Chiff and Fipple Forums

I just started building my repertoire of trad tunes and I was wondering if you could all share your favorite flute tunes. Maybe 5 each of reels and jigs. More would be better.All I need are the titles , I figure I can search ABC archives for the tune itself. Thanks all.

Tots

I too am working on my flute lit, here are a handfull of my favorites.
Jigs
Dusty Windowsills, Planxty Burke (not technically a jig but gorgeous on flute), Cliffs of Moher, Blackthorn Stick (in G), Kesh is a standard that I find falls very well under the fingers. Besides, most everyone knows it so it is a great session tune.
Reels
Musical Priest, Miller of Drohan (thank you Lunasa) Are you Ready Yet (Tom Doorley of Danu wrote this it is on their first album "Think Before You Think", it is a perfect flute tune that we all should play) Cooley's, Toss the Feathers (in E minor, the B part just sails on flute)
Every Flautist should knot the Butterfly and Kid on the Mountain, always a hit.
I enjoy playing The Rights of Man and Off to California on Flute, they are strong standard hornpipes that everyone I run into seems to know.
Good Luck, I also would love to know what everyone out there is playing.

I'm an amature but I just finished learning the jig James Murray's it's also on Colm O'Donnells album as John Freehily's..it's a reel fun jig to play. I am now learning Junior Crehan's Mist-Covered Mountain. I think this tune allows allot of room for embelishment on the flute.

I agree with tunemarshall that Kid on the Mountain and the Butterfly sound great on the flute. Both these are on my need to learn list.

- Craig

p.s. Great Topic!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: CraigMc on 2002-03-13 00:19 ]</font>

There are several "flute" tunes every trad flute player must know. Some of the ones listed above are not necessarily "flute" tunes, but common session tunes. They work, but are not fitting the specific question that Tots asked.
So, herewith, a couple of the all-time great "flute" tunes you should have at the ready:
Humors of Tulla (r)
The Shashkeen (r)
Moving Cloud (r)
Maids of Mt. Cisco (or Mt. Kisco for the American-born) (r)
(or Mt. Crisco for the daring )
The Scholar (r)
Over The Bridge to Peggy (r)
Boys of The Town (j)
Jackson's Jig
Humors of Whiskey (slip jig)
The Gold Ring (j)
The Coolin' (air) (I've heard this on just about every instrument....and flute is best, no matter the version or setting)
There....I hope that's a useful start!

I just got "Foinn Seisiún" this morning, 116 tunes arranged in 39 sets, published by Comhaltas. I will try to learn these tunes by heart, hoping that I will be able to play them in sessions later.

David Magoya raises one of my favorite Irish music topics. This might warrant another topic to be started! How is one tune a flute tune, or a fiddle tune, or a box tune, or a whistle tune? While many tunes display the range and technical nature of a specific instrument. For instance, Farewell to Erin, as I have heard it played, starts below the range of flute and whistle so it leans to be a fiddle tune. Swinging on a Gate, is very scalar with very few leaps. It also allows for few natural spots to take a breath. I imagine it was composed by a whistle player. Anyhow, I find it interesting to deciper through the clues in the tunes to figure out what instrument its composer was playing. But regardless what is was written on, a winner tune is a winner tune. While Planxty Burke is an O'Carolan tune and therfore written for the harp, it is still a great flute tune. Looking forward to this discussion!
Tunemarshall

Thanks all.
Just wanted to get this post back top. I really want to hear from others. Please post your favs, people. THanks!!

Hey Totst, I think Galway Rambler is quite suited for the flute. Mason's Apron, Maid of Mt Kisco, Strayaway Child, I buried my wife and danced on her grave, Humours of Ballyloughlin are pretty good on flute too.

I only recently started playing the flute, after getting started on the whistle.
Basically I am trying to play the tunes i know well on the whistle on the flute (in a much slower pace, occasionally gasping for breath).

The Butterfly and Strayaway Child sound very good to me on the flute.
Tunes I am playing now are 2 tunes from a Solas CD: Crested Hens and the White Pettycoat.

Jeroen

okay, so a few "easier" tunes would be in order, no?
Lord Inchquin is marvelous on the flute.
As is a tune I picked up from Chris Norman, I believe it's a Scottish tune called Lament for Kevin Moriarity (?)...anyway, it's in the Dow Collection book.
Rose In The Heather (jig) is also quite nice.

Well I wish I ran into flute players or session people where I live, as even the most common Irish tune is not even recognized in the least...so it goes.

Here are some favorites among the easier tunes:

1. Cooley's Reel (my first tune learned on whistle and a still favorite!)
2. Donegal Reel
3. The Cup of Tea (real nice and whizbang on the flute)
4. Famous Ballymoate (simple on flute and great tune for the beginner).
5. Primrose Lass (Seamus Egan style)
6. Yellow Tinker (best reel in the universe)

Jigs:
1. Drowsy Maggie (try this one Malloy style on the low Bb...and you'll never go back to whistle)
2. Out on the Ocean
3. Tobin's Fancy
4. The Sunset (a la Frankie Kennedy)
5. Down the Back Lane (another real fun jig a la Nugent)

Other fun tunes to play:
1. Dans en Gro (thanks Larry Nugent!)
2. Crested Hens (a la solas, simple and beautiful--work on your tone with this one)
3. My favorite flute tune of all is a tune (yet another named...) Gan Ainm played by Seamus Egan on a compiliation CD followed by Emily's Reel. Just fabulous flowing, lovely tune.
4. John of the Glen

So many good tunes...

Just learned a lovely Gan Anim on Laurence Nugents CD two for two. It's a slow reel.

My favorite tunes to play on the flute:

Miss Thorntons (got from Harry Bradley's CD)
The Flower of the Flock (the 3rd tune played on the famous Bothy Band set called Give Us a Drink of Water)
A Fig for A Kiss (slip jig)
Blarney Pilgrim
George Whites Fancy
Musical Priest
(actually, as I start to think about it, it's really difficult to get at favorites 'cause they're all fun!).

THanks all for your replies. I think I have enough here for starters.

Tots

I'm going to shamelessly reveal (nay, flaunt)my piping background here:

Jenny Picking Cockles
Maid of Mt. Cisco
Brady's (from "D Flute Album")
The September Reel
The 4 Kisses

As for Jigs...

Flying to the Fleadh
Gander at the Pratie Hole (fantastic if you have an f natural key)
Palm Sunday

Good Luck with those.

Jamie.

Tunes I think sit specially well on the flute:

The Gravel Walk (reel)
Bank of Ireland (reel)
Drunken Sailor (hornpipe) (*not* the Popeye tune, but the other one)
King of the Fairies (hornpipe)
The Broken Pledge (reel)
The Radio Reel (reel)
The Home Ruler (hornpipe)
Buttermilk Mary (reel)
Sweeney's Dream (reel)
Paddy Ryan's Dream (reel)
Gander in the Pratie Hole (jig)
An Feochan (air)
Farewell to Glasgow (Scots air)
The Pinch of Snuff (reel)
Trim the Velvet (reel)

--James
http://www.flutesite.com