I don’t play strictly Irish flute, either, Jim, and I agree that ITM alone can bog you down if that’s not all you want to play. Certainly, turning to Bach or Mozart is a fine choice. Some here on list live and breathe ITM, and I certainly did for a time, so having said that, if you do want to learn ITM in some identifiable way, you have to tackle certain aspects of it, which learning Danny Boy will not accomplish. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn Danny Boy, but it won’t teach you how to play Irish flute. Since the question, originally, was “what tunes?”, I went with suggesting the types of Irish tunes that will teach you the most about Irish flute.
The other thing; probably the easiest way to get hold of O’Neill’s is through Mel Bay (the full title of the one I mentioned is O’Neill’s 1001 Jigs, Reels, Hornpipes, Airs and Marches, the unrevised version (and this is an important issue – don’t get the revised version), or O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, also avoid the revised version. There’s lots of overlap on these two books, tune-wise; MOI has more tunes and an O’Carolan section, but I like the 1001 selection better. Owning both is great, too. Mel Bay sells the original facsimile text versions which is what you want; I can’t vouch for the on-line site someone gave above; I’ve no idea if these are the revised versions, or if mistakes were made putting them in various formats, etc. – be great to know they are accurate. Still, it’s nice to have the properly published and printed books in hand, IMO.
I have the printed facsimile version, and so far have found no mistakes in the electronic version, but I’ve hardly checked every tune. Still, on spot checking, it looks good.
I don’t play strictly Irish flute, either, Jim, and I agree that ITM alone can bog you down if that’s not all you want to play. Certainly, turning to Bach or Mozart is a fine choice. Some here on list live and breathe ITM, and I certainly did for a time, so having said that, if you do want to learn ITM in some identifiable way, you have to tackle certain aspects of it, which learning Danny Boy will not accomplish. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn Danny Boy, but it won’t teach you how to play Irish flute. Since the question, originally, was “what tunes?”, I went with suggesting the types of Irish tunes that will teach you the most about Irish flute.
This makes good sense, of course. I can’t tell you
what I’m now going through learning to play
music much of which I don’t particularly like.
But I must learn to play the flute; there’s
no other way. Best
Many years ago I had to learn the Poulenc Sonata for flute.
I didn’t particularly like this piece of music then; I don’t now either.
I did learn to play it well–I aced a full-faculty with it, Syrinx, and a Handel sonata–but even though I took great pride in being able to play the 3rd octave pyrotechnics, I never really liked that music.
Now the Handel: that was music. And Syrinx is still a work that speaks volumes to me.
The irony is, having learned to play Irish music has made a far better classical flutist out of me, even if I don’t have quite the degree of technique that I once had on the Boehm flute.
And definitely it has given me the power of tone that I used to seek and never did find–until I quit looking for it.
This all started with a Christmas gift of a “Celtic sampler” in about 90 or 91, somewhere in there, from a good friend. After that I encountered the Chieftains–my first thought was “My God! They are so badly out of tune!” and now I think “Durn! I wish I could play that well in tune!”–and then I heard Matt Molloy play the Mason’s Apron, and the rest is history.
Thank you, much encouraged. I so envy you’all
who have been playing for years. When I wars
13 I wanted to play the flute, but my orthodontist
took out a big book on the disfiguring effects
of playing various instruments. According to
this book flute playing shortened the upper
lip. ‘Your upper lip is short enough already,’
he said. So I started playing flute at 60, now
that I’m too old for the disfiguring effects
to matter. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Out of curiosity. Can you play older classical on the simple system flute? I’m guessing so because the simple system was used before the Boehm came to be, correct?
If you have a keyed flute that fully chromatic then you can play any music on it. It was the instrument of choice before Boehm and other variations came around.
If you don’t have any keys, you are somewhat limited by available notes and your ability to half-hole to get the odd note, F-natural etc. The nice thing about a keyless flute in D is that you can play most tunes used in Irish trad music. Not all, you get the occaisional tune in a funky key.
Even on the keyless there are lovely classical things
to play, like minuet in G, Sleepers Awake,
O’carrolan stuff is classical, Ode to Joy.
I’ve been playing tunes from Mozart,
especially from The Magic Flute. Some of
Bach’s Lute Suites. But I’m playing tunes…
not the score as Bach et al wrote it.
Some of Schubert’s songs…Beethoven’s Romance in D Minor.
For those who need to extend themselves beyond ITM—isn’t that everyone—and aren’t enjoying the classical stuff, I have three words: jazz, blues, klezmer. Just those three words, no particular order.
Nope, there are some that don’t, Wombat. Some just like ITM.
Me, I started, and always return to, rock n’ roll; got into the flute through Tull, although I suppose that’s somewhere between jazz and blues, classical and baroque, and – of course – rock n’ roll.
Spend most of my time on baroque, lately, on a one-key; much nicer to play Handel on that then on a silver flute, and – in a bit of reversal to what James said (although I agreed with his sentiment) – playing baroque on a small-holed traverso helped my Irish playing immensely. All goes to embouchure control, either way.
But Jim, if you really don’t like most of the music, don’t torture yourself. There are some “modern” Irish players I can’t listen to, no matter how technicaly good they are. I like the old, even hokey stuff, that sounds like it makes leprechauns dance, not stuff that sounds like a clarinet on speed.
Play music you love; it’s not medicine you have to take. The trick is finding something you like in music that’s challenging.
Actually some people do really just want to do the one thing well and stick to it and I don’t really object; it’s not my business to run their lives. I just find in my own playing that playing different styles helps a lot with all of them, just as playing different instruments helps with all of them.
One thing I certainly agree with: with so much great music out there in so many different styles, why play music you don’t like? I’m sure there’s no technical exercise you need to play which can’t be incorporated into something in a style you like. If it can’t be, why do you need to learn it?
Well, I’d like to be able to play in sessions; also I went to master (ha!)
technique. A fair amount of the music played in sessions
leaves me unmoved, it’s celebratory, great to
dance to, but I think if I learn to play it
maybe I’ll like it better. That I’m unmoved
by it may have to do more with me
than the music. And I’m persuaded
that this is the music I need to learn
to get the technique. I hasten to add that
I love a great deal of celtic music,
but much–not all–of the stuff
I like best is slower.
Just those three words, no particular order.