OK
So I decided the other day that It was time for me to start playing tunes in F on the flute. Man was that stupid. 
Really it is not so bad once you start getting use to the pinky work on the long F. Also I figured out that you can get a pretty good cran out of the F natural. 
Was wondering who else plays Black Pats in F major on the flute? It is a killer tune written by Mr Peoples himself.
I donāt play many tunes in F per se, but when my Murray got its F keys back I decided it was time to use them so took on a fair number of C and Dminor tunes. I havenāt tried Black Patās, but sure, off to JCās I go! A nice tune that I used to really work on the F naturals stuff is the Whistler of Rosslea ā I finally got a 90% consistent F-nat roll on the B part and am feeling kind of OK about myself. Paddy Carty plays it on his recording with Mick OāConnor.
Another F exercise tune is that Other Peacockās Feather in Dm ā and of course, Arthur Darleyās (aka the Swedish Jig) and The Blue Angel have a fair amount of fun too. Also Paddy Ryanās Dream, The Cloon, The Yellow Heifer (aka the A & B part of the Bunch of Keys ā or what the heck, the Bunch of Keys!) and a fistful of those Fahy reels but Iām solid on only one or two. The Golden Eagle hornpipe is a nice workout, too.
OK, in search of Black Patās! Thanks for the tip. I must like pain.
I play it in F on my C flute no problem 
Hereās a nice little F jig Iāve been enjoying:
http://www.crowfootmusic.com/
Click on āTunes.ā
Preach it, brother! Screw keys. Letās hear some w00t w00t for keyless corps de rechanges!
I love playing in F on the traverso or small-holed Noy. I find it much easier than I ever did on an 8-key.
Rob and Tina play it in G. I donāt play it. Philippe plays it in F, though. Go for it, Josh!
(Next, learn that one in Gm by Mr. McGlinchey, Splendid Isolation, so I wonāt have to play it in not-so-splendid isolation any moreā¦)
āSo I decided the other day that It was time for me to start playing tunes in F on the flute.ā JoshD
Whatās the point in learning Irish traditional tunes, or newly composed tunes for that matter in F? Do you have F sessions over there in North America? Or is it just a chops/technique thing? Just wondering thatās all as I think Eb is too high and shrill and taking it to F on a concert flute seems unnecessary:)
Ok, Iāve just had some coffee and Iām not so grumpy now. This isnāt so bad:
http://www.tipsyhouse.com/Peoplestune.mp3
You do here box players and fiddle players playing some tunes in F in session. The Boys of Ballisodare is one that comes to mind also the Sally gardens so its good to be able to join in. Thats why I try learning some tunes in F and also just for the exercise of it.
Im not a big fan of it otherwise as I think a flute sounds weaker in that key and often you cant embelish the tune with ornamentations etc. as well as you could in a more conventional key. Its fun though .
āIm not a big fan of it otherwise as I think a flute sounds weaker in that key and often you cant embelish the tune with ornamentations etc. as well as you could in a more conventional key. Its fun though.ā Connie.
Hmm, no itās not for me, too high and girly . Iām becoming even more traditional in my youth and prefer D and G, and even C or Bb. Could you imagine the pipes in F, that would be horrendous
Just to clarify Iām talking about playing F on a D flute. So its not necessarily high your often dropping a tune down from G, I still think it can sound weak though compared to blasting a tune out in D or G.
You seem to be assuming youād get to F by transposing up from D. But it would be more normal to get there by transposing down from G, giving a nice, mellow sound. (And of course, since Black Pat was written by a fiddler, it might simply have been written in that key.)
But yeah, in my experience, sessions tuned down to C (and therefore featuring normal G tunes in F) are not that terribly uncommon in North America. And high end players seem to delight in playing in F at concert pitch ā Iāve heard it done in sessions by Brian Conway, the Kane sisters, Patrick Ourceau, etc.
āYou seem to be assuming youād get to F by transposing up from D. But it would be more normal to get there by transposing down from G, giving a nice, mellow soundā Colomon.
Yes, Connie & Colomon, thatās true enough, youāre right I was assuming transposing up from D.
The tune Josh is talking about, Black Patās, was written by Tommy Peoples in the key of F. Fiddlers like to play tunes in F and its relative minor keys (D Dorian, etc) because they can. Faced with this, the flute player has two choices, either transpose the tune up to G where it fits well on the flute, or learn to play it in F so that it can be played with fiddlers who want to play it in F. Well, I guess thereās a third choice, too, which would be to get a C flute and play the tune in G on that so it comes out in F. But that can get expensive, and thereās also the problem of the C flute not being at hand when the tune in F pops up at the session. so Josh is on the right track. If you paid for those keys on your flute, you might as well use them.
An hour in ā¦ I like it! Feels very Scottish/Donegal-ey in F, less so in G ā wow, you can fly on it in G! And FWIW Steampacket, the G version on an F flute is hoot!
Iām having great fun playing the F and G versions back to back.
I figure if youāve got the keys you may as well use them, and it is a good brain stretch. Besides, if Tommy Peoples wrote it in F, I should at least try to understand it as written. Itās part of where he comes from. Plus I like playing with box players too.
Finally, people used to play Beethoven on these things. I figure itās part of my job to at least appreciate that capability.
Thanks, Josh! BTW, I forgot to mention āThe Girl That Broke My Heartā in the previous list. Still the monster F Natural Tune of Death for me (I think itās in C), even worse than this one!
Anyway, thanks again. Nice one!
Ok, Josh, youāre on. Iāve been meaning to sit down and relearn the tune in F for ages now. Iāll do it this week.
Awesome Rob!!!
OK so far I have the A part licked 
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The reason that I wanted to learn it in F is because the man wrote it in that key so I figured that I should give it a go. It also makes me grow as a player. There are so many things that I need to work on so i choose this as my next block of instruction 
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Deleted because of stupidity
Joshā¦ya need to stop doinā long rolls on the submit button