How to Play Practice Rolls on the Irish Flute

The Irish Flute is a distinctive flute that sounds sharp and often accompanies the sharp sounds of bagpipes and other Irish instruments. Irish flutes can be found at most musical instrument stores and are now common in school bands and orchestras.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Learn how to properly hit the notes and breathe to make the sounds correctly. Never place your tongue on the flute between notes. This is called tonguing the notes and it is the sign of a weak player. You must bring the air from deep in your diaphragm in order to play the Irish flute correctly. It should make a "Ha" sound, not a "Ta" sound. Practice this a few times before moving on.

2. Breathe correctly when playing the Irish flute. As mentioned above, breathe from deep in your diaphragm. Find the most natural place for you to take a breath, which is often between the first and second phrase. It takes some practice and condition to breathe in the right places without disrupting the flow of the tune.

3. Start by playing a G (all three left hand fingers down). Lift left ringer finger (this is A). Return to G. Put right index finger down for an F#. Pick right index finger back up. This is the G roll. Do this slowly until your fingers memorize the sequence and you are familiar with the sound. Shorten up the notes and it will sound like the practice roll you are looking for.

4. Master the practice rolls. Once you have the G roll down, you use the same sequence for the other notes to create their individual rolls. Start slowly and make sure you are hitting the right notes with the correct fingers. Then shorten up the notes and practice some more.