old tunes in Eb or Ab?

[Anyanka]

I've just been given a pretty little old band flute (? Six holes plus one keyed hole) which appears to be in Eb. It sounds lovely, very loud, but unfortunately none of the tunes I play with other musicians are in Eb or Ab. Does anyone know of any suitable tunes that I could propose for my old English session?

[LorenzoFlute]

Tune the fiddles sharp.

[Lars Larry Mór Mott]

Unfortunately (at the sessions i attend) people are very unwilling to re-tune..
Play a tune in B or Eb and you're on your own, save for maybe guitar or bouzouki accompaniment..

[Anyanka]

The session I go to is a bit different as there's sheet music (a lot of the musicians come from a classical background), most instruments are chromatically rather than diatonically inclined, and there are tunes in a range of keys including a fair few in Bb. It's been a great excuse for acquiring lots of whistles (I still need an F...)
If I had a good piece in Eb or Ab, I could pass it on to the Person In Charge Of Choosing Tunes, but I feel it needs to be genuine, not just some old G trad transposed!

[benhall.1]

If you're talking about playing from sheet music in any case, then get the Kerr's Merrie Melodies series of tune books. Loads of flat keys in there. At one time it appears that some publishers thought it essential to provide tunes in a variety of keys.

[Anyanka]

Thanks, Ben - have found a copy on Ebay!

[benhall.1]

You're welcome. IMHO, they're brilliant books in any case. Hope they do the trick!

[jemtheflute]

There are 4 volumes of Kerr's, BTW.

Of course, if you find tunes in those keys, you'll need to transpose them to play them (read them readily) on your Eb flute, and they may not fit the tessitura well - you may have to do some 8ve folding too.

Post us a photo or three of your flute find!

[benhall.1]

Huh? Why will she have to transpose the tunes which are in those flat keys already, Jem? There are a few, as I'm sure you remember.

[Peter Duggan]

Here we go again... 'what do we mean by transpose?'

[benhall.1]

Ooh! Can we have another argument, Peter? I've enjoyed the last couple.

[jemtheflute]

Huh? Why will she have to transpose the tunes which are in those flat keys already, Jem? There are a few, as I'm sure you remember.

???
Yes, I remember - have copies.
Surely I don't have (to try) to explain the transposition thing to you, Ben, of all people?

The Eb flute is pitched a semitone higher than a standard concert flute, so to play the music at the same actual pitch as other (non-transposing) instruments but preserving normal notation/fingering correlations for the fluter, the flute part needs to be transposed down a semitone. No need to transpose if you play in Eb on a D flute, clearly, but if you play the same notation on an Eb flute it will sound in E.

[benhall.1]

Huh? Why will she have to transpose the tunes which are in those flat keys already, Jem? There are a few, as I'm sure you remember.

???
Yes, I remember - have copies.
Surely I don't have (try) to explain the transposition thing to you, Ben, of all people?

The Eb flute is pitched a semitone higher than a standard concert flute, so to play the music at the same actual pitch as other (non-transposing) instruments but preserving normal notation/fingering correlations for the fluter, the flute part needs to be transposed down a semitone.

Right, right. But this is where Peter came in. I know what he means because it's the way I think too. I don't think of an Eb flute as 'transposing'. I simply think you use different fingers to read the concert pitch notes. I find that the easiest approach. So, for instance, when I pick up an Eb whistle to play a tune in Eb, I do not find any issue with it at all. I just play it as written.

[jemtheflute]

Great, if you have the mental facility to do it, but most folk haven't. That's a major part of the rationale of transposing instruments, including all the orchestral ones, as you well know. For most players it is far more practical to learn one, standard set of notation symbol - note name - fingering associations and stick to them whatever the native tonality of the instrument in hand, and to adjust the notation to suit.

[Peter Duggan]

I've just been given a pretty little old band flute (? Six holes plus one keyed hole) which appears to be in Eb. It sounds lovely, very loud, but unfortunately none of the tunes I play with other musicians are in Eb or Ab. Does anyone know of any suitable tunes that I could propose for my old English session?

Thought the Scots fiddle repertoire might be the place to go for this with numerous flat-keyed tunes, but those in Eb tend to be awkwardly wide-ranging for flute (eg from open G to leger lines up top) and the Ab key signature a rare bird indeed. However, I give you Hatton of Buchromb's Reel by William Marshall (see p104 of Alastair Hardie's The Caledonian Companion or Google sites I'm currently not getting to) for a modal tune with minor inflections (think F minor/Eb major centres), perfect range and some E naturals for the note I'm assuming your solitary key to give you!