Greetings

Welcome to the woodenflute.com website. The primary focus of the woodenflute.com website is simple system wooden flutes with or without keys, which are often referred to as Irish flutes. However, I hope to encourage discussion of wooden Böhm flutes, renaissance flutes, bamboo flutes, Native American flutes, and all other types of wooden flutes.

Much of the content of this website is created and maintained by the woodenflute.com user community. Enjoy browsing the News articles, Sessions list, online member directories of players, teachers, and instument makers, and Questions and Answers page.

Join the community! Once you become a member you can add new Web Links without my assistance. You can add yourself to the players, teachers, or instrument makers directories by checking the appropriate boxes on your "member preferences" webpage.

Enjoy the site! Many thanks to the members who have helped make it a success.
Larry Owens (Screen Name: webmaster)

Irish Flute

The basic Irish flute is a simple system six hole flute tuned such that the lowest playable pitch (all holes closed) is the D above middle C, and the instrument will play a D scale (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#) as the holes are uncovered sequentially to shorten the resonant length of the pipe. The basic flute can be played in the key signatures of D and G without difficult cross fingerings, which is sufficient for a large variety of traditional Irish melodies.

The basic flute may be embellished with the addition of keys (typically metal, mounted to wooden blocks) used to play pitches which would require cross fingerings or be impossible to produce on the basic flute. Four keys (short F, G#, Bb and Eb) are required to produce a fully chromatic instrument. Two keys (long F and high C) can be added to improve playability, and two more keys (low C and C#) can be added to extend the range of the instrument to middle C.



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News Headlines
Videos of Grey Larsen demonstrating Folk Flutes
Grey Larsen’s 4-CD set is on holiday sale for $4.99: “300 Gems of Irish Music for All Instruments”
Minnesota Irish Music Weekend June 12, 2015- June 13, 2015
2014 Minnesota Irish Music Weekend features McEvoys, Mac Diarmada, Blake and Gallagher
Paul Mulvaney Rocks!
6th Annual Minnesota Irish Music Weekend
Are these Flutes?
Patrick Olwell documentary
Accompaniment
Invite in Sardinia


Random Web Link
Traditional Irish Music and Song from West Kerry, Ireland

The flute at the bottom of this page was made by Michael Grinter of Australia, and is his acanthus leaf model, serial number 4. It is based on a Rudall & Rose instrument circa 1840. It is valued at approximately $4800 US.