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All About Reels

Strong Tone, Effortless Breathing & Stamina, Precise Rhythm & Speed

ALL ABOUT REELS: AN IN-DEPTH STUDY FOR IRISH FLUTE

All About Reels is a study of 13 reels taken from Kirsten Allstaff’s album Four/4. Four/4 is so named after the time signature of the reel (4/4). The reel is a tune type that many players find challenging due to breathing obstacles, speed and stamina issues. Using the reel as the vehicle of focus, Kirsten shares with us pretty much everything she knows about the flute, how she dealt with her weaknesses (common to most players) and overcame them, tricks for improving breathing, practice apps and wonderful classical flute warm-up exercises that have been adapted for the Irish tradition.

This course suits the intermediate to advanced flute player who is really seeking to develop their talent and take their playing to a new level of dexterity and fluidity. Be sure to scroll down for an in-depth course description as this is the biggest course on offer here at OAIM and is packed with wisdom and guidance from a professional Irish flute player (and teacher) with over 30 years playing experience.

By the end of this course, you will have greatly improved the qualities of your playing with regard to tone, intonation, breathing, stamina, rhythm and speed. You will have learned some incredible warm-up exercises that will stand to you for your entire playing career. Plus of course, you will master the art of reels on your flute all the while adding 13 beautiful reels to your repertoire.

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  • 18 lessons teaching how to play 13 very popular Irish tunes
  • PDF sheet music & mp3’s to download & keep for each tune
  • Progress at your own pace, pause & repeat videos
  • Access to 14 instruments, 60+ courses, 1000+ tutorials
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BONUS!

  • Access our Entire Course Catalogue for Every Instrument
  • Library of over 150 popular Irish tunes to practice along with
  • Virtual Reality Sessions for the unique Irish Pub Session experience – a real treat for the Irish music lover
  • Community Forum of students and teachers, all friends with a love of Irish music

Your Tutor

Kirsten Allstaff
Kirsten Allstaff is one of the founders and directors of The Online Academy of Irish Music. She is an acclaimed flute and tin-whistle player and has played music throughout Ireland, Europe, North America and Asia with various Irish dance shows and groups: Gaelforce Dance, Celtic Legends, Rhythm of the Dance, The Fiddlecase and Clare based band Los Paddys De Los Pampas.In 2014, Kirsten released her solo album 'Gallowglass'. With master instrumentalists John Joe Kelly on Bodhrán and Eoin O'Neill on Bouzouki amongst many others. This album is a blend of traditional tunes from her two homelands of Ireland and Scotland.Originally…
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Course Structure

  • Do you have trouble staying in tune?
  • Are you aware that some specific notes on your flute are out of tune?
  • Is your tone consistent between the two octaves, or does it weaken in your low or high notes?
  • Do you have trouble breathing in the tunes, specifically reels?
  • Do you have trouble holding long phrases?
  • Do you often wonder where the best place is to breathe in reels?
  • Do you want to learn how to create rhythm and momentum in tunes?
  • Are you ready to start learning tunes using f natural keys?
  • Are you ready to invest some time and TLC into your flute playing?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then this course is a must for you.

In this course, you will learn skills to help you find your own breathing and articulation patterns in reels. Subtle variation, how and where to place these will also be explored.

You will also be introduced to a range of exciting music practice apps that will make your practice time more effective and infinitely more fun!

This course is for you if you are serious about taking your playing to the next level.

Lesson by lesson breakdown:

The odd-numbered lessons (1,3, 5… 25) feature the tune taught phrase by phrase with focus on ornamentation and at times variation. It is recommended to learn these tunes by ear, however, ABC and staff notation are provided for lesson support if needed. The Four/4 system of ABC tune notation provided makes the study of breathing, articulation and variation very easy.

The even-numbered lessons (2, 4,6… 26) hone in on the qualities we all want in our flute playing: strong tone, good intonation, effortless breathing and stamina, precise rhythm and speed.

Exercises work on:

  • Intonation
  • Embouchure flexibility
  • Abdominal breathing
  • Finger dexterity: scales and patterns
  • Keywork: F♮naturals & B♮natural scales and patterns

Bonus Lessons: Complete Warm-up Exercises for Flute are included in lessons 27 through to 32. These 15-minute lessons cover exercises for intonation, embouchure, abdominal breathing finger dexterity (scales and patterns) and improvement of tone in each key (see list below). The modes of major, Mixolydian, natural minor and Dorian are featured as they are a real must in Irish music.

Here is the All About Reels lesson by lesson breakdown:

  1. The Braes of Busby.
  2. Introduction to intonation.
  3. The Street Player.
  4. Continuation of the study of intonation plus an introduction to abdominal breathing.
  5. The Temple Hill Reel.
  6. Continuation of the study of intonation and abdominal breath. Begin study on breathing in reels.
  7. Merry Nicht Under The Tummel Brig.
  8. Continuation of the study of intonation and abdominal breath. Continuation of the study of breathing in reels.
  9. The Robin.
  10. Continuation of the study of intonation and abdominal breath. Introduction to articulation creating emphasis.
  11. The Four Province Fling.
  12. Continuation of the study of breathing patterns and articulation patterns in reels. Introduction to variation patterns.
  13. Maggie Moore’s Pancakes.
  14. Tone improving exercises.
  15. The Watchmaker Reel.
  16. Continuation of the study of intonation, abdominal breathing, breath and articulation studies. Introduction to the study of scales and patterns for finger dexterity.
  17. The Commodore.
  18. Continuation of breath and articulation study. Introduction to using harmonies for improving tone.
  19. The Jug of Punch.
  20. Continuation of intonation, abdominal breath, finger dexterity and tune enhancement. Continuation of breath and articulation mapping. Introduction to notes in the third octave. Introduction to keywork.
  21. The Big Reel of Ballynacally.
  22. Continuation of previous studies. Focus on variation.
  23. Brian Quinn’s Reel.
  24. Introduction to a fun practice app!
  25. Paddy Fahey’s Reel.
  26. Conclusion of course. Caring for your keys!

Bonus Lessons:

  1. Complete Warm-Up Exercises for Flute: G Major.
  2. Complete Warm-Up Exercises for Flute: D Major.
  3. Complete Warm-Up Exercises for Flute: A Major/Minor.
  4. Complete Warm-Up Exercises for Flute: B Minor.
  5. Complete Warm-Up Exercises for Flute: E Minor.
  6. Complete Warm-Up Exercises for Flute: D Minor.
Sample Sheet Music
Download Download The Braes of Busby ABC Sheet Music. Download Download The Braes of Busby Standard Notation Sheet Music.
The Braes of Busby
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FAQ's

Do I need a keyed flute to do this course?

Out of the 26 lessons, only seven lessons (1, 7, 18, 19, 20, 23, 25 & 26) require you to have the keys of F♮ (natural) to play the tunes. Lesson 25 has an occasional Bb. Two of the tune lessons, The Watchmaker and The Big Reel of Ballingaddy, have only 1 or 2 F ♮(naturals) so it is perfectly possible to half hole these on a keyless flute. Kirsten uses a keyless flute for the first 14 lessons.

Do I need to learn all these exercises and techniques?

Absolutely not! Irish music is all about having fun and only going as deep into it as you want to. If you just want to learn more tunes along with ABC’s notation and skip the heavier stuff, then that is fine. Just take the first 25 lessons and skip the exercises!

How long should I spend on each lesson?

I recommend doing 2 lessons per week, which is doing 1 tune and one technique lesson (eg,. lesson 1 + 2, then lesson 3 + 4 and so on). Remember listen to the tune a few times to gain familiarity before starting the learning process. When you learn the warm-up exercises and techniques, start each practice session with these.

A lot of the reels on Kirsten's album are played on an E flat flute, do I need an E flat flute for this course?

No, not at all. Kirsten teaches all the tunes using her D flute.

Why can't I play along with Kirsten's album Four/4 with my D flute?

Kirsten recorded her album using her E flat flute for a lot of tunes. However, Jean Damei, her accompanist on the album has recorded the backing tracks to all 13 tunes and they are available here on OAIM under the Play-Along Backing Tracks area. So all the tunes can be played using a D flute. Play along with both Kirsten and Jean, or mute Kirsten and play only with the accompanying guitar. The best part about the Play-Along Backing Tracks is that you can adjust the speed between 50, 75 and 100%, so you can adjust the tempo according to your progress.

More detailed questions and discussion on the course can be found in the Community Forum*
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All About Reels Lessons

1
Intermediate
The Braes of Busby

Creating rhythmical G rolls

Melody
G Major
Reel
2
Intermediate
Introduction to intonation

Intonation for the key of G major

3
Intermediate
The Street Player

Rolls & triplets

Melody
D Major
Reel
4
Intermediate
Introduction to abdominal breathing

Intonation for key of D major

5
Intermediate
The Temple Hill Reel

Ornamentation, left hand dexterity & variation

Melody
A Minor
Reel
6
Intermediate
Begin study on breathing in reels

The economical use of breath

7
Intermediate
Merry Nicht Under The Tummel Brig

Rolls, triplets & variation

Melody
E Minor
Reel
8
Intermediate
Continuation in study of intonation

Intonation for key of E minor

9
Intermediate
The Robin

Simple, rhythmical tune with great lift

Melody
B Minor
Reel
10
Intermediate
Introduction to articulation creating emphasis

Intonation exercises

11
Intermediate
The Four Province Fling

A simple, single tune

Melody
B Minor
Reel
12
Intermediate
Introduction to variation patterns

How to create subtle variations effectively

13
Intermediate
Maggie Moore’s Pancakes

Focus on syncopation & ornamentation

Melody
B Minor
Reel
14
Intermediate
Tone improving exercises

A fun challenge to improve tone

15
Intermediate
The Watchmaker Reel

How to make ornamentation percussive

Melody
A Minor
Reel
16
Intermediate
Study of scales and patterns for finger dexterity

Series of exercises as a warm up for A Major & A Minor

17
Intermediate
The Commodore

Using F Naturals

Melody
D Major
Reel
18
Using harmonies for improving tone

Harmonics on the note of D

Live 2
19
Intermediate
The Jug of Punch

Focus on Key work, Ti-ka-ta tonguing and Rolls

Melody
D Minor
Reel
20
Intermediate
Introduction to notes in the third octave key work

Continuation of intonation, abdominal breath, finger dexterity & tune enhancement.

21
Intermediate
The Big Reel of Ballynacally

Playing a Modal Tune

Melody
G Mixolydian
Reel
22
Intermediate
Focus on variation

Continuation of previous studies. Focus on variation

23
Intermediate
Brian Quinn’s Reel

This tune lends itself to long phrases

Melody
G Mixolydian
Reel
24
Intermediate
Introduction to a fun practice app

Introduction to a fun practice app

25
Intermediate
Paddy Fahey’s Reel

Keywork will be focused up and the key of B flat introduced

Melody
G Mixolydian
Reel
26
Intermediate
Caring for your keys

Conclusion of Course & Caring for your keys

27
Intermediate
Complete WarmUp Exercises for Flute G Major

Warm-Up Exercises G Major

Warm-Up
G Major
28
Intermediate
Complete WarmUp Exercises for Flute D Major

Warm-Up Exercises D Major

Warm-Up
D Major
29
Intermediate
Complete WarmUp Exercises for Flute A MajorMinor

Warm-Up Exercises A Major/Minor

Warm-Up
A Major
30
Intermediate
Complete WarmUp Exercises for Flute B Minor

Warm-Up Exercises B Minor

Warm-Up
B Minor
31
Intermediate
Complete WarmUp Exercises for Flute E Minor

Warm-Up Exercises E Minor

Warm-Up
E Minor
32
Intermediate
Complete WarmUp Exercises for Flute D Minor

Warm-Up Exercises D Minor

Warm-Up
D Minor
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