I’m curious why Paddy adopted the Radcliffe flute. Was it the power, or some superiority of its fingering? The liner notes of the Shanachie record say he played an eight key at first, then the Boehm silver, then the Radcliffe, preferring its affinity to the simple system fingering. But I imagine the Rad would also put out the power to run the show at a session, too.
Paddy could really sail through tunes that most of us wouldn’t go near - O’Dowd’s Favorite (G Minor, with rolls on Bb), or Red Tom of the Hills, an Ed Reavy tune with Bb-C-D triplets. I’ve one tape where he plays the Beeswing hornpipe, in Bb.
Now, could he do all this stuff on the eight key flute? Or did the Boehm and Radcliffe flutes inspire him somehow? Looking at Beethoven etc. you can see that music written for the “simple system” could be anything but simple.
And - is there anyone following in Paddy’s footsteps, playing tunes in the odd keys/modes? Besides me, but I’ll need a few years woodshedding before I cease to mostly suck…
Kevin Burke told me Paddy tried to raise a fox! At around the age of six months it finally hit the road.
Playing in flat keys is significantly easier to do on the Radcliffe or Boehm systems than on the eight-key flute. But the question of whether Carty could play those tunes on the simple-system flute is a good one…I’m curious, too.
As I understand it (and it’s only by those who told me…so I’m not positive), Paddy wanted to play a flute that was in tune with itself and with the rest of the musical world.
As he had learned the fingering of the 8key flute…and the Radcliffe was then a popular model of modern flute in the old fingering style…it was a natural fit.
It brings up a great point of the old fellas and their playing. I was listening the other day to a recording of Eddie Cahill. I got to wondering how good he’d really sound if his flute wasn’t leaking all over the place. Very very airy sound. If he had a good flute…I dare say…
Ah, when did Paddy take up the Radcliffe, then? Didn’t Rudall Carte stop making them in '61?
Interesting that you’d mention Cahill. Do you have the John Vesey Sligo Fiddler record, recorded in the early 60s? It has some duets and a solo of Eddie, he sounds more on top of his form. Mick Moloney said in the liners of the Shanachie record that Eddie had some pretty serious illnesses at some point, which wouldn’t make playing a leaky flute any easier.
He had a really cool sound - very burbly. I wonder what inspired these guys to go for such unusual sounds - perhaps inspiration from nature? Bubbling brooks or the like. One of Michael Coleman’s teachers (his brother?) liked to emulate the notes of swans, for instance.
Kevin,
Regarding playing tunes in different keys on the flute, there’s a fellow named Isaac Alderson who lives in New York City who’s very interested in that sort of thing. I remember him mentioning being inspired in that respect by Oisin MacDiarmada, that fellow from the band Teada, who likes to do the same thing on his fiddle. Isaac won the all-Ireland playing a jig in E major and a slow air in C#minor I believe I read somewhere (among other tunes) which is rather a balsy thing to do when your dealing with Comhlthas…
I am loving this thread. All stuff I’ve been pondering. Would be thrilled to hear more!
I remember the first time I heard Carty, I about slammed my head into the steering wheel of the car going “How?” “HOW?” (Especially as he blew through The Tune That Broke My Neck (aka ‘The Girl That Broke My Heart’))
Then I finally heard some key slaps and the light came on … RELIEF! Keys! But regardless, Lord, he’s brilliant.
(I definitely hold with the Mr. Migoya’s leaky theory, too. I mean, even Fintan Vallely mentions the old notion of tipping a wee bit of a pint into your flute to “wet its whistle” – like most arcana, I figure there’s at least some base in practical truth!)
And burbling … oy. I’ve been experimenting with lots of LH2 and RH1 cuts or taps to try to approximate it, but haven’t had a flute lesson in a while so don’t know if that’s a good track or not. Suggestions are welcome!!! 
Anyway, thanks for the cool thread.
cat.
P.S. Isaac Alderson is lovely. Thanks for the reminder. Has he ever recorded anything?
Cathy,
I understand he’s been working on a traditional recording intermitently, I’m not sure where he is with that. The odd concert tape might be floating around a bit. Of course he’s interested in crossing the line into to ‘non-trad’ music, so I imagine (and hope) he’ll be recording some of that stuff at some point, 'twould be neat to hear sometime.
Apropos of the Carty question, I remember in the book of Ciaran a brief discussion of Carty breaking expectations - he played a keyed flute (which I believe Carson likens to a typewriter) in an exceptionally smooth and fluid style. I think the reference is something of Carson feeling that he oughtn’t like him, but does anyway. Then he goes on about the two (at that time - several more have joined the front, I believe, Alan Kelly and whatnot) piano accordion players who make music on their instruments, Jimmy Keane and a fellow who’s name I can’t recall.
I might be mixing up different parts of the book, but everyone ought to read it at any rate. I’m currently working on a version with verse markers and cross references, in a handsome leatherbound bible edition, for that’s nearly what it is. (The Book of Pigtown, &c.)
Philip
Philip.
‘The Book of Ciaran’ … Brilliant! 
(just finished it mesel’)
I heard Isaac A. in St. Louis right after he came back from the All-I’s; he did a couple of sets at the Tionol concert with a pickup band. Really nice playing, and he was so relaxed – just cruising through the stuff. Lovely.
Thanks for the update; I’ll keep my eyes & ears open for a recording, and enjoy your Bible study!
I’m certain you could get the hang of playing in odd keys with enough, ack, practice. I’m playing along with standard tunes in D and G slowed down to C and F (sounds like a sugar company!) - Winamp has a plugin called Pacemaker that lets you change tempo and pitch independently. The older versions are free, the newer ones cost a bit.
Why do this? A friend of mine has pipes in C! And for the yocks of course.
Ciaran agonizes over things a bit much but then if he didn’t he wouldn’t have much of a book to write! I like his story about learning the flute while lying prone, so he wouldn’t hurt himself when he passed out from oxygen deprivation…
Terry McGee wrote about trying Cathal McConnell’s flute. Could almost get down to the low A! Kickin’ it old school, I think they call this sort of non-chalance.