Question: Is there any kind of flute or whistle that is simpler than a simple system flute?
Answer: Well, as it turns out, yes there is. Known as the N’dehou, it is an end blown single note Pygmy flute that is made of bamboo.
Question: What can be done with one note?
Answer: One could mimic birds I suppose, but it turns out that, in the hands of the right person, much can be accomplished with a single note flute. A great exponent of the N’dehou is the Cameroonian composer, writer, and musicologist Francis Bebey (1929-2001). In the video below he demonstrates what a creative musician with a N’dehou might be capable of. In his words, it is a form of conversation that takes place between the flute and the player.
On a sunny Saturday morning in March (southern hemisphere Autumn) 2025, Ronan Browne visited and enchanted a gathering of around fifty souls with a message of peace in the Irish language – and a lovely traditional Irish air. Despite the fact that he did not visit physically, but in digital form, Ronan touched the heart’s of all who had gathered at Zuvuyaland, a peaceful nature reserve that is a short distance from the great lake Taupō in the central North Island of New Zealand.
The purpose of this gathering revolved around the Peace Poles at Zuvuyaland. A Peace Pole is a monument that displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in the language of the country where it has been placed, and usually some additional translations. The message is often called a peace prayer. On this particular day eight new translations in Irish, Bengali, Danish, French, Czech, Greek, Russian and Ukranian were added to the poles. At the gathering were members of the Zuvuyaland society, the local community and twenty members of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run who were visiting Taupō for the weekend.
Ronan had been invited to offer a translation in Irish of “May Peace Prevail on Earth” by the organisers and he kindly recorded a message and a tune for the ceremony. When it was played, it was as though Ronan was standing there among us – it was quite special. And how lovely it was to hear him playing the traditional Irish air Bonny Portmore on his Martin Doyle flute.
So we are very grateful to Ronan for his efforts and to his friends who helped with the translation. It is sometimes difficult to exactly translate an English phrase into some languages. The Irish words for May Peace Prevail on Earth, Síocháin do Chách, Anois is go Brách, translates back to English as “Peace to All, Now and Forever” – an equally fitting phrase to the original.
We invite you to enjoy this precious moment that was captured on video.
Since 1986, many significant landmarks around the globe – from natural wonders to entire nations – have been dedicated to peace as part of the Sri Chinmoy Peace-Blossoms programme. The Peace-Blossoms family offers an opportunity for different communities to share in mankind’s common quest for peace.
“What does peace do? Peace blossoms. What else? Peace spreads. What else? Peace illumines. What else? Peace fulfils.” – Sri Chinmoy.
Occasionally Martin Doyle’s webmaster browses the Chiff and Fipple forum boards to read what the folks out there have been chatting about, especially with regards to Martin Doyle flutes. One can learn a lot and also see the progress that we have made over the years as a community. Recently he came across an interesting post from March in 2010 by Jim Stone – a flute player from St. Louis, USA.
The context was that someone had spotted a Martin Doyle flute on Ebay and was casting around at the time to see what people knew about Martin’s flutes. Jim was first to comment with these kind words…
I’ve played a couple of Doyle flutes. These are really good flutes.
“To tuning slide or not to tuning slide – that is the question.”
The conversation then turned to the fact that the particular flute in question did not have a tuning slide. Martin Doyle’s basic flutes, whether celtic or traditional models, do not come with tuning slides but they can be ordered with tuning slides or even retro fitted after purchasing. Jim Stone had the following to say about the ‘no tuning slide’ issue.
No slide. The flute is tunable via the tenon and is, in fact, widely played in sessions. The craftsmanship is very good, the design is very good. The headjoint is all wood, and the flute has a great woody sound, good volume. It’s a bit on the Pratten side of things but easy enough to handle and finger. I would gladly buy one of these if I didn’t have quite enough D flutes already.
A Doyle flute is in evidence on the first part of this video.
Jim was on the money with his comments regarding tuning slides. Many flute players do not use them and they get along just fine. A prime example is in the YouTube video that Jim posted a link to. The flute player in the video is Ronan Browne, who is playing a Martin Doyle flute in the first instrumental break and a set of Uilleann pipes in the second. It is a lovely example of the reedy sound of an Irish flute without a tuning slide – ie: no metal lining the head joint. Here are some words from a testimonial that Ronan sent for Martin Doyle’s website some years back…
This past August Martin Doyle received a lovely testimonial from American flutist Shana Stone, a performer, teacher and composer-arranger, who had purchased one of Martin’s six key flutes made from African Blackwood. These are her words …
“Martin Doyle’s flutes are nothing short of extraordinary. My six-key flute, made from African blackwood, speaks easily and with plenty of punch, sass, and personality. It sweetly sings the old airs and has plenty of bubble and spark in the faster tunes, and the low D barks wonderfully. This flute has such depth, soul, and clarity that it makes me fall in love with it all over again every time I play it. I could spend a lifetime getting to know its distinct voice. It is easily accessible to play, yet filled with an expansive palette of nuance to explore. The prices are extremely reasonable, and Martin is communicative, caring, and the best person to work with!”
About Shana Stone
“Shana is a thoughtful, engaging musical artist and classically trained flutist devoted to interpreting and sharing music with listeners. She graduated in May 2025 with her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia, where she served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the UGA Flute Studio and performed with the Southern Wind Quintet. She now intends to focus on growing her teaching studio and pursuing an orchestral career. She earned her Master’s degree in Flute Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (where she studied with Dr. Erika Boysen and Dr. Tim Hagen) and her Bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance from the University of Georgia (where she studied with Professor Angela Jones-Reus). Other teachers include Daniel Self, Kristen Holritz, Elizabeth Klein Teplitsky, and Emily Zirlin.” Read more: My Story | Shana Stone »
Martin Doyle’s website has recently received a much needed facelift in the form of a new template – MDF’s fourth incarnation in 20 years! The site has been lightened a little with the photo gallery and video clips pages being replaced with Martin’s Flickr and YouTube channels.
A heart-felt THANK YOU goes out to our good friend Shana Stone who assisted with the rebuild of the website by way of proofreading each page and making some very helpful observations and suggestions. It was an invaluable service for which Martin Doyle and his team are extremely grateful. More about Shana in our next news post.
Other New and Updated Pages
The publication of a second Biddy Jenkinson poem entitled Martin’s Flute
As Martin is now well into the 42nd year of his flute making odyssey, we are hoping to interview him soon to get his take on four decades of providing the world with top of the line wooden simple system flutes and all that it has entailed. We look forward to sharing his thoughts and experiences with you in the very near future.
2023 Marks the 40th Anniversary of Martin Doyle Flutes!
“I have been reminded that I am forty years making flutes this year. At times like this, it comes to mind that there is a large number of people to thank for their help along the way – a steady stream of friends, teachers and customers who have offered their ideas, inspiration and encouragement. I would like to mention them all but they are so numerous that it would be impossible. If I started now and wrote for a month, I would probably still leave some important people out.
So … I will settle for offering my gratitude to all those who have supported me down through the years and say that it has been an honour to be of service to the vast world of music and the harmony that it creates. Thank you all so much!” — Martin Doyle.
Some Comments from the Sidelines
I first met Martin Doyle in 2000 at his riverside workshop in Bray, County Wicklow. He was seventeen years into the process of producing good quality simple system wooden flutes back then and doing well. The story of his journey is wonderful – full of character and great characters. Twenty-three years later and we are celebrating Martin’s 40th anniversary in the noble art of flute making.
40 years is a long time to be doing anything – especially an activity like flute making. A very precise art, the making of flutes requires focused concentration for hours on end hunched over machinery, wearing magnified eye shields and working in the realm of fractions with material that can at times be hard on the nerves and the health. It is an artisan craft that requires vision, commitment and dedication.
There is also a great deal of responsibility as one is labouring to accomplish a good result for musicians – beings that can be quite pedantic in terms of what they seek in an instrument. As in all aspects of life, there are peaks and valleys but, from my observation, Martin seems to have enjoyed the view from the peaks more often than not.
Then there is the aspect of transcendence. How does one develop ones capacities in order to take a chosen craft beyond the limitations of what has been created previously? This is where I personally believe that Martin Doyle has excelled. As with the work of making a flute, transcendence is accomplished in fractions and occurs when diligence, research, intuition, passion and many other glowing qualities meet with and are moistened by the rains of love for the work, discipline, patience, humanity and, certainly in this case, love for music itself.
Martin is himself an accomplished musician and, as the years have passed, his flutes have always gradually improved in my view. Perhaps he is vicariously making flutes for that deep universal aspect of himself that exists in others – or is that to zen? Whatever the case may be, there seems to be an underlying aspiration for perfection in Martin’s journey as a flute maker and as a man on this earth. Perfection is, after all, a master that demands constant transcendence through self improvement.
Well Martin, fair play to you – forty years is no joke! I am sure that you have a few more years in you yet and some fortunate musicians out there will benefit from that. Personally I would like to thank you for your friendship and for having me along for the ride. I am honoured to have partaken in a little of life’s adventure with you! Your kindness and generosity of spirit are matters of my heart’s deepest joy and gratitude. MY HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!
~ Shardul.
If any who read this post would like to leave a comment for Martin, please do so below. Encouragement is a valued commodity. 🙂
Whilst nothing at all can be taken from the effort that musicians put into performing in Fleadh Cheoil competitions, from a instrument maker’s point of view, there are sometimes moments of pride when they hear that their instruments are in the hands of the musicians that win or place. Kudos to the instrument players and kudos to the instrument makers!
This year a Martin Doyle flute was played by Molly Pittendrigh (above right) of County Mayo who won first place in the ’15-18 flute’ and third place in the ’15-18 flute slow air’ competitions at the 2022 Fleadh Cheoil at Mullingar in County Westmeath. Congratulations and well done Molly!
Whilst nothing at all can be taken from the effort that musicians put into performing in Fleadh Cheoil competitions, from a instrument maker’s point of view, there are sometimes moments of pride when they hear that their instruments are in the hands of the musicians that win or place. Kudos to the instrument players and kudos to the instrument makers!