F flute

Irish Flute
1

I am looking for people that make unkeyed flutes in the key of F.
I see Damian Thompson is one. Are there any others?

2

Eamonn Cotter does, Geert LeJeune had several when I saw him last summer, including a very nice boxwood one.

But others too, F flutes are having their day at the moment, ‘everybody’ seems to be playing them.

Here’s Eamonn playing one of his own recently:


3

John Gallagher in the US has a really excellent F flute.

4

Dave Copley makes a nice F flute as well, I have one in delrin.

5

Everybody? :really:

Best wishes.

Steve

6

Milyard Molem in the UK

I have posted that before in the last year or so - there must be a previous discussion.

7

It’s in quotes for a reason, I think.

They are very popular at the moment!

8

Also Gilles Lehart ( France) and Gabos Barna ( Hungary).
Marin

9

Maybe I was ahead of my time?

Ralph Sweet made excellent keyless F flutes out of Brazilian Rosewood and I bought one in the late 1970s.

It’s really cool for the guitar and zook to capo at the 3rd fret and play through familiar tunes and hear them transformed into something fresh.

All those Matt Molloy crans really ripple on the F flute.

Anyhow our little band would do F sets to feature that flute, and also A sets to feature the huge Alto flute in A that I had.

10

Thank you for all the great sources.

Now that my hands have gotten worse I finally had to give up playing my D flute. I even sold them once I admitted defeat, it took a few years to come to grips with it. I have found that I miss it too much. The biggest problem was my left ring finger.
I am sure an F flute would be small enough to handle.

Between age and beating my hands up at work this seems like a good option.

11

Hey,
if you have problems with your left ring finger: Did you see the D Flutes, Lorenzo Saracino is making? He has special solutions for this finger. Look here:

https://lorenzosaracino.com/
("“Thanks to the innovative raised 3rd and 6th tone holes, I was able to develop an Irish flute for people with small hands (or arthritis etc) without sacrificing tuning, volume or tone quality.”)

I play one of his flutes and they are really great! Full sound and light as a feather…

Cheers
Holger

12

Sorry to hear about your hand problems kmag. Having just struggled through several hand surgeries for Dupuytren’s Contracture over the past few years I can sympathize. I’ve lost and recently regained the ability to play flutes in various keys. For a while I couldn’t play anything bigger than an F flute, and having one around was key to maintaining my flute playing. I also spent more time playing whistles in higher keys … much easier on the finger stretch. The experience motivated me to add an F flute to the range of flutes I make myself, and I just finished refining the design and making the first few. I also make a G body that can be used with the same head and foot, and am quite happy with how that small combo flute works.

I notice you are in Coos Bay, OR. I drove through there a couple of days ago, and had breakfast in Mom’s Kitchen. I’m back in Hood River now. If you find yourself out this way let me know. You’d be welcome to try out some of my smaller flutes to see if they work for you.

As for other makers, I very much like the sound of Lehart’s F flutes, but have not played one myself. I have played Dave Copley’s F flutes though and can testify that they are excellent.

13

Thanks so much for the quick responses!

So many that make an F flute do not have them listed on their sites. This is good information for me and for anyone looking for one in the future.
One of the flutes I had to sell was also one of my very favorites, and I have tried a lot in the last thirty years. It was a boxwood large holed Rudall made by John Gallagher. I have started the conversation with John to have a boxwood Pratten F made for me in boxwood. Best for me to go with the most what I know best.

Thank again to all!

14

I’m using a vintage F flute for busking. It’s audible but has the sound of a bigger flute. My flute has five keys and the keys are useful because Im playing a good deal of baroque music. Im on the look out for a six key F flute, if anybody has any advice. I expect the makers making keyless F flutes are a place to start looking. Terrific flute for the street.