Scottish, Irish, and just generally Gaelic Flute Music?

[WildThistles]

In the old days I think it was more common for pipers to make their own reeds.

In the 1980s we had a pipe band here in Los Angeles that had three reedmakers in it! That's quite rare nowadays. I did play for a couple years in a pipe band that was led by a super piper who is also an excellent reedmaker. It made a huge difference in the quality of the band's sound.

For sure a Scottish piper immigrating to Cape Breton Island or North Carolina a couple hundred years ago would have to make his own reeds, and make his own bags too.

Would a fiddler be able to make his own strings? I never thought about it.

The flute travels better than either pipes or fiddle! No reeds, no bags, no strings.

Oh wow! I've never heard of people making their own reeds, but that must be a much more accessible way of access (once you are passable at the craft at least). Looking up the violin, at least modern violins, seem to have a variety of materials as their strings. I'm not sure if this is standard, or the historical way it has been. An acquaintance of mine from the Appalachian region once told me that many instruments out there aren't necessarily made in the traditional ways either, so people very possibly could have found their own ways to supply their fiddles strings. I'm unsure of the details though, definitely a thing to ask around about if the chance ever comes up.

And that is true! It's also quite light, so easy to transport. I wonder the reasons for its spread being so much less than the pipes or the fiddle considering.

[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.

[OC Richard]

Here's what Nancy Toff has to say about the various terms for people who play flute:

On the average of once a week somebody asks me "are you a flutist or a flautist?"

My answer is a vehemently declaimed "Flutist!"

Less decisive people call me a fluteplayer, or even fluter...but please don't call me a flautist.

I have run into "fluter" in the Irish flute world, I suppose an analogy with "piper".

But I think "flute-player" is the most common term.

("Flautist" was invented by a Victorian English poet living in Italy. where the word for flute is flauto.)

[Father Bill]

An interesting analysis and opinion on the two words is found here: https://writingexplained.org/flutist...autist-correct

[OC Richard]

Hmmmm phrasing it as "the word flautist first appeared" hints at more legitimacy than the word has, as if it was in circulation.

It was coined by the poet. For some reason literary people who were outside the world of music picked up on it.

As far as I know it's never been used within musical circles.

Well it's like the term "bagpipist". Nobody in the piping world would use such an absurdity. But several times over the years I've found myself listed as that in programmes.

Pipers just say "piper".

The press does have a tendency to either coin or pick up on words that they think have a nice ring to them, and use them despite their not being recognised in the fields which newspeople apply the words to. There's a common example here in the USA that the rules of this site don't allow me to mention.

[WildThistles]

Hmmmm phrasing it as "the word flautist first appeared" hints at more legitimacy than the word has, as if it was in circulation.

It was coined by the poet. For some reason literary people who were outside the world of music picked up on it.

As far as I know it's never been used within musical circles.

Well it's like the term "bagpipist". Nobody in the piping world would use such an absurdity. But several times over the years I've found myself listed as that in programmes.

Pipers just say "piper".

The press does have a tendency to either coin or pick up on words that they think have a nice ring to them, and use them despite their not being recognised in the fields which newspeople apply the words to. There's a common example here in the USA that the rules of this site don't allow me to mention.

That's an interesting history. Personally, most flute players I've interacted with haven't had issues with the term, but perhaps that's a result of its normalization over time. I did always feel a bit self-conscious with the term "flautist," so it's nice to have alternative options that are also somewhat standard.

[OC Richard]

...most flute players I've interacted with haven't had issues with the term, but perhaps that's a result of its normalization over time.

Just how normalised "flautist" is depends on context.

If you showed up at an Irish music session populated by Irish people and/or non-Irish people who have spent a lot of time in the Irish trad world and announced that you were a "flautist" there would be rolling of eyes and knowing glances.

About the classical/orchestral/mainstream flute world Nancy Toff is about as much an insider as there can be, and I've quoted her opinions above.

My point is that incorrect terms can get traction outside of the field the term comes from, but not within that field.

An example that comes to mind is "flippers" which isn't used within the scuba diving world. They're called "fins".

One thing that's very widespread when people who don't know anything about languages or linguistics are talking about languages they don't speak is describing all of them as being either "nasal" or "guttural". It's nonsense. These terms do have specific meanings in linguistics, for example a "nasal" is a sound where the air escapes through the nose. English has two nasals "m" and "n" (try saying those while holding your nose) but there's no such thing as a "nasal language".

[WildThistles]

Here's a quite different style, popularised in the 1970s and 1980s by Matt Molloy.

It's full of uilleann pipe ornaments, and the overall playing is more "on the stream"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS7NxJDp4zQ

I'm currently going through the videos you sent and watching them. I forgot to inquire when we first discussed the topic, what did you mean by 'on the stream.' Are there specific musical traits that uilleann pipe ornaments draw on? Listening to these videos, it's interesting. I've been reading up on SCD a bit, and the types of Scottish country dances. The terms "reel" and "jig" seem to correspond between both the traditional Irish flute play and the Scottish country dances (in terms of denoting time signature at least).

[WildThistles]

Just how normalised "flautist" is depends on context.

If you showed up at an Irish music session populated by Irish people and/or non-Irish people who have spent a lot of time in the Irish trad world and announced that you were a "flautist" there would be rolling of eyes and knowing glances.

About the classical/orchestral/mainstream flute world Nancy Toff is about as much an insider as there can be, and I've quoted her opinions above.

My point is that incorrect terms can get traction outside of the field the term comes from, but not within that field.

An example that comes to mind is "flippers" which isn't used within the scuba diving world. They're called "fins".

One thing that's very widespread when people who don't know anything about languages or linguistics are talking about languages they don't speak is describing all of them as being either "nasal" or "guttural". It's nonsense. These terms do have specific meanings in linguistics, for example a "nasal" is a sound where the air escapes through the nose. English has two nasals "m" and "n" (try saying those while holding your nose) but there's no such thing as a "nasal language".

That is good to know, thank you for the information: ) I've heard of a lot of stories regarding groups where language to describe them is given that the original group may have not agreed with, and then younger people who aren't as in touch with that original group and who grow into the group just continue to use that non-preferred language.

[User]

...

These terms do have specific meanings in linguistics, for example a "nasal" is a sound where the air escapes through the nose. English has two nasals "m" and "n" (try saying those while holding your nose) but there's no such thing as a "nasal language".

I never would have guessed that this morning I'd recite the alphabet with my nose plugged.