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Fingering Charts Now Available

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Martin Doyle playing a keyless D fluteIn the interests of serving those who play simple system flutes, Martin Doyle has added fingering charts for simple system keyless D flutes to his website. Printable PDF versions of the fingering charts are also available to download.

These fingering charts are inspired by the fingering charts published by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697–1773) in his treatise On Playing the Flute which was first published in 1752. Martin Doyle studied Quantz at the beginning of his flute making career and found On Playing the Flute to be a great source of inspiration and information regarding simple system flutes and eighteenth century music in general.

Martin Doyle's fingering chart for simple system keyless D flutes

Martin Doyle’s fingering chart for simple system keyless D flutes

Martin Doyle’s fingering charts can be viewed here: Fingering Charts For Keyless D Flutes »

GRATITUDE

While Martin Doyle essentially designed these fingering charts, a huge THANK YOU has to go to our good friend Asankita in New Zealand for patiently and diligently creating the fingering chart graphics (as per above) that are now on Martin’s website. Thank you for your many kindnesses brother – you are in line for sainthood!

Eimear McGeown Playing A Martin Doyle Flute

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Eimear McGeown – classical and Irish flute.

Eimear McGeown – classical and Irish flute

We are very proud and grateful to be able to feature two tracks on Martin Doyle Flutes by the accomplished flute player Eimear McGeown. A native of County Armagh in Northern Ireland, Eimear plays both classical and Irish flutes.

This from Eimear’s website:

The Irish culture and tradition has played a major influence in Eimear’s life, starting Irish dancing at the age of three and going on to become a Northern Ireland Champion dancer. Eimear began playing whistle at the age of nine and progressed to the traditional Irish flute a year later having lessons with Sligo born flautist, Séamus Tansey.

Eimear was the Ulster Champion on the whistle when she was eleven years old and later went on to win two All Ireland Champion titles on the Irish flute both as soloist and in a trio with her brother and sister. She performs on the traditional Irish flute regularly including recitals, in the West End Show Lord of the Rings, with folk/rock band Amsterdam, session studio work in London and is currently recording a solo Celtic Crossover album.

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Baroque Flutes by Martin Doyle

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A new page presenting information regarding the wooden Baroque flutes made by Martin Doyle has recently been added to his website.

Martin Doyle completed his first set of Baroque flutes early in 2000. Originally working with African Blackwood, he modelled his Baroque flute design on an eighteenth century Rottenburgh Baroque flute. Martin has also made Baroque flutes from Boxwood, three of which feature below.

Three Martin Doyle Baroque flutes made from Boxwood.

Three Martin Doyle Baroque flutes made from Boxwood.

More details can be viewed here: Baroque Flutes »

Irish Translation Added

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Diarmuid Breathnach

Diarmuid Breathnach.

Recently added to Martin Doyle Flutes is a translation of the About Martin Doyle page. It has kindly been translated into Gaeilge (Irish language) by Irish biographer and encyclopaedist Diarmuid Breathnach of Bray in County Wicklow, whom Martin Doyle has known for many years.

Born in 1930, Diarmuid was educated at University College Dublin and became a librarian in Kilkenny, then a sound archivist and chief librarian at RTÉ from 1974 to 1986. His major achievement is the compilation, with Máire Ní Mhurchú, of Beathaisnéis, a multi-volume dictionary of modern Gaelic culture. On May 17, 2002, the National University of Ireland conferred honorary degrees – The Degree of Doctor of Celtic Studies – upon Diarmuid Breathnach and Máire Ní Mhurchú at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Our heart-felt gratitude to Diarmuid Breathnach for his kind efforts and abundant patience – he is indeed a grand gentleman! The new page can be viewed here: Sceal Máirtín Ó Dubhghaill »

New Testimonial Added

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Martin Doyle has just received a very nice testimonial from Paul MaCarthy – a self professed ‘flute player for the fun of it’ – who hails from Clonmel in County Tipperary. Paul’s kind comments are as follows:

Paul McCarthy

Paul McCarthy with his Martin Doyle flute.

“Having played other flutes (mainly African Blackwood with headliner) and been dissatisfied with their somewhat capricious nature, I started searching for an instrument which did not have these flaws. After scratching around the country on and off for months and visiting several well respected flute makers, I failed to find what I was looking for. Maybe it was me and not the flutes but I found them very unacceptably fickle.

Eventually in the autumn of 2005 I found myself in a snug workshop in Bray talking with a very relaxed and affable flute maker who invited me to sit into the corner and try any flute I could find. There were several on a rack on the table next to me so I started with the one closest to me and worked my way along about 7 or 8 of them. Being of a methodical nature, I played the same tune (a slip jig called A Fig For A Kiss) on each of them to better judge their performance. All were sweet toned, balanced and uncapricious. Then my eye lit on it. A nice looking Cocuswood, unkeyed, unlined flute at the end of the rack. The feeling I got on playing those first few notes I can still recall. Absolutely gorgeous tone, weight and balance, not a hint of fickleness and with that lovely soft, mellow reverberation which comes with good tone. Low D? No problem. Another fifteen minutes playing passed interspersed with question and answers with Martin. The decision to buy this particular flute was not made by me nor by Martin but by the flute. This thing of beauty is of the rare sort and gives massive enjoyment.
Thanks are not enough Martin Doyle!”

Thank you Paul – your kind words are great encouragement!

More comments from flute players all over the world can be viewed here: Testimonials »

Just Added: A Flute Maker/Player Dyad

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Martin Doyle, Desi Wilkinson and Elizabeth Petcu

Martin Doyle (flute maker), Desi Wilkinson (flute player) and Elizabeth Petcu (essayist).

In 2002, as the final semester essay undertaken to gain her Masters Degree in Music, Martin Doyle’s good friend Elizabeth Petcu wrote ‘A Phenomenological Study into the Experiences of a Flute Maker/Player Dyad’. With her kind permission, this essay has been reproduced on Martin Doyle Flutes.

This phenomenological study is an interesting and illumining insight into the relationship between a flute maker, Martin Doyle, and a flute player – in this case the renowned Irish traditional musician and music scholar, Desi Wilkinson.

The following are excerpts from Elizabeth’s essay.

From the introduction:

Discovering a flute maker’s workshop in my local town a few years ago enabled me to combine my lifelong fascination for woodwork and wood turning with my love of flutes and flute playing. Under the allure of the atmosphere in the workshop and listening to the philosophising of the maker, caused me to be curious about the “ingredients” contained in the instruments. I wondered if the experiences of the maker, as he worked, could be converted into a more tangible form. The phenomenological approach, also recently discovered, suggested itself as being a possible way to reveal the powerful, unspoken psychological processes and energies which I could palpably feel in the workshop.

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New Music Samples Added

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Just added to Martin Doyle Flutes: three music samples from Elizabeth Petcu’s debut solo flute album, Just Me. Elizabeth Petcu is a good friend of Martin Doyle’s who lives in Bray, County Wicklow. They also constitute two thirds of the music trio Rune.

Elizabeth Petcu's debut album, Just Me.

Elizabeth Petcu’s debut album, Just Me.

Former Principal Flute (25+ years) with the RTE Concert Orchestra, Elizabeth Petcu studied with Professor Doris Keogh at The Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. She has an honours music degree from Trinity College Dublin and holds a Masters in Music Therapy from the University of Limerick. Just Me is a distillation of all these experiences.

The fourteen tracks that comprise Just Me were recorded at the acoustically exceptional Calary Church near Roundwood in County Wicklow and the album is a lovely interpretation of Elizabeth’s favourite repertoire.

Elizabeth recorded Just Me on a Muramatsu concert flute fitted with a wooden headjoint and a keyless simple system Irish flute. Both the wooden headjoint and the Irish flute were made by Martin Doyle. The three tracks that have been added to Martin Doyle’s website are those that Elizabeth recorded using her Martin Doyle keyless Irish flute.

Elizabeth Petcu playing a Martin Doyle flute.

Elizabeth Petcu playing a Martin Doyle flute.

The two Telemann tracks are particularly worth noting as they were technically challenging in that Elizabeth decided to perform them on her Martin Doyle keyless simple system flute – just six open holes with lots of half-holing and cross fingering – quite an accomplishment! Throughout this album, Elizabeth Petcu exhibits her capacity as a mature flute player of great technical capacity that is coupled to a heart-felt passion and sensitivity for her selection. Just MeDebussy, Telemann, Bozza, Bach, Ibert, Honegger, Bates and Karg-Elert – with a traditional Irish air as a fitting finale.

The three tracks can be heard here: Flute Music – Elizabeth Petcu »

Our gratitude to Elizabeth Petcu for her kind permission to display these tracks. For those interested, Just Me can be purchased from the homepage of Elizabeth’s website »