KiwiCelt Wooden Flutes

There are many flute makers in the world and among them, some really good ones. I have chosen to play, promote and sell the simple system wooden flutes made by my friend Martin Doyle of County Clare in Ireland. Martin has invested much time and energy studying and developing his craft as a flute maker since the early 1980’s. Growing up with Irish traditional music in his family and community, he has an innate love for music, great skill as a trained mechanical engineer, a real sense of perfection and a progressive attitude in life. Martin Doyle’s flutes strongly reflect these qualities and, in my opinion, are among the best available today.

About the simple system wooden flute

When the change to the Boehm system flutes came in the late 19th century, the older simple system wooden flutes were adopted by Irish traditional musicians – hence the coining of their colloquial name, the ‘Irish flute’.

By the time the resurgence of interest in Irish traditional music came in the 1950’s and 1960’s, many of the old flutes were still around were in need repair. As in the case of Martin Doyle, some innovative people began repairing the old flutes and went on to copy the old designs or began experimenting with their own designs. The result is that now there are a number of dedicated flute makers around the world who are creating high quality instruments and taking the art to new levels. While many of the contemporary flute makers have studied the flute making techniques of people like Quantz and Pratten, there is no doubt that the flute makers of the 18th and 19th centuries would be pleased with some of the improvements made to the simple system wooden flutes over the last three or four decades.

Modern Irish flutes often have few, if any keys, which is one difference between them and their predecessors, which had anywhere from 5-10 keys in addition to the standard six open holes [...]
There are two main styles of Irish flute, the Pratten and the Rudall & Rose. The Pratten has wider bore dimensions and provides a louder sound, while the Rudall & Rose has a darker, pure tone and is slightly thinner than the Pratten style flute [...] (Note: Martin Doyle’s flutes are more in the style of the Pratten.)
Due to its wood headjoint, characteristic embouchure, the direct (keyless) fingering of notes in two major scales, and the characteristic manner of playing which is part of the Irish music tradition, the simple system flutes have a distinctly different sound than the Western concert flute. The tone of both instruments of course varies greatly with the player, but in general the simple system flutes have a bit of a darker, reedy tone and the direct fingering and style of playing gives the notes just a bit of portamento. Source: Irish Flute.

About Martin Doyle’s simple system ‘Irish’ flutes

Martin Doyle makes two distinct styles of Irish traditional wooden flute – a Celtic style flute and a Traditional style flute.

The Celtic style flutes have a subtle and stylish curving contour in the look of the flute, with a slight ’swelling’ at the tenon for strength. They have only one silver ferrule at this joining point, which has a stylised Celtic motif. The Celtic flutes generally remain keyless and the bore is conical. Tuning slides can be added.

A Martin Doyle ‘Celtic style’ flute in Cocus wood with silver Celtic motif ferrule

“The unlined timber head-joint with no metal tuning slide gives this flute a dynamic range which I have only ever experienced on all timber Rudall and Rose flutes. I find that this flute allows huge possibilities for expression when playing both rhythmic dance music and slow airs.” – Ronan Browne, Ireland.

The Traditional style flutes have straighter bodies with silver ‘ring’ ferrules at each end of the head-joint and one ferrule at the tip of the flute. It is upon these flutes that Martin mounts keys and tuning slides, depending on the customers needs. The bore is conical and they are often sold keyless and without tuning slides.

Martin Doyle ‘Traditional style’ keyless flute in African blackwood

There are four models of keyless flutes available on demand, all made from the best hardwoods: African blackwood, ebony, cocus and boxwood. Special order flutes are also available in native Irish and European timbers.

Keyed flutes are made to order with either three, five, six or eight keys. All ferrules and keys are made from silver and tuning slides can be made from either brass or silver. All ferrules, keys and tuning slides are made by Martin in his workshop.

Martin Doyle ‘Traditional style’ flute in African blackwood with tuning slide

Martin Doyle six key flute in African blackwood

Ordering flutes from Martin Doyle:

Please Note: Comprehensive details regarding keys, tuning slides, pricing, ordering, waiting times and contact details can be found at Martin Doyle Flutes on the Flutes & Prices page.

Ordering flutes from KiwiCelt:

When Martin Doyle flutes are available from this website, they can be shipped immediately. For more information regarding price and availability, kindly go to the Wooden Flutes For Sale page.

Testimonials:

Kind words from people who play Martin Doyle wooden flutes.

• KiwiCelt Wooden Flutes: Testimonials from people who have purchased flutes from KiwiCelt.
• Martin Doyle Flutes: Testimonials from people who play Martin Doyle flutes.

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• Testimonials
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