Free Flute Sheet Music

Tune of the Day: Chanson de Matin

“Chanson de Matin” (literally “Morning Song”) was originally composed by Edward Elgar for violin and piano; later, the English composer also arranged it for a small orchestra. It was first published in 1899, though it is thought that it was almost certainly written in 1889 or 1890.

This “song” (the French chanson does mean “song”, although this piece is an instrumental one) has often invited comparison with its companion piece, “Chanson de Nuit”, and though critically it has been described as less profound, its fresh melodic appeal has made it way more popular.

Tune of the Day: The Chorus Jig

The earliest appearance of this tune is found in the first volume of Smollett Holden's collection A Collection of Old Established Irish Slow and Quick Tunes, published in Dublin in 1805. Many variants have since emerged.

Tune of the Day: Study in F major by Gariboldi

Here is another simple melodic étude from Giuseppe Gariboldi's collection of 30 Etudes faciles et progressives.

Tune of the Day: Porgi, amor

Appearing at the beginning of Act II, this is the first aria sung by the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. She is very sad, and worried about her husband's infidelity.

O Love, give me some remedy
For my sorrow, for my sighs!
Either give me back my darling
Or at least let me die.

Tune of the Day: The Thieving Magpie

When do you write the overture to your opera? According to Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, you should wait for inspiration until the evening before the opening night, because “nothing primes inspiration more than necessity”. Fortunately for him, Rossini was famous for his writing speed. His opera La gazza ladra (literally, The Thieving Magpie) was no exception. It was reported that the producer had to lock Rossini in a room the day before the first performance in order to write the overture. Rossini then threw each sheet out of the window to his copyists, who wrote out the full orchestral parts.

This overture makes a few appearances in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, and has also provided the background score for many television and radio commercials. It also appears during the famous baby-switching scene in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America.

Tune of the Day: Billy McCormick

This jig first appeared in Chicago Police Captain Francis O'Neill's collection The Dance Music of Ireland, published in 1907.

Tune of the Day: Study in A-flat major by Andersen

Here is another étude by Danish flutist Joachim Andersen. This Andantino in A-flat major is study No. 17 from his Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.