Irish Flute Tunes

Here’s a popular jig dedicated to some semi fossilized plants which usually get thown on a fire.

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Here’s one which Seán McGuire played.  It’s reasonably flutable for all that.

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Here’s a very very popular reel.  As for the activity described in the title, I know little of it.  The limit of my experience of plumage related activities would be the odd unsuccessful attempt at ruffling.

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The Donegal fiddle player John Doherty played a few tunes which he called “The Cameronian Reel”, none of which are the normal one of that name. This one was also recorded by Michael Coleman at some stage but I can’t remember what he called it.

I’ve played the first part single here. It maybe ought to be double, or maybe I would have been better leaving both parts out completely.

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I never had a name for this jig but it appears as “The Broken Lantern” in Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol. 5.   This is more or less the version in that book too.

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Here’s a popular reel which is sometimes also called “The Sword in The Hand” - worth two in the bush.

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If this playing of this reel sounds bad, I’m blaming a big toe infection.  It’s making tapping time very uncomfortable.

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The name of this reel always reminds me of wallpaper.  I suspect I’m missing the point but I see more walls than birds or other flocking creatures in my daily life.

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Here’s a reel which sounds like a few others but isn’t any of them.

It’s a great tune for playing on the flute.

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Here’s a reel celebrating the colour (color) of the grass in the USA.  Willie Clancy was one person who played this tune.

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This reel seems to be a Sligo thing (recorded by Michael Coleman and his ilk).  I’m not sure exactly which Baile Átha Cliath Beelzebubs are referred to in its title.

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Here’s a piping jig usually associated with Willie Clancy.  (It may well not usually be associated with him at all but I couldn’t think of anything else to write.  Willie Clancy did play it, though).

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Here’s a very flutish sort of reel.  It’s a good one for just blowing at and flapping the digits a bit.

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Here’s a piping jig which Willie Clancy and then the Bothy Band made popular.

I’ll not write anything about its name.

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Here’s a reel which is often in ‘F’.  I have it here in ‘D’ and ‘G’, either of which are a bit flutier.  ‘F’ is often better for spelling a flute than playing one.

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Here’s a waltz for a change. It comes from Fermanagh and goes more or less like this.

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Here’s a reel I was asked to play.  Make sure you ask the gate owner’s permission before trying this.  I remember being shouted at as a child for just climbing on a gate, let alone  oscillating on it.

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Here’s a very popular reel.  It is particularly suited to the flute.

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Here’s a set dance or long dance.  I’m afraid the daisies are a bit wilted here but hopefully someone out there will revive them.

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Here’s one which I was sent a while ago (thanks Billy) and have only got around to posting now.

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I know about rolling out the barrel. Here another way to barrel roll.

This tune is on a record of PJ Hayes and Paddy Canny.

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Here is the four part ‘D’ version of the previous jig.

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Here’s a jig the title of which sometimes states the apples as being Gillan’s and not Gillian’s. As Gillan is just a Gillian with an eye missing then bad spllenig probably accounts for this.  There are two main versions of this tune.  Here’s the two part one in G.

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This is the one some people call “The Copperplate” while calling the one I call “The Old Copperplate” “The Copperplate”.  If you search this site for “Copperplate” you’ll find the one I call “The Copperplate” sandwiched between 2 other tunes which I neither call “The Copperplate” nor “The Old Copperplate”.  I hope that clears up any potential confusion.

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Here’s a reel written by Larry Redican. I could never really get all that constellation stuff (or anything to do with the universe for that matter). The nocturnal lanterns all just look like dots to me. I’d love to be able to look up and see “Ursa Minor” or “Pegasus” or “The Sturmey Archer 3 Seeed Hub” but all I get are dots.

Nice Reel though. Thanks again, C.

(The rest of the list is going to require a bit of head scratching - hard to do while playing a flute but nothing ventured …)

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This is another of Reavy’s tunes.  I had to check in a book of his tunes to see which one matched this name.  I then had to check the order in which my fingers waggled in order to bring my version towards some sort of approximation of the way he had written it.

Hopefully this version should be close enough to play with people with better powers of recall than mine.

It is one of Reavy’s most popular reels.

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The picture is just a blatant ploy to allow me to quote Sherlock Holmes when asked what had happened to the gates … “Lemon entry, my dear Watson” (primary school, 1975).

This is a very popular reel, again from my new list (thankyou).

I hope all gates that should be, are now very verdant indeed.

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Here’s another one from my new list.  I hope it’s the right one.

I’ve already played it as “Amhrán an Tae” (The Tea Song) but as I used a different key and a different name, I’m claiming that it is a different tune.

It’s a good tune to exercise the G sharp key although the wee finger on my left hand seemed fairly reluctant to be party to procedure.  I think I’m going to play tunes with no notes in them at all for the next while - sort of John Cage on the flute.

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Here’s a reel which I’ve recently been reminded of.  It has been recorded by many people in the past, none of whom made it sound as foul or paultry has it does here.

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This is actually a picture of a jug of Tasmanian Iced Tea but it looks quite nice.  The picture I first found of a punchbowl had something disgusting in it.

Talking of things disgusting, I afraid the playing here isn’t all that pretty but it might be OK as a raw material for someone else to make a tune from.

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