Yes, a lot of Matt Molloy's playing and recording over the years has been done in Eb. He's not alone in that - many Irish musicians tune up, not just flute players. Tommy Peoples does it a lot, Frankie Gavin I think always plays tuned to Eb (which makes it real interesting when he then plays tunes in other than their normal key on top of that), and there are quite a few bands who have made entire careers of it. Dervish has already been mentioned, and I believe Danu does so as well. DeDannan of course does so, thanks to the presence of Mr. Gavin in the band. (Is there something about bands whose name starts with D not wanting to play in D?) The Chieftains are well known for playing sharp of A440, but not all the way up to Eb.Cathy Wilde wrote:A major chunk of Matt Molloy's first album is on an Eb, yes?
There are several reasons that people play in Eb at least some of the time. It adds a bit of brightness to the overall sound, and on many instruments it's easier to play faster in Eb because the instruments are more responsive at the higher pitch due to tighter strings or shorter/tighter bore. And of course sometimes tuning in Eb serves as a way to limit the musicians that can join into a session situation. Some folks see this practice as exclusionary, and maybe it is, but often it can result in a better musical experience for everyone. One of the best instances of that that I've ever seen was one year on the midweek Boston Harbor cruise during the Gaelic Roots festival, when Kevin Crawford, Noel Hill and Paddy Glackin set up on one side of the main deck and started playing in Eb. They played there all by themselves for the entire duration of the 3+ hour cruise, literally until every other person onboard had left the boat after it docked. There was a bit of griping afterward from a few folks who thought they should have been able to join in, but they were vastly outnumbered by the crowd of listeners surrounding the three of them, which had the boat severely listing to starboard all night long. (It's a wonder we didn't all drown! :-> ) Anyway, that was some of the best music I've ever heard in my life. I only wish I'd had a recorder with me to capture some of it...
"It might be a bit better to tune to one of my fiddle's open strings, like A, rather than asking me for an F#." - Martin Milner
. Eb and F is like fife territory to me, completely lacking in soul and balls, and depth.
! -- transgendered flutes? What next?), I said "BONUS! COOL! I've got an Eb!" Talk about flutes being like Christmas!