Musical Project from Ireland

I figured it was high time I did another post about my own musical projects. My newest pet project is an Irish flute I picked up in Killarney. I found it at a hole-in-the-wall music shop we came across on the honeymoon.


It's a 6-hole (rosewood I think) with 6 keys. When I found it, it was clear the flute had seen better days. Some of the keys were loose and leaky so the tone quality was not great, and the threads at the connections were loose. But I though it had potential and it was a pretty good deal, so I took a chance in purchasing it.

When we got home I left the flute with Krys at Pasadena Woodwind Repair (this guy knows his stuff, just in case anyone out there plays woodwind) and after a week or so he was able to get it all in working order again. Yay!

So now comes the fun part. I've been listening to lots of traditional Irish music for the past week and am starting to play by ear, learning the scale they use and all that fun stuff. Having played both flute and piccolo for years, I thought this would be a breeze, but the scale and fingerings are a bit different in Irish music, so I now have a full blown project on my hands!

So here's to a future post with a recording of some jigs, reels or airs played on the Irish flute!
As a side note, Kevin also picked up a bohran (Celtic drum) at the same music shop, and we are hoping to learn the basics of Irish dance music together!