Learning to Play Irish Flute

Learn to Play Irish Flute

by Jessica Dunnavant

Why Irish Flute?

I’m not Irish. I’m American, so it’s in the mix of my roots, but I’m also Scots-Irish, German, Dutch, Welsh, Manx and straight-up English—and those are just the family lines that we know of and can trace. I think it’s an important distinction to make, because we Americans tend to romanticize so much of our imagined Celtic heritage. My ancestors, real ones that I can name, climbed through the Cumberland Gap to claim a Revolutionary War land grant, and I as an adult live only 100 miles or so from the green valley where they settled. They weren’t Irish either, come to think of it, but finally, there’s the Irish—in some of their ancestors, people I can’t name, who boarded a ship and wound up in Virginia.

My Irish Flute

Before you decide I’m pointing my finger at my proud Irish-American friends, remember—I’m learning to play the Irish flute, meaning I’m just as capable of romanticizing! I can’t tell you in logical terms when I began to love traditional music. I have very little patience for pub songs, but I love the Bothy Band, Lunasa, Cherish the Ladies, Fiddler’s Bid (yes, I know they’re from Scotland!)…something about the whirl of notes, the combination of sounds as fiddle mixes with flute, with whistle, with pipes…it speaks to me clearly and calls me to play. Right now it calls me to play slowly, with lots of cursing and missed notes, but play I will!

I’m Cheating

I’m a cheater. I’m learning to play Irish flute, yes, but I’m a professional musician. Wouldn’t you think that would make it an easier thing to do? The problem is this: I’m a professional classical musician, meaning that I know lots of facts, historically speaking. I can tell you more than you want to know, ever, about music theory and the importance of many esoteric composers, people you’ve never heard of. It also means that as a performer, I am tied visually to a page of printed music. I am so used to reading the music I play that this world of Irish traditional music is a brand new place, far different from the musical world I’ve inhabited since the age of six. I love it! It fills me with glee to learn a new tune by ear, to play without a music stand blocking me from my fellow musicians or a prospective audience. This way of making music feels organic to me. The element of creativity required to deploy all the ornaments I’m learning into the tunes I’m learning is a breath of fresh air. So I only know six songs—so what!