Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi. I am new to the Irish flute and am having a very difficult time finding any teachers in the south suburbs of Chicago. So far, I have heard of only one and he never returned my call. I would like to get jump started on the Irish flute with some lessons to avoid the common problems of beginners. I have purchased a Doug Tipple flute and have several books, but the books can only go so far. So, any help you can provide in finding an Irish flute teacher would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

I don't know what counts as south suburbs for you, but if you were willing to travel a little further then you could probably find a world-class teacher somewhere in Chicago.

withak wrote:I don't know what counts as south suburbs for you, but if you were willing to travel a little further then you could probably find a world-class teacher somewhere in Chicago.

sean ryan and larry nugent are the first that come to mind.

There's the Academy of Irish Music in Chicago, but it's kind of north of downtown. The director's Noel Rice, who plays boehm flute Irish style, rather than an Irish flute. He may be able to put you in touch with someone closer to you. Their site is http://www.academyofirishmusic.org/index.html. I'm actually from west of Chicago (outside the suburbs), and my problem was not being able to get into the city to take advantage of the music scene there, so if you can, go for that. best wishes.

cheers,
Sara

I sent this info to you pm, but thought since I saw some other replies, I might share it publicly.

There happens to be an Irish Music School in Chicago you can contact that teaches in the south suburbs of Chicago

Here is their website:

http://www.irishmusicschool.com

The Irish Music School leads an Irish session at Gaelic Park at Ridgeland and 147th St in Oak Forest on Thursday nights from 7:30 to 9:30ish. There are at least two and sometimes three or four mighty flute players there and one or two of them teaches regularly!

In regards to the other information: Larry Nugent does not really teach anymore, Sean Ryan does teach flute to mostly kids (you can reach him through the Irish Music School and / or Sean Cleland) and Noel Rice teaches only silver flute, so don't expect a referral to a wooden flute teacher from him...

That said, I would say to go to Gaelic Park on a Thursday evening

Thursday: 7:30-9:30 pm @ Gaelic Park, 6119 W. 147th, Oak Forest 708-687-9323

http://www.chicagogaelicpark.org/

Check Directions on the left side if you don't know where it is..

Good Luck!

Thanks for your help and suggestions. I am going to head to Gaelic Park next Thursday for sure.

Good, they are a nice bunch of folks down there and you can ask about lessons!

Flutester wrote:Thanks for your help and suggestions. I am going to head to Gaelic Park next Thursday for sure.

sean ryan, i believe, is the flute teacher at the irish music school.

also, if you're interested, i could show you some stuff to get you started. p.m. me if you're interested.

daiv, Sean is one of three people that teach flute and whistle affiliated with the Irish Music School and the other two are great players and teachers.

At least one of the teachers from the IMS will probably be there on Thursday. Some combination of the three, plus the older Irish flute players are there and at other sessions several other nights a week! So folks that want to learn Irish flute have some great resources in town for instruction!

KarenCook wrote:daiv, Sean is one of three people that teach flute and whistle affiliated with the Irish Music School and the other two are great players and teachers.

At least one of the teachers from the IMS will probably be there on Thursday. Some combination of the three, plus the older Irish flute players are there and at other sessions several other nights a week! So folks that want to learn Irish flute have some great resources in town for instruction!

thanks for the clarification. i always find their website confusing! i've also never been there, though i have plans to at some point. i still havent gotten around to any of the sessions that sean cleland runs, either.

Gaelic Park's website is confusing. If you check the Irish Music School site, there is a list of Sean's sessions, they are worth a visit! Are you a north or south sider?