Here are 2 reels. The first one is very common and I used to hear the second one a lot but haven't heard it for years. I'm not sure why it cropped up in my mind. I've played G sharps in the first part but F sharps would do fine. They might even sound better.
While I'm on an ornithological theme I might as well play this tune. It has high C naturals in the second part. They're probably easiest to get here by half covering the top finger hole. (16th May 2012 - the original cuckoo seems to have flown off so I've recorded another one).
Here's a piping jig which suite the flute OK. I don't know much about it but I always liked its name.
Here's "The Bucks of Oranmore" again. This time it's played at a slightly more aggressive rate.
Here's a standard reel of any instrument. It goes well on the flute. I've played it as a fairly gentle pace here. Hopefull this should make it easier to pick up.
Here's a reel named after a goat. I suppose it's as good a think as any to name a reel after. It's a popular tune and nice to play on the flute. There are plenty of recordings of this. As far as I remember Frankie Gavin has it on his flute record "Up and away" / "Croch Suas é". The same goat is also to be found in lots of other places too. It might even be a "Coat" in some of them.
Hello, I'm not sure where I picked this tune up but I recently noticed that a version very like this one os in Ceol Rince na hÉireann Vol2, number 313. It's attributed to a musician called Alex Kerr.
Here's a very popular reel. (PS. I don't know much about the internet. Does having so many tunes on one page make it very slow to load if you don't have broadband? I could change the settings to only have 50 tunes per page if that would help.)
Here's a well known 3 part reel which works well on the flute. I think I only played the bits once each first time round when I was playing it slowly. It should be more or less OK after that.
Here's a very common jig. I think it was made popular by being on a Planxty record at some stage.
Here's a reel which John Doherty from Donegal used to play on the fiddle. As with the previous tune, it has been lying about on the server for a while. I can't remember why I didn't post it. I'll listen to it when I get home and replace it if it sounds too dodgy. (I've just listened to this one too and know why I didn't put it on before. Bad and all as it sounds, you should still be able to learn the tune.)
Here's a fairly straightforward reel. I think it comes from Fermanagh. I recorded it a while ago and can't really listen to it from where I am now. I'll give it a listen when I get home and if it sounds too embarrassing then I'll replace it. (I've now listened back to this. It sounds pretty bad. I played it on a flute that had fairly horrible things lurking in its foot joint. The tune's still OK, though, so I'll leave it where it is. The foot joint has since been exorcised of its "stuff")....
Here's the third tune of "The Tarbolton Set". As I said, hunt around for other recordings of these tunes as well. I'd imagine there are lots of them, all based on Michael Coleman's effort. It's always good to hear more than one version of a tune or tunes.
Here's reel 2 of the 3. I think the title refers to a rent / tax collector from Longford rather than someone who hoards Irish midland counties.
Here's a good reel for the flute. Playing it without playing "The Longford Collector" and "The Sailor's Bonnet" is a bit like putting a fruit pastille in your mouth without chewing it, so I've recorded the other 2 reels as well. (Hope the fruit pastille reference isn't too parochial). This tune, plus the next two, were immortalised (were they ever alive in the first place?) by a recording of Michael Coleman. I'd recommend finding a copy of that for a good version. My versions are based on a comb...
This is probably the commonest of the several tunes bearing this name. I can't for the life of me think why there are so many. Anyway, it and flutes are reasonably at ease in each other's company.
Here's a popular jig which isn't too painful in the flute. It has a sort of insistent rhythm about it which I think might be why people like it. I'm sure it has other nice points about it as well, I'm just nor up to the task of describing them at the moment.
Here's a good, common tune. I'm sorry about playing it with a mouth filled with nettles but it should be OK for learning. I took a sort of notion that I'd already put this tune on but I don't see it on the site anywhere. Maybe it's the nettles.
Here's a reel that I don't know too much about (as you'll hear). It might actually be called "The Huntsman's Course", or is he coarse?? Anyway, I think it's a nice tune. I hope you do too.
Here are two reels which are common in sessions and hopefully suit the flute. You can also find a nice version of this tune, along with a wealth of music and information at Greg Bacon's music site http://www.baconworks.com/ It's definitely worth a visit.
The first one is also called "The Cedars of the Lebanon". The second one is fairly common but deserves a bit more of a airing (despite the dodgy start here).
Here's a fairly common jig. I hope someone likes it.
I'm not referring to the number of lasses but to the number of tunes. This one's maybe a bit more common than its namesake.
Here's a reel with the same name as another common reel. I'll put the other one on soon.
Here's a reel that was made for the flute. It's a real South Sligo thing, even though Cloontia is in Mayo. There's a version of this tune in Ceol Rince na hÉireann, Vol 2, number 195, transcribed from Sonny McDonagh's playing.
Here's a jig which is very popular with flute players all over Ireland. I hope someone out there likes it too, whether they be in Ireland or elsewhere.
Here's a tune which just occurred to me. I think it's usually associated with pipers (Leo Rowsome's name springs to mind for some reason) but It's handy enough on the flute. It should be a common enough tune in sessions as well. I hope it's OK.
Here's another common tune, again one which is well suited to the flute.
Here's a very common tune which is popular with people starting to learn the flute. It's got a good melody for playing around with.
Another reel. Sorry sorry sorry. My memory is faulty and can only remember reels at the moment. It's getting harder to know whenever you're within a mile of Dublin these days. It's getting to the stage when Dublin is within a mile of all of us. Bye for now.
