chinese Dizi which is shaped and looks exactly like the Irish flute; just sounds different. There's not a lot of guides for the embouchure on a dizi. But I found this video whilst looking for some help.
I'm happy to say this video really helped me even though it's for a different kind of flute. The advice applies just the same and after just listening once I'm managing to reliably hold a note. Next step is to refine it as I'm loosing a lot of air. Thank you very much 😊
One thing I will say is that while his smiling-style embouchure works, it is nowadays somewhat frowned upon as it creates a lot of tension in the mouth, and as a result makes you tire sooner and is less flexible. It's why he is getting quite a windy sound when jumping between different notes.
Put the flute to one side, and hold your hand a few centimetres away from your face and slightly below. Start with a "p" shape as he said, but instead of pulling your face back into a smile and tightening your jaw to get a tight embouchure, focus instead purely on the gap between your lips, and keep your jaw relaxed, directing the airstream downwards at a ~45° angle onto your hand. Try and get the stream as focused and consistent as possible without tightening your jaw. This results in a downturned but relaxed face, often called the frowning embouchure. Then just place the flute on your bottom lip, and roll it around until your directed airstream splits on the edge of the hole.
I play mandolin and whistle with a local fiddle group. On March, just before our group broke up because of COVID, one of my fiddler buddies handed me a Gary Somers 3-piece aluminum flute. Keep it, he said. I work on it 30-60 minutes at least four times a week. After about six months I finally got to the point that most of the tunes I play on whistle I can play on flute. Not ready for prime time though. My phrasing is terrible because my wind isn’t very efficient. I used to play trumpet so I have all kinds of breathing strategies at my disposal, but with the flute I’m breathing nearly every measure. I’m tempted to take a lesson or two with a Boehm teacher to solve that problem. If I can, then I might graduate to another flute. Thanks for the encouragement.
I’ve playing flute(s) since 1987. But never an irish one until now. I just bought a polymer flute from McNeela in Ireland. I’d love a wooden one, but I know I wont be able to play it on a regular basis, so polymer it is. Sound is surprisingly good and I’m excited to get to know her. 👍
Do you make a sound in the same way as with the transverse flute then?
Or is it slightly different? 🤔
@@1Flyingfist Yearh, pretty much the same 🙂
Thanks for this Sean, after many, many hours of playing whistle (various) and the occasional Chinese flute I’ve decided to invest in a Carbony flute for my birthday.
Your advice on this video is very well appreciated - thanks and I’m looking forward to getting this Irish flute journey going.
I've heard good things about Carbony from folks and I've played a couple of theirs that are lovely - enjoy!
I just received a Doug Tipple pvc Irish flute and am quite happy with it. I have several whistles I play and have always wanted one of these. One day, when I get the money, I would like to buy a wooden one. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you for your tutorial. Just starting out so appreciate the guidance!
Thank you for this video, it really is clearing up some detail for me. I'm seriously considering a flute; I just ordered a low D whistle after a few months of monkeying around with a high D one (my neighbors and friends have suffered enough lol). When we were kids our father sort of set us up to know how to blow across a transverse flute by blowing across our own clasped hands to make a flute-like sound with changeable pitch. Rudimentary but fun, and it got the idea across. He also showed us how reeds work by having us put a blade of grass between our two thumbs and blowing across the blade's edge. Not a pretty sound really, but again it got the idea across. God bless him...smart man...I have him to thank for my love of music.
That's a great story, thank you! And I'm glad the video is helping :)
Thank you..very helpful... have been considering an Irish flute for some time... answered a lot of questions for me....
I play flute in school I had no idea there was a wood flute this looks awesome and fun cool vid 👍
Great video. Very helpful! I just graduated from penny whistle to getting my first flute. Thanks for the help!
mate is not graduating it picking up a new instrument. tin whistle is a beautiful instrument that one can never truly master
Thanks for this Sean, much appreciated 👍🏽
Good stuff! Just got a flute and this covers so much.
very nice video thank you. i saw the irish flute the first time in a cafe'. was mystified. keep up the great work
Great Video. Now I know how to start. I bought and flute at Waltens in Dublin 20 years ago, and I had not had no idea what to do with it .( keyless flute ) . But now I know how to start
At last! I was waiting for that long time :)
Great video! That’s a nice (and expensive) Flute (the Windward) ya’ got there Mister! Thanks! 🎻✌️🙂😎
Very helpful, thank you!
Wow. Super video. Thanks.
thank you! nice introduction to flute
Great video. Going to the tin whistle first is a really helpful stepping stone (as well as a great instrument in its own right). Buying a vintage English or German flute can be a bit risky as they often don't play well at modern pitch (and some just don't play well at all).
Definitely true! Sometimes they're great, sometimes not :)
Lovely .and very helpful .
Great tips. I have a Cocuswood keyless flute on the way from McNeela music in Dublin. Looking forward to growling!
I'm looking at purchasing the same type of flute from the same company. Have you received it yet? What is your opinion?
Very interesting! And i like your play ose flutes. Very nice sound..
Thanks a bunch for the kind words!
Finally. I have just bought a Seery flute and kind of struggling because of my small hands.i just needed some encouragement and solution for playing, keeping the embouchure and my hands in the right position.
Congrats, Seery's are lovely! Good luck with it!
hey Jude (sounds like a good song title!) small hands here too. i jst got back into wood flute and if u havnt tried the pipers grip u got nothing to lose and maybe everything to gain? worked for me immediately and i couldnt be happier!!! i thot it would take some getting use to, but it really dint. good luck:)
edit: for wat its worth... i only use the piper's grip on my right hand (furthest fm the embouchure)
I found a flute at Goodwill a while back as part of a "lot", and thought it's a bit unusual. It is a six hole flute, and does not have any keys. It is made out of a copper pipe, and has a bamboo "mouthpiece". Looks "home made". No markings on it at all. However, it is actually very well tuned in "G". Having only ever played recorders and whistles, I sometimes can get beautiful sounds out of it...most of the times however.... well, that's why I am watching your video now, LOL.
I started taking the flute seriously probably only a couple years ago, played whistles for years before that. The first flute I had was a really terrible used flute that wasn't in tune and was almost impossible to play cleanly. After I got my first low D whistle I became more interested in getting a proper flute so I bought a carbon fiber Irish flute from Erik Sampson down in Florida. I figured it would be a great flute to take my playing to the next level and would be cheaper than a wooden flute and a lot easier to care for. It's a great flute but now I'm looking at one of those Windward's you talked about in this video :D I live in Canada as well so that would probably be the next step up for me. I own a Carbony whistle and it's fantastic so if I wanted another carbon fiber flute I would probably go with them. I really like the feel and sound of carbon fiber for flutes and whistles but that Windward sounds fantastic :D
I very nearly bought a Carbony flute - I was at a festival and went back and forth a bunch and then when I decided to pull the trigger, it was gone. Live and learn!
@@whistletutor I was a little on the fence at first too because of the price but I heard nothing but good things about them so I bought a whistle and it's easily my favourite whistle now. Plays so effortlessly.
Windward flute sounds great. Like to hear your magee flute up close
I ordered a Casey Burns a few years ago, probably near the end of him making his folk flutes out in Washington. The only things I wish I had were the Eb key and G# key.
I'm a classically trained flutist and I'm having the hardest time with the hand position on a wooden Irish flute. It's tough to figure out which hand position to seal the holes and to play fast technically
Would you consider a similar video on synthetic flutes? I've read good reviews of Doug Tipple's flutes and Gary Sommers as well.
Hah! just got my first irish flute! its ebony with silver fittings and i also got it from lark in the morning
Just discovered your channel and wanted to say a big "thank you" for your introductory videos in particular. I've been a standard flute player for years and am now wanting to pick up the Irish flute as well. Would you recommend a "traditional" or a "standard" model in terms of intonation? I figure I will start off with a keyless flute and see how that goes. Then, over time, if it's something I'd like to stick with I'll get a fully-keyed flute. But for now, which do you think would be a better investment as a beginner on Irish flute who already has an extensive background with the standard flute? Thanks!
Which maker is offering traditional vs standard intonation? I've never heard of that before so I'm not going to be much help there I'm afraid
I've been playing the shakuhachi & the tin whistle for about 3 years now, and will most likely add an irish flute to my arsenal as well! Mostly cause i'm kinda getting sick of only playing my whistle at the local session xD
What really surprised me as to how similar the shakuhachi embrochure actually is to that of the flute. I was able to get a good tone out of a flute i tried almost immediately!
Now there's a cool opening phrase ! .............................
@@PIPEHEAD Surprised by the shakuhachi bit? xD
@@jacebeleren1703 I think it's fair to say that " even now " the shakuhachi is one of those instruments that will spark the RUclips spellchecker, but not much else. I was staying for a few days in London with a schoolteacher pal, in 1973. He put on A Bell Ringing In The Empty Sky. He said " I was camping in the woods in California, and out of the trees came some guy with a load of shakuhachis round his neck, playing one - he went round making them and selling them " . Needless to say, I ordered a copy of the album a few days later.
@@PIPEHEAD Wow, that's an amazing story!
I started out playing a shakuhachi since i heard a cover with it on RUclips, and found out i had a teacher living next door to me!
I played it rigorously for about 3 years, and have now stopped to focus more on irish flute, but i can definitely see myself picking it up again in the future, it's such a different vibe!
@@jacebeleren1703 The bit I left out of the story was that the guy had some much better gange than us,. and I was absolutely massacred by Goru Yamaguchi. When he said he was going to put side 2 on I asked him not to, I couldn't take it, it was just so powerful. I ordered the album straight away and it remains one of my all time faves, along with another on the same label - The Voice Of A Hundred Colours, a sarangi album by Ram Narayan. As for the flute, I have a Tony Dixon plastic flute, and I've decided I wouldn't even want a nice wooden one, because of the weight. There's more to life than tone, and where I come from, tone means classical, and that's bad .....................
Hi Sean, I'm transitioning from classical flute to Irish, and the biggest issue I'm coming across (besides learning to play by ear rather than reading) is the grip. Coming from classical flute, I naturally want to use the same grip you do, but my fingers can't easily reach the holes and I come away from a practice session with pain, especially in my left hand. I'm slowly getting used to a piper's grip in my right hand, but I can't for the life of me cover the holes enough in my left hand unless I go back to a classical grip, which of course brings back the pain. Even when I concentrate on keeping my hand relaxed, I develop soreness because of the stretch, particularly between the second and third holes. Any suggestions?
It's also worth noting I am very petite. I'm hoping to be able to stick with my Pratten style flute because I love that more gritty sound that you mentioned, but I of course don't want to cause myself any permanent damage.
Great timing, just about to go pick up my first flute. Go raibh maith agat
Good luck with it - cheers!
I hope that makers will create a vertical ‘serpent’ flute with the swan neck headjoint in very low pitches: alto, tenor (former bass), bass (former contrabass), contrabass (former double contrabass) etc and made in Grenadilla with low G. These will be simple fingerings and less expensive than a Boehm system. Also I hope that they will make Sopranino and garklein tin whistles and keyed whistles, which are held horizontally.
Do you recommend any particular embouchure cut? Many builders offer either a traditional oval or a more square cut. I’ve seen some cautions against square cuts for beginners because it may shortcut your learning in a way that hurts long term progress.
I was in beginning band in jr. high I had to learn how to play recorder flute and things and trumpet., just trying to learn by watching.
Thanks for all the good info. I backed off flute because I started having issues with my neck but I am beginning to think it may have been tension I was causing by not relaxing and trying to make my clear notes. I had gone back to the whistle thinking if I kept my head forward I would have no issue which did work. I am checking out flutes again because even with a low D whistle that I have you can not beat the sound of a low D wooden whistle which I just love. I am looking at a cocus wood or rosewood whistle but think the cocuswood whistle may sound a little better. They are keyless but sectional. I really wonder and think to myself the stiff neck issue must have been caused by myself not relaxing. Any comments would be appreciated. Thank you.
Anytime it's hurting, something's wrong. You bring up a good point and one which I didn't really go into in the video, that of posture. I think I'm not alone in Irish session players when I can say I have terrible posture. I kinda goes with the territory: squished up against a bar jammed in with other folks isn't the best environment for perfect posture. That said, if I'm playing and feel my back or my neck hurting then I know I need to sit up or at least sit differently because if there shouldn't ever be any pain while you're playing.
I play Tin Whistle and decided to buy a flute. I have a Rob Forbes D flute (he's in Colorado). I've tried and tried to build my embouchure but it's been dicey, to say the least. This video really helped me to see how to place my mouth and most importantly, where to aim with your breath. Just picked it up a few minutes ago, and it's like "night and day." Haven't ventured into the upper octave yet, but the lower octave is so much better. Thank you so much for your tips. Do you teach, by the way?
I do - and glad to hear the video helped, good luck with the new flute!
Have been playing a silver concert flute (in C) during my high school year. Only now starting with Irish music and a wooden flute. Loving the sound!🧡 The fact that it's in D and the ornaments are my biggest concern. Is that mostly the same as with your tin whistle then? Does somebody have tips for that transition in specific?
Unfortunately I can't play silver flute to save my life - I can get a tone because the embouchure concepts are pretty similar - but the fingers are significantly different and I have no idea what I'm doing when I'm handed one of those. You might have luck starting with the whistle and getting a feel for the tunes and the different phrasing in Irish traditional music. Once you get that down I bet you'll have no trouble switching to Irish flute since you've already got the embouchure sorted out. Good luck with it!
Have you kept with the wooden flute? Do you have any pearls of wisdom now.
Interesting fact about the lip plate on the silver flute compared to no lip plate on the wooden flutes shown: The lip plate was created so that a metal flute would have the same thickness as a wooden flute at this point. Theobald Boehm-the pioneer of the metal flute-proposed adding the lip plate in order to make the instrument easier to play.
L'archipel du corps (2011) for flute, guitar, accordion & percussion will be rearranged for a A-flat Piccolo, B-Flat Mezzo-Soprano/D'Amore Flute, and a D Tenor Serpent Flute (Irish counterpart to the C Tenor Flute) and the last two have extended footjoints to Low A (G) and Low G respectively. The guitar, accordion, and percussion parts are going to remain the same!!!!!!
I’m coming from the concert flute so I think I’ll just dive right in to a fully keyed Irish flute. I’m also really excited to get one because the Irish flute sounds so similar to the baroque flute so I can’t wait to try playing baroque music on it once I get the hang of it.
Curious though. Have you tried playing a concert flute yet, Sean? How are you on it?
I have and the notes are all in the wrong place :)
What music in 00:30 ? I love it ! What is tittle ?please what is tittle 🙏
You’re doing the Lord’s work.
Try just blowing over the fibble of the tinwhistle for practice , you can hit both octaves too
I hope that makers will create a vertical ‘serpent’ flute with the swan neck headjoint and flute-type embouchure in very low pitches: alto, tenor (former bass), bass (former contrabass), contrabass (former double contrabass) etc and made in Grenadilla with low G extension. These will be simple fingerings and less expensive than a Boehm system. Also I hope that they will make Sopranino and garklein tin whistles and keyed whistles, which are held horizontally from high Eb to bass G!!! It'll be innovative!!!!!!
Hi, I’m a new player of the Irish flute and having a hard time covering the holes consistently. I bought a Carbony flute with “silver flute spacing” ( I play a silver flute) and even so, I’m having a hard time. Any advice?
You never mentioned the inevitable dizziness ;-)
Thank you for this wonderful informative video! Perhaps you’ve already answered this, seeing as your video has been out on yt for a couple years, but I’ll ask it anyway! I have played the trad flute since age 12 (now 52) and would like to learn how to play Irish flute(s).
Can a traditional flute be played like an Irish flute? I’m so comfortable on/with my instrument that I’d of course prefer to stick with what I’m familiar with, if possible!
But if that is perhaps frowned upon, or if it would help me to learn to play a completely different flute altogether, I’d like to know that. Tin whistle? One of the other flutes you demonstrated?
I can easily play and am skilled in all basic key signatures, but my quick fingering skills will definitely need a lot of work. But will my “band” flute suit my wish to play Irish tunes?😊
If by trad flute you mean Boehm/silver flute then yes, it definitely can be done it's just pretty rare to see it done well. Joanie Madden is and incredible silver flute and tin whistle player in the trad world (what we call Irish trad, hence my possible confusion) but there aren't many others that I'm aware of.
You have a huge advantage in that you've already got the embouchure down which is so much of the struggle with any type of flute. Your challenge will be the style but as Joanie's proved, that style can be applied to the silver flute just as it can be to the whistle or the wood flute. That said, a whistle is useful because it lets you focus on the fingers without having to think about the embouchure. Maybe even consider it a practice tool? Cheers!
Is the keyless flute you have there with a metal interior or fully wood. I have a 400Hz D baroque flute but only thing is you cant play outside anywhere cold as risk of breakage to the wood
No, the head joint is only wood - the metal tuning slide is surrounded by cork and wood which (I'm assuming) gives the wood the ability to flex against the inflexible metal
The finger/standard grip is called Rockstro grip. I'm waiting for a Francois Baubet flute.
Ahh, in all the years I've never heard that term before - cheers!
Yes!
When I play the flute my left hand always cramps up? I’m putting barely any pressure or gripping it hard it’s just starts to cramp when I play? Any idea why?
Hey there i'm a beginner struggling to find other keys for my boyle flute on amazon or on internet. Where do you suggest me to buy other keys?
What is a "boyle" flute? What do you mean by "other keys?" Generally you can't add any pieces to an existing wooden flute.
I just bought a Yamaha fife to mess about with ,trying to work my way up to flutes and pipes,I have a new respect for flute players lol
Thank you for the info. I know this video is a year old but I''ve been playing tinwhistle for a while now and looking to start Irish flute (I'm classical trained)...is 6 months too soon or would you wait longer?
Not at all, if you're ready to dive in then go for it - I'd just advise to work on both (whistle and flute) as continuing to play the whistle will definitely help the progress on the flute. Cheers!
Where can i buy one?
Awesome.
Could you recommend some good makers here in the UK and Ireland?
Im in Wales
Diolch!
McNeela sells a lot of high quality instruments, they're out of Dublin and I've bought a few things from them and they've been lovely.
Silly question, maybe crazy! What a Irish flute and note a low d whistle? They sound rather similar
I hope because of the advancement of technology, The Irish flute makers will create the (Alto, Tenor, Baritone (Contralto), Bass, and Contrabass etc) flutes in a serpentine or a traditional flute style with low G footjoints made out of 3D printing or Blackwood. They’ll use simple fingerings and ornaments. They’ll have swan neck horizontal embouchures and headjoints. They will be held vertically. Boehm-system versions of these instruments will also be available. The most common of these will be the tenor size (an octave below the standard D flute)!!!! It’ll be innovative!! They’ll be called serpent flutes!!!!
thanks for the brief mention on maintenance, I just purchased a mcneela black keyless, (and by the way what's your opinion of them) it's my first wooden instrument and i'm not sure about assembly or maintenance, any suggestions?
I've never played one of their flutes but I've played a couple whistles and they're lovely - I'd be surprised if the flutes were sub-par as McNeela puts out some good stuff across the board, as far as I've seen.
How do you like the flute from McNeela? I've just ordered one (coming from a background in classical flute). I got the Lon Dubh as I didn't want to deal with the wood maintenance until I'm sure I want to keep going with it. I don't know if the transition from one flute to the other might drive me crazy, lol.
Having played classical flute in the school orchestra many years ago, I was surprised how much work there is in getting that quality sound from a naturally soft embouchure. Doesn't help having a beard either. So I have a hybrid grip - pipers grip left hand and fingertips for the right hand. It seems to work well. But I quickly ran up to the limits of a cheap first flute from Carbonny. I am not going to buy anymore carbon fiber instruments, without being very strongly urged to consider the material. It just doesn't sound good to me in flute or whistle.
How old is this type of of flute? My 2 x great grandfather brought a flute with him from Ireland in 1849. He settled in Philadelphia. His wife who lived to a 100 mentioned this flute in a 1915 article from a local Reading Pa article. My dad said he use to play with a flute his grandfather had, and a diary entry of a great aunt talks of this flute.
I recently started playing recorder and I am loving it. The only thing I don't like about the recorder is that I would like a louder wind instrument. Without going into concert flute territory, Is there anything like the Irish flute but chromatic? Something that would work well with folk music and is open holed?
Six keys gets you a fully chromatic Irish/wood open holed flute. Not cheap but it'll get you there.
@@whistletutor Awesome, thanks! I'll keep on with the Adris' Dream recorder for now while I learn the fundamentals, and start learning about these transverse flutes.
I'm on the tin wistle for now. But what's the difference between a Irish flute and a any transversal flute? Like those old Chinese bambu ones (if you have said that in the video I didn't got there yet)
If you're thinking of the Dizi, that one has a membrane which alters the timbre.
@@lunamooncat7926 Yeah that one, thanks!, cool to know, added to buy list :p
An "Irish flute" is technically just an old style of flute usually made of wood before they were made out of metal and all the keys added. It's what somebody would have used in a band or orchestra before the metal flutes came about. Then when the metal ones came out, people sold their wooden ones and their were a glut on the market for people to buy up and use for traditional music, or at least that's what I had read somewhere. If you get into more exotic LOOKING flutes, then you may have different scales or different ways of even making a sound. A fife, for example, is completely different...well...mostly. It's not played with the same fingerings, and if you try to, it'll likely be in a different key, so you can't play with others, and it's not made to be played in the same register.
I bought an Irish flute a few weeks ago, but honestly what I’ve been having more trouble with than anything is actually getting any sound out of it at all. I can tell I’m hitting the correct spot, but still, nothing is coming out at all.
Please tell me! What is the song you play for the opening!?
It's a tune that I wrote with my band - full version is here if you're curious: ruclips.net/video/gjGxcvoYPQs/видео.html&ab_channel=TheSternwheelers
Irish wooden flute try this out too after pipe practice chanter and I will like to know probably play loud music not at neighbor house
Is it possible for a person's hands/fingers to be too thin to properly cover the holes on an Irish Flute?
I play the concert flute.
And would love to play the Irish flute .but I gave found my hands .ie fingers are nowhere big enough to reach. .do they do a smaller sizes ?
Yes indeed - there are smaller-holed flutes such as some of the Rudall & Rose/Carte styles. If you want to go on a deep dive I'd recommend Terry McGee's website. The man is an encyclopedia of flute knowledge! www.mcgee-flutes.com/
Many thanks for your advice. I will be looking into this
My mother inherited a wooden flute from her parents. We always thought it was ebony, but when she loaned it to a musician, she was told it wasn't. He said it was most likely used in an Irish band in an Irish pub a couple hundred years ago, which makes sense to my mother as she remembers her father talking about Irish ancestors who moved to Australia (my mother is 76 and her father died in 1987 aged 79). It looks more like the keyed one you have, but I haven't laid eyes on it for 20 years so can't be sure. Are there different types of those flutes? My mother isn't the best with remembering important information (she never has been) so she can't even remember what the guy told her just a couple of weeks ago. How do I get more information about black, keyed, wood flutes without having the instrument to look at?
Ooo that's tricky - most wood flutes will have a makers mark either on the main part of the barrel or on each section (or possibly each key) so if you can get your mom to inspect for that it might be a good start. But if you're in Australia and if you happen to be anywhere near Canberra there's a brilliant flute maker and flute historian named Terry McGee who would probably be a good option if you were able to get him to take a look at it.
does it have cork or thread on the joints?
The McGee uses cork and the Windward uses thread
Do I have to learn music notes?
Well I'm not sure what your home situation is like, but there's a good chance you don't *have* to do anything :) If you'd like to learn music notes you're more than welcome to do so, but there are plenty of Irish musicians who can't read music so it's really up to you.
Can you play the Irish flute left handed? I’ve played tin whistle as a kid and am thinking about getting a flute but accidentally taught myself the tin whistle backwards with my right hand on top.
Definitely - when it comes to keyed whistles you'd need to have one made to suit right-over-left playing, but it's not too hard to make that happen since all good keyed flutes are handmade anyway. That said, I started out playing right-over-left by accident as well and switched after about 6 months or so because I started into the highland bagpipes and it was harder to find left-handed pipes at the time.
That's the way I play. No problem on D and C whistles. Haven't tried on others.
this probably wont get answered, but he mentioned you should start with a penny whistle, but if you've already been playing classical flute?
Interesting question - and one I just got recently in-person. I'd say it's probably still useful though not as much as it would be for someone coming at the flute brand new.
I have a rosewood d flute
question, I would like to try playing an Irish flute, but i did not wish to pay several hundred dollars/pounds ,is there any point in buying one of the very cheap wooden flutes on ebay as a starter?
I wouldn't suggest it. I've played one or two that somebody has purchased near me and on one, the crown at the embouchure end wasn't secured enough to stay in, which means it surely wasn't keeping are inside the instrument. I ended up ripping off a long string of paper and wrapping it around the part of the crown that would usually be inside the flute. I was able to seal it up enough for it to make a sound, but the intonation was bad and it just wasn't fun in general. The only thing that I might say, if you can spend on a Tony Dixon low D tunable whistle, maybe consider also getting the flute embouchure as well? I've heard it isn't great, but at least at that point you have a half decent whistle at least. Occasionally I've been able to play somebody's instrument at a session, so if you already go to any, you might see if you can try any of theirs, if you're able to play any flute that is, like have the ability.
I wouldn't. When learning you need a good instrument - imagine trying to learn to drive in a car that didn't really work properly!
So...are Pratten style flutes the kind without keys?
No, both of my flutes are Pratten style - (tunable) headjoint -> main body -> footjoint. Rudall style are headjoint -> top hand body -> lower hand body -> footjoint. And they tend to have smaller holes as well.
getting myself a McGee GLP 😉
what is the name of the intro music?
It's a song that my band wrote called Lily of the West ruclips.net/video/gjGxcvoYPQs/видео.html
Is that a Pratten style flute? I'm confused as to the differences.
Yep, they both are!
@@whistletutor Does Pratten refer to a flute with sections or the size of the holes?
I don't play whistle at all. I used to play clarinet and was very good, but it's been a while. Would it be foolish to start with the flute instead of the whistle?
Definitely not foolish - I'd think of the whistle as an alternative and sometimes more accessible practice tool.
Whistle is usually no more than $20 for something even halfway decent, that's if you buy one locally and don't have to pay for shipping.
To me, it just makes sense to have a whistle, especially a cheap one. It gives you a different feel while basically doing the same thing, at least in terms of fingering.
Do you know if there is a major difference between traditional flutes and western concert flutes (wcf). I have been playing a wcf for 26 years. Should I still start with the tin whistle?
Biggest difference is your Fnat is now F#. That's good because most Irish music is in G, D and their relative minors. Accidentals are rare, so your F is almost always sharp. Easier to have the fingering consecutive rather than skipping to the middle or ring finger. There is no embouchure plate, middle C is fingered differently and wood gives you a darker, mellower sound. The bore tapers like a cone from end to end, so you might find it takes more air at first. There are some fine players that use the metal Boehm flute, but I've never liked the sound for Irish. After 26 years, I would bypass whistle. It's a different animal than flute and would set you back.
When you say wcf, do you just mean like something somebody would start out in a band class in the key of C? Look at the flute that Joanie Madden plays.
I began playing flute with my silver flute in 1995. There's really no reason to NOT have a tin whistle, since they're so cheap, but there's no reason you'd NEED to play one first. I play a Powell as my main flute and it was my degree in college. The only downside is that it costs a bit more to find a wooden trad flute that you're happy with if you've got even a GOOD silver flute, a flute that you've recently had serviced and you know that all the keys close perfectly and the pads are good. My wooden flute was $400 and I'm fairly happy with it, but it doesn't BARK in the low notes the way my Powell does....which is of course substantially more expensive.
Just get a $15 whistle, like a Generation or a Clarke, and find a trad flute. If you've been playing flute the whole time, you should have no problem with the embouchure.
The reason why I suggest a whistle is because it's got a different tone, can play different stuff, and just has a unique sound that is easy to jump into. Then if you have a low whistle at all, like a D, it can have a pretty mysterious, folk-like sound even more. It's just an awe really.
I'm loosing consciousness, this is hard. 😅 Is there anything to help set your lips? I'm thinking computer keyboard F and J key nubs. Maybe use the bottom lip to feel the hole? I know it's possible but I can't for the love of me to get any decent sounds out of this flute. Just like yours. 7 holes
I just want a little flute to play on my front porch like Hagrid :(
I'm curious about the Irish Flute. I am also confused. I played Bb clarinet in school. I still have one. To me, a C flute with the chromatic keys is a flute, it plays any note put in front of it. In any key that music is written. I think? that an Irish Flute is more like a tin whistle that you blow across rather than blow into the...fipple? Not sure.
You were playing an Irish flute with no additional keys and called it a certain key flute. So again, it's like a penny whistle and you have to buy a bunch of different flutes in different keys to play music? Why not just get one flute and use the keys to play in every key? I don't understand why that wouldn't be the norm. Is there a chromatic Irish Whistle?
It's more a matter of using the right tool for the job. The keyless Irish/wooden flute and tin whistle are both great for tunes and songs in the keys of D, G, and A major, as well as relative minors Em, Bm, Dm, and Am. Not-coincidentally-at-all, 99% of all Irish tunes are written in the keys of D, G, and A major, plus the relative minors.
So those instruments work great for what they're meant for. If however, you want to play Mozart in Bb then you're going to need a fully-keyed Irish flute, a lot of alcohol, and a therapist; or you're going to want a classical, Boehm-style silver flute since that's the right tool for *that* job.
@whistletutor lol! The Baroque period is my favorite to play and sing, much less harpsichord and more robust and challenging fugue. I have high D, high C, and a Bb penny whistles so far. 2 regular band flutes, a clarinet, 2 ukes, and a mountain dulcimer.
It's a fugue in my head trying to fathom keys and... ionian, I have no idea about the other stuff. I never played a chort until the ukulele a few years ago.