Free Flute Sheet Music

Tune of the Day: Be Easy You Rogue!

This tune can first be found, under the title “Sean bhean críona an dranntáin” (“The old woman of the grove”), in volume 4 of the large mid-19th century music manuscript collection of County Cork cleric and uilleann piper James Goodman. “Be Easy You Rogue!” is collector Francis O'Neill's free translation of the Irish title “Stadh a rogaire stadh!” (“Stop, you rogue, stop!”). O'Neill remarks that his version, which we propose today, is a “florid setting of an old jig or march in four strains”.

Tune of the Day: The Little Shepherd

Debussy dedicated his 1908 piano cycle Children's Corner to his five-year old daughter, writing in his dedication: “To my beloved little Chou-Chou, with the tender excuses of her father for that which follows”. The composer's sentiments were presumably an acknowledgment of the inevitable loss of innocence that comes with growing up, but his words take on a darker, more prophetic, hue in hindsight: only a decade later, Debussy was dead, and his daughter was to follow him next year.

The fifth piece in the suite, titled “The Little Shepherd”, is a witty piece in a pastorale style. It tells a story of a young shepherd, playing his pipe, dancing around the meadow, resting by a tree, and finally falling asleep. The expressive simplicity of the piece is conveyed by imitating soliloquy on shepherd's reed pipes which alternates with accompanied dance tunes.

Tune of the Day: Ach, ich fühl's, es ist verschwunden

This aria is sung by Pamina in Act II of Mozart's famous opera The Magic Flute. Pamina tries to speak with her beloved Tamino, but since Tamino must suffer the test of silence, he silently refuses to answer, and Pamina believes he no longer loves her.

Ah, I feel it, it has disappeared
Forever gone love's happiness!
Nevermore will come the hour of bliss
Back to my heart!

The present arrangement is taken from a collection of numbers from the opera published in 1792, a publication that is not listed in the Köchel catalogue.

Tune of the Day: Study in E minor by Andersen

Here is another étude by Joachim Andersen. This common-time Allegro moderato in E minor is study No. 4 from Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.

Tune of the Day: The Humors of Castle Comer

This jig is first found in R.M. Levey's 2nd collection of The Dance Music of Ireland, published in London in 1873. It is closely related to the more famous “The Rakes of Kildare”.

Castlecomer is an old town in the north of County Kilkenny, Ireland, dating back to the Middle Ages. It has been associated with the coal mining industry since the 17th century.

Tune of the Day: Radetzky March

This march was composed in 1848 by Austrian composer Johann Strauss Sr. It was dedicated to the Austrian Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, and became quite a popular march among soldiers. Despite its military nature, the tone of the piece is rather festive than martial, in accordance with its dedicatee's exuberant personality and popularity in the ballroom as well as the battlefield.

When the march was first played, in front of Austrian officers in attendance, they promptly clapped and stomped their feet when they heard the chorus. This tradition is carried over today: when the march is played as the last piece of music at the Vienna New Year Concert, the conductor turns to the audience to conduct their clapping instead of the orchestra!

Tune of the Day: Now is the Month of Maying

This charming piece is perhaps the best known of all English madrigals, and is the prototype of the pastoral-style madrigal, complete with references to nymphs, springtime, and dancing. It was composed by English organist Thomas Morley, and published in 1595.

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Berbiguier

This Allegro in A major is the thirteenth étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Tune of the Day: The Black Rogue

The “Black Rogue” title of this melody is derived from an old song (“An Rógaire dubh“ in Irish Gaelic) still sung in Irish to the tune.

That black haired rogue has my socks and my shoes,
And my handkerchief for a year and a day now.

The provenance of the tune is unclear, as it is claimed by both Irish and Scots, but it is widely known throughout Ireland. It has been said to have been composed by Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland musician Johnny McGill, born c. 1707. It was first printed in O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, published in 1804, and was then included three times in the music manuscripts of 19th-century Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman.

Tune of the Day: Träumerei

Kinderszenen (“Scenes from Childhood”), Op. 15, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838 by German composer Robert Schumann. In this work, the great romantic Pianist provides us with his adult reminiscences of childhood. Schumann had originally labeled this work Leichte Stücke (“Easy Pieces”). Likewise, the section titles were only added after the completion of the music, and Schumann described the titles as “nothing more than delicate hints for execution and interpretation”.

“Träumerei” is one of Schumann's best known pieces. It was even used as the title of a 1944 German biopic on Robert Schumann. “Träumerei” is also the love song for Robert and Clara Schumann in the 1947 Hollywood film Song of Love, starring Katharine Hepburn as Clara Wieck Schumann.

Tune of the Day: Allegretto by Köhler

Here is a duet from the first volume of Ernesto Köhler's Forty Progressive Duets, Op. 55. After the exposition of the main theme, which opposes a sixteenth note run to a more lyrical melody, a short slow section in the key of G-flat major (beware the accidentals!) is introduced. The two flutes are treated almost equally in the very first part of the duet, but the second flute is subsequently relegated to an accompaniment role based on a characteristic rhythmic pattern.

Tune of the Day: Study in D major by Andersen

Here is another étude by Joachim Andersen. This 12/8-time Larghetto in D major is study No. 5 from Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.

Tune of the Day: The Ranting Rake

The earliest appearance of this jig is in the second volume of London publisher Smollet Holden's Collection of Favorite Irish Airs (1818), under the title “The Rakes of Irishmen”. It was later printed in the publications of flute player John Clinton and violinist Richard M. Levey, both born in Ireland but both of whom had successful careers in England on the concert stage, largely playing classical music.

Tune of the Day: Un bel dì vedremo

Madama Butterfly is a famous opera in three acts (originally two) by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. It is set in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1904. According to some scholars, the opera was based on events that actually occurred in Nagasaki in the early 1890s.

Pinkerton, a U.S. Naval Officer, marries Cio-Cio-San (aka Madama Butterfly), a young geisha, in a ceremony she takes more seriously than he. One day, Pinkerton finds that he has been deployed and must do a tour of duty. On the last morning he is with Butterfly he promises her that he will return with roses, when the robin builds his nest again.

At the beginning of Act 2, three years have passed, but Cio-Cio-San still refuses to believe that Pinkerton has abandoned her. She says that, “un bel dì” (“one beautiful day”), they will see a puff of smoke on the far horizon. Then a ship will appear and enter the harbor. She will not go down to meet him but will wait on the hill for him to come. After a long time, she will see in the far distance a man beginning the walk out of the city and up the hill. When he arrives, he will call “Butterfly” from a distance, but she will not answer, partly for fun and partly not to die from the excitement of the first meeting. Then he will speak the names he used to call her: “Little one. Dear wife. Orange blossom.”

Tune of the Day: Soave by Telemann

This is the first movement of the first of Georg Philipp Telemann's Sonatas without Bass for Two Transverse Flutes, or Two Violins, or Two Recorders, although in some editions this particular sonata is referred to as Sonata No. 2. This first movement is marked “Soave” (pronounced So-ah-ve), which is Italian for sweet, soft, gentle.

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Berbiguier

This Allegro in E major is the fourteenth étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Tune of the Day: The Blooming Meadows

The earliest known appearance of this tune is in the American collection Howe's 1000 Jigs and Reels, published in Boston around 1867.

Charlie Piggott, in the essay on Kilmaley, County Clare, fiddler, flute player and uilleann piper Peader O'Loughlin in his book Blooming Meadows (1998), remarks on tunes being disseminated into local, isolated traditions in Ireland by visiting musicians. Such was the case for “Blooming Meadows”, which was introduced into the Kilmaley-Connolly area by traveling piper Jerry O'Shea many generations ago.

Tune of the Day: Andante

This Andante for flute and classical guitar was kindly contributed to our collection by its composer, guitarist Peter Pope. Many thanks for sharing your music with us, Peter!

Tune of the Day: Giovani liete

Here is the flute duet version of a famous chorus from Le nozze di Figaro. It appears near the end of Act I, when a group of peasants led by Figaro sing Count Almaviva's praises:

Greet him with flowers,
Torn from May bowers,
Wet with the summer show'rs,
Children of Spring;
Freely he gives you
Blossoms much dearer,
Ev'ry heart nearer—
Dance, then, and sing.

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Andersen

Here is another étude by Danish flutist Joachim Andersen. This common-time Allegro animato in A major is study No. 7 from his Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.

Tune of the Day: Delaney's Drummers

The earliest appearance of this jig in print can be found under the title “The Mug of Brown Ale” in the first volume of James Kerr's Merry Melodies, published in Glasgow around 1875. The title “Delaney's Drummers” is from Francis O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1907).

Tune of the Day: Original Rags

“Original Rags” was the first of Scott Joplin's rags to appear in print, in early 1899, preceding his “Maple Leaf Rag” by half a year.

The original cover page showed an old man picking up rags in front of a ramshackle cabin, and has been interpreted as a double pun, first on the activities of a rag (or junk) picker, and second on a slang term for ragtime, “picking the piano”. The piece was given the following credits: “Picked By Scott Joplin, Arranged By Chas. N. Daniels”. However, it is not known whether Charles N. Daniels actually arranged the piece, or merely transcribed it.

The rag is mostly in G major, except for the third section, which is in C major, and the fifth section (marked “Brilliant” in the sheet music), which is in D major.

Tune of the Day: Marziale by Köhler

The Italian title of this piece suggests, of course, that it is to be played in a martial, solemn manner. Its main theme, assigned to the first flute, sounds like a brilliant 4/4-time march in C major; the central section, on the other hand, makes use of chromatic passages and has a darker mood to it.

Tune of the Day: Study in B major by Berbiguier

This Allegro in B major is the fifteenth étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Tune of the Day: Crabs in the Skillet

This jig is taken from Patrick Weston Joyce's Ancient Irish Music, published in Dublin in 1873. Joyce writes that he noted the tune in 1854 from James Buckley, “a Limerick piper, who stated his belief that the tune belonged to the county Clare”.

Elias Howe (1867) directs “A little slower than jig time”, indicating that perhaps the tune was originally an air.

Tune of the Day: A Serpina penserete

La serva padrona (“The Servant Mistress”) is an opera buffa (a comic opera) by Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736). The whole opera is only 45 minutes long, and was originally performed as an intermezzo between the acts of a larger opera.

La serva padrona is often seen as the quintessential piece that bridges the gap from the Baroque to the Classical period. Owing to its importance, over time it came to be known as more than just an intermezzo and was performed as a stand-alone work.

The aria “A Serpina penserete” (“You will think of Serpina”) is taken from the second part of the opera. Serpina, a maidservant, has come up with a trick to get her master Uberto, an elderly bachelor, to marry her. She tells him that she has found a handsome man to marry and then, in melodramatic sorrow, laments how Uberto will probably forget her after she is gone.

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Telemann

Here is the second movement of the first of Georg Philipp Telemann's Sonatas without Bass for Two Transverse Flutes, or Two Violins, or Two Recorders. This common-time Allegro in G major does not present any particular technical difficulty, but should be played at a moderately fast tempo.

Tune of the Day: Study in F-sharp minor by Andersen

Here is another étude by Danish flutist Joachim Andersen. This 3/8-time Allegretto in F-sharp minor is study No. 8 from his Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.

Tune of the Day: The Woeful Widow

One of the earliest appearances of this jig can be found in the manuscripts of Irish artist George Petrie (1790–1866), which were first published posthumously as a complete collection in 1902.

Tune of the Day: Minuet and Trio

The French Suites are six suites which Johann Sebastian Bach wrote for the harpsichord between 1722 and 1725. The suites were later given the name “French” as a means of contrast with the English Suites, whose title is likewise a later appellation. The name was popularised by Bach's biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel, who wrote, “One usually calls them French Suites because they are written in the French manner.” This claim, however, is inaccurate: like Bach's other suites, they follow a largely Italian convention. There is no surviving "definitive" manuscript of these suites, and ornamentation varies both in type and in degree across manuscripts.

The Minuet we present today can be viewed as an exercise in turning a B minor chord into a series of arpeggios that constitute a moderately fast eighth-note melody. The Trio that follows stretches out its melodic material more, and the movement ends with a final reprise of the Minuet.

Tune of the Day: Moderato by Köhler

This duet from Volume I of Ernesto Köhler's Forty Progressive Duets is written entirely in 2/4 time, but starts out with a long succession of triplets that makes the piece sound as if it were in 6/8 time. Then, at measure 17, binary rhythms suddenly make their appearance. In order to maintain a steady tempo, you'll need to be very careful when you reach this spot.