Mally's Traditional Music Store

Traditional musicians in all cultures had their skills passed on to them from mothers, fathers, grandparents, relatives and neighbours in their own locality. The written language of music was not involved, nor were there formal classes or structures to organise this. This was the folk tradition of all peoples, Ireland among them. Traditional music and instruments have varied from country to country and century to century but only in comparatively recent years has the process of learning and passing on become more organised with Folk Music societies and the like existing now in practically every European cultural unit. This has become necessary because of the disappearance of simplicity from people's lives - records, radio, roads, planes, tape, T.V., satellite, film and so on all brought aspects of other cultures to us, and us to the other cultures. Emigration and work-patterns broke up societies and communities and further diversified cultures. Radio, recordings and T.V. mean that there is no longer an environment in any home of undiluted cultural lineage. This is not to say that these changes are bad - on the contrary they are for the most part welcome - but practically, those who want to learn, or to have their children learn, their traditional music have to search for the means to do so.

While younger people may benefit more from having a teacher in person, older beginners will not all be fit to pick up music at the same pace and will often prefer to learn on their own from a self-tutor book and recordings. Up to now practically every instrument has been covered by various tutors - particularly those instruments which are used in modern and Classical musics. There are many tutors for the Boehm-system (fully-keyed, metal) concert flute, and there are almost as many for the apparently-simple, but low-cost, Tin Whistle.

But there has been nothing available for the timber six-hole flutes - those who have wanted to play them have had to depend on advice from other players, trial and error, myths, legends, rumours, allegations and lies. Others have used the introductory sections of some of the Boehm-system flute tutors - none of which are adequate.

This book is an effort to fill the gap. But it is not intended as a substitute for learning from the background of tradition in playing.

Timber The Flute Tutor : Fintan Vallely