Free Flute Sheet Music

Tune of the Day: The Fox Hunt

This three-part jig is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.

Tune of the Day: Récit de Nazard by Clérambault

This G-minor piece, originally written as part of the Suite du deuxième ton (“Suite of the second tone”) for solo organ, was composed by French Baroque musician Louis-Nicolas Clérambault around 1710. The term nazard refers to an organ stop, whose name probably comes from the nasal character it imparts.

Thanks to Marcello from Italy for suggesting this piece!

Tune of the Day: Menuet en muzette by Boismortier

This set of two minuets constitutes the fourth and final movement of a little Sonata in G major for two flutes written by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Gariboldi

This lively study is the fifteenth piece from Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Vingt études chantantes pour la flûte (“Twenty melodious studies for flute”), Op. 88.

Tune of the Day: Das Panzerlied

The Panzerlied (literally “tank song”) is one of the best known German military songs. It was composed in 1933 by first lieutenant Kurt Wiehle, and gained fame in the English-speaking world due to its usage in the 1965 film Battle of the Bulge.

Today the Panzerlied serves as the official hymn of the armored forces of the Chilean army, and while the lyrics were translated to Spanish, the title stayed the same. The song is also sung by some motorized and parachute units of the Italian and South Korean armies. In France, it was adapted slightly to become the “Marche des Chars”, and the tune is used for the French Foreign Legion song “Képi Blanc”.

Thanks to Hugo for suggesting this tune!

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Blavet

This is the opening movement of the first of six sonatas for flute and continuo by French Baroque composer and flute virtuoso Michel Blavet, first published in Paris in 1732.

Tune of the Day: Duet in E minor by Hugues

Today we propose duet No. 8 from the second volume of Luigi Hugues's La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute).

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Tune of the Day: Study in E-flat major by Drouet

This Allegretto is the twenty-second study from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.

Tune of the Day: Suo Gân

This traditional tune, whose Welsh title literally means “lullaby”, was first recorded in print around 1800.

“Suo Gân” is featured prominently in Steven Spielberg's 1987 film Empire of the Sun, where it is lip-synced by a young Christian Bale. It also appears, instrumentally, in the beginning of the 1991 movie Dutch.

Thanks to Chris for suggesting this tune!

Tune of the Day: Hungarian Dance No. 1

Today's tune is the very first of Johannes Brahms's Hungarian Dances (Ungarische Tänze in German), a set of 21 lively dance tunes based on Hungarian themes. Even if originally written for piano four-hands, each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles.

Thanks to Samaa for suggesting this piece!

Tune of the Day: Invention in D major by J.S. Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Inventions are a collection of fifteen short keyboard compositions, originally written as musical exercises for his students.

Today we present the third of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.

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

This study in trills constitutes the sixteenth piece from Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Vingt études chantantes pour la flûte (“Twenty melodious studies for flute”), Op. 88.

Tune of the Day: A Hundred Years Since

This reel is attributed to James Porteous, son of Keith MacDonald, the editor of The Skye Collection, in which the tune was published in 1887. The title “A Hundred Years Since” probably refers to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.

Tune of the Day: Gavotta by Benedetto Marcello

This gavotte is the third movement of a Sonata in F major for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712.

Tune of the Day: Duet in G major by Hugues

Today we propose duet No. 9 from the second volume of Luigi Hugues's La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute).

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Tune of the Day: Study in F major by Drouet

This 9/8-time “Cantabile” is the twenty-third study from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.

Tune of the Day: Loreley

The Lorelei, or Loreley, is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near the town of St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there. Lorelei is also the name of a feminine water spirit, similar to mermaids, associated with this rock in popular folklore.

In 1824, poet Heinrich Heine adapted the folk tale of the Lorelei in one of his most famous poems, Die Lorelei, which describes the eponymous character as a sort of siren who, sitting on the cliff above the Rhine and combing her golden hair, unwittingly distracted shipmen with her beauty and song, causing them to crash on the rocks. In 1837 Heine's lyrics were set to music by composer Friedrich Silcher in the art song Lorelei, that became well known in German-speaking lands.

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Blavet

This lively Allegro is the second movement of the first of six sonatas for flute and continuo by French Baroque composer and flute virtuoso Michel Blavet, first published in Paris in 1732.

Tune of the Day: Allemande by Boismortier

This slow allemande is the opening movement of the eleventh sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Tune of the Day: Study in D-flat major by Gariboldi

Today we present the seventeenth study from Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Vingt études chantantes pour la flûte (“Twenty melodious studies for flute”), Op. 88.

Tune of the Day: Heart and Hand

This 6/8-time march is taken from O'Neill Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies, published in 1903. O'Neill indicates Chicago fiddler Edward Cronin as the source for this tune.

Tune of the Day: Largo by Benedetto Marcello

This Largo in D minor is the fourth movement of a Sonata in F major for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712.

Tune of the Day: Duet in E minor by Hugues

Today we propose duet No. 10 from the second volume of Luigi Hugues's La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute). This duet can be seen as a study in staccato articulation.

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Tune of the Day: Study in B-flat major by Drouet

This chromatic "Poco allegro" (“A little allegro”, meaning “not too fast”) is the twenty-fourth study from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.

Tune of the Day: The World Turned Upside Down

This English ballad originated in the middle of the 1640s as a protest against the policies of Parliament relating to the celebration of Christmas. The tune is however older, and shared with another ballad, “When the King Enjoys His Own Again”, which was written at around the same time and was perhaps the most popular song in mid-17th-century England. The 18th-century critic Joseph Ritson called it “the most famous and popular air ever heard in this country”.

According to tradition, when Lord Cornwallis surrendered at the Siege of Yorktown (1781) the British band played this tune.

Thanks to Steve for suggesting this song!

Tune of the Day: Aria by Blavet

This “Aria en rondeau” constitutes the third movement of the first of six sonatas for flute and continuo by French Baroque composer and flute virtuoso Michel Blavet, first published in Paris in 1732. The sonata, and this aria in particular, are nicknamed “L'Henriette”.

Tune of the Day: Rondeau by Boismortier

This gracious rondeau is the second movement of the eleventh sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Tune of the Day: Study in C-sharp minor by Gariboldi

This study is the eighteenth piece from Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Vingt études chantantes pour la flûte (“Twenty melodious studies for flute”), Op. 88.

Tune of the Day: Rose on the Mountain

This D-major reel is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.

Tune of the Day: Ciaccona by Benedetto Marcello

This magnificent chaconne is the closing movement of a Sonata in F major for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712. This is an excellent piece to experiment with trills and ornamentation in general.

Tune of the Day: Shepherd, shepherd leave decoying

This playful duet is sung by two shepherdesses in Act II of Henry Purcell's 1691 semi-opera King Arthur. It is also known as “Pipes are sweet on summer's day”.

Thanks to Anna for suggesting this piece!