Scottish, Irish, and just generally Gaelic Flute Music?

[OC Richard]

By the way what sort of flute do you play?

When I got into Irish fluteplaying (around 1977) all the Irish guys played on vintage wooden flutes.

These were flutes made for "classical" or orchestral use.

Irish players preferred London-made flutes from between around 1830 and 1880.

These generally had 8 keys, either block-mounted or pin-mounted, giving a full chromatic scale of three octaves.

But the traditional Irish players usually only played the six open holes (the same six holes an Irish whistle has) and would often remove the keys and fill the holes.

In the 1970s and 1980s when there was a huge increase in the number of people taking up Irish flute it became obvious that there weren't enough antique flutes to go around. So a new species of flute was born, a flute specifically made for Irish traditional music.

These neo "Irish flutes" were/are usually copied from great-playing originals, but modified somewhat to favour the lower range because trad Irish fluteplayers generally don't play up in the 3rd octave.

They're often made keyless, though keys can be ordered.

There have been a small number of trad Irish fluters over the years who have used the Boehm flute, either in silver or in wood. So if somebody already plays Boehm flute they don't have to go out and buy an "Irish flute" in order to play Irish flute music.

Probably the most well-known trad Irish Boehm-flute player is Joanie Madden. Here she is playing with Conal O Grada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ76XyoN000

[WildThistles]

By the way what sort of flute do you play?

When I got into Irish fluteplaying (around 1977) all the Irish guys played on vintage wooden flutes.

These were flutes made for "classical" or orchestral use.

Irish players preferred London-made flutes from between around 1830 and 1880.

These generally had 8 keys, either block-mounted or pin-mounted, giving a full chromatic scale of three octaves.

But the traditional Irish players usually only played the six open holes (the same six holes an Irish whistle has) and would often remove the keys and fill the holes.

In the 1970s and 1980s when there was a huge increase in the number of people taking up Irish flute it became obvious that there weren't enough antique flutes to go around. So a new species of flute was born, a flute specifically made for Irish traditional music.

These neo "Irish flutes" were/are usually copied from great-playing originals, but modified somewhat to favour the lower range because trad Irish fluteplayers generally don't play up in the 3rd octave.

They're often made keyless, though keys can be ordered.

There have been a small number of trad Irish fluters over the years who have used the Boehm flute, either in silver or in wood. So if somebody already plays Boehm flute they don't have to go out and buy an "Irish flute" in order to play Irish flute music.

Probably the most well-known trad Irish Boehm-flute player is Joanie Madden. Here she is playing with Conal O Grada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ76XyoN000

Looking it up, my flute seems to be similar to the Boehm flute? It's silver in coloration, and keyed, allowing for a bit over a three octave range from my experience, though I've never had much need to push even further above, or below, the staff. It's three pieces, with a detachable foot and head joint, and is the type typically found in American band classrooms. Would that be "classical"? I'm not too familiar with the terminology, but I largely played it in concert band and marching band settings.

This is a really valuable overview, and I really do appreciate the resources for how people utilized each kind of fluit. Admittedly, I do enjoy the middle and lower octave the most, so that's exciting to hear that the same was largely favored by traditional players. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the full range of flutes that can be made, but the alto and base (and contrabase and so on) flutes are truly beautiful instruments with beautiful sound. There are orchestras that are purely made out of flute players (fluters), covering a full range of notes, between the subcontrabass and the piccolo.