Traditional Irish Flute - Tips on buying

Womble25

Hi all
I am thinking of buying a flute for a work friend who is learning on a borrowed one at the moment. I know nothing about traditional Irish flutes and am looking for some help. Can you just go into Waltons etc and just pick one up or do you get them made? Would it make more sense to just get her a voucher to buy the exact kind of one she wants?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Futurecrook

Well, to buy any sort of decent flute you'd need to spend several hundred euro. Is that something you're prepared to do? Cheap flutes are usually very poor quality and incredibly difficult to play, so providing a beginner with one of these will make the learning process even more difficult for him/her and set them back quite a bit if they've been playing on a decent flute.

Avoid Waltons. The stuff they sell is rubbish. Usually the best thing to do is to buy directly from the maker. I would highly recommend Martin Doyle as his flutes are easy to play, have a lovely tone and are at the lower end of the price range.

While it's a nice idea, the problem is that choosing what flute to buy is usually influenced by personal preference. Not all makes of flute will suit every flute player out there.

okiepokies

Hi, Traditional wooden flutes are expensive.. there are a couple of makers that i could recommend, Hammie Hamilton in cork is most likely the best but expensive. You have to order it and then wait a year and it can cost 600 euro approx.. Seery in bray (wolfe tone sq i thnk) make nice basic flutes 300 euro i think and Doyle flutes in wicklow are also good atabout the same price approx but not exactly sure. You could buy a second hand one.. if you contact the pipers club in henrietta street (they give flute lessons there) they may know of a decent second hand one for sale. be careful as they are wooden and if not oiled can crack or split ruining the sound.
They are a lovely instrument, regards Orla

Futurecrook

Just to clarify, Martin Doyle is based in Clare these days and one of his basic flutes will cost over 500 euro. Hamilton flutes are okay, but can be uncomfortable for some people to play due to the sizing of the holes, spacing, etc. This can be the case with any flute, as I said already, it really is a personal preference. There are a couple of good Dublin based flute makers though and there's nothing wrong with buying a decent second hand flute but you need someone who knows their stuff to check it out before you buy it, or to make sure you can really trust the person you're buying from. There are some really rubbish "beginner" flutes out there and I'd hate for you to part with any cash only to find it wasn't worth the wood it was made from.

Womble25

Thanks a million for all your help. Cost-wise it would be fine as there are a number of us contributing to the gift. I was thinking of perhaps asking one of the makers for a 'voucher' that could be redeemed by the person themselves so that they could decide exactly what type of flute they wanted, etc. Will have a chat with the other ppl contributing to the gift and go from there.

Thanks again for all the advice

fh041205

After reading this, I'm (somewhat briefly) considering this myself as I already play tin whistle. Is it worth picking up a cheap one to give it a lash and how much do ye reckon it would set me back?

Futurecrook

Womble25 wrote: »

Thanks a million for all your help. Cost-wise it would be fine as there are a number of us contributing to the gift. I was thinking of perhaps asking one of the makers for a 'voucher' that could be redeemed by the person themselves so that they could decide exactly what type of flute they wanted, etc. Will have a chat with the other ppl contributing to the gift and go from there.

Thanks again for all the advice

Well if it's between a few of you then I really can't recommend Martin Doyle highly enough. For someone just starting they're incredibly easy to play. Best of luck with it. Also, forgot to say, what a lovely idea for a present.

fh041205 wrote: »

After reading this, I'm (somewhat briefly) considering this myself as I already play tin whistle. Is it worth picking up a cheap one to give it a lash and how much do ye reckon it would set me back?

As I already said, some cheap flutes aren't worth the wood they're made from. To make sure you're getting anything decent I'd recommend sticking to the well known makers and spending no less than 300 euro. Des Seery and Martin Doyle both make great flutes but are both at the cheaper end of the range.

Alternatively if you just want to try it out and see if it's an instrument you'd be interested in sticking with you could try Tony Dixon. He makes low whistles with a convertible head so they can be played as flutes. He also makes a cheap wooden flute. It's probably the best bet for you if you're just starting out. Check out his website here http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/catalogue/dixonshop.html and have a look.

Strings.ie

We used to stock some entry level trad Flutes. They were priced around 90, 130, 160 Euro and made in Asia. Rosewood, Cocuswood and Ebony.

While they wouldn't be in the same league as many of the higher end Flutes they were perfectly playable, in tune and ideal for beginners.
Most parents just aren't prepared to pay 600 Euro plus on their childs first Flute in case they don't take to playing Flute.

I agree there are many cheap Flutes on ebay that are only fit for firewood but you can get a perfectly good entry level wooden Flute for under 200 Euro.