Free Flute Sheet Music

Tune of the Day: Allegro from Il Pastor Fido

This Allegro is the fourth movement of Sonata No. 1 in C major from the collection of six sonatas titled Il pastor fido (“The Faithful Shepherd”).

This collection has always been attributed to Antonio Vivaldi until recently. According to modern scholars, however, in 1737 French composer Nicolas Chédeville made a secret agreement with Jean-Noël Marchand to publish a collection of his own compositions as Antonio Vivaldi's Il pastor fido. Chédeville supplied the money and received the profits, all of which was attested to in a notarial act by Marchand in 1749. This may have been an attempt to give his instrument, the musette (a sort of bagpipe), the endorsement of a great composer which it lacked.

Tune of the Day: Menuets by Naudot

This pair of minuets constitutes the fourth movement of the last of Jacques-Christophe Naudot's 6 Babioles pour 2 Vieles, Musettes, Flutes-a-bec, Flutes traversieres, Haubois, ou Violons, sans Basse. The French term babiole humbly indicates something of little value or importance, a trifle.

Tune of the Day: Caprice in G major by Andersen

This study in triplets is the third piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.

Tune of the Day: Light and Airy

This jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill remarks that “Light and Airy” first appeared in A Choice Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances & Strathspeys, etc., published by Robert Ross at Edinburgh in 1780.

Tune of the Day: Menuets by Handel

These two lovely minuets are part of Suite No. 3 in G major from George Frideric Handel's Water Music. While the first of the two minuets was originally scored for a small string ensemble (two violins playing in unison, a viola and continuo), the second minuet also called for a piccolo (or possibly a recorder in G) to play in unison with the violins.

Thanks to Philip for suggesting this piece!

Tune of the Day: I'd be a Butterfly

This romantic ballad was composed by English poet, dramatist and songwriter Thomas Haynes Bayly.

I'd be a Butterfly born in a bow'er,
Where Roses and lilies and violets meet;
Roving forever from flower to flower,
And kissing all buds that are pretty and sweet.

The present arrangement for two flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.

Tune of the Day: Study in C major by Drouet

This exercise in double tonguing is the fortieth study from the fourth part of the Méthode pour la flûte by French Romantic flutist and composer Louis Drouet, published in Paris in 1828.

Tune of the Day: Larry Grogan

The earliest appearance of this tune in print is in Daniel Wright's Compleat Collection of Celebrated Country Dances, vol. 2, published in London in 1742. The air was subsequently employed in several ballad operas, starting with Jack the Gyant Queller (1749), Kane O'Hara's Midas (1764), and Arne's Love in a Village (1795). The popular melody can be found in a number of musicians' copybooks of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Lawrence Grogan of Johnstown Castle (County Wexford, Ireland) was a famous 18th-century “gentleman piper” and composer. He was the first performer on the The Irish Uillean (or Union) Bagpipe of whom there is historical record.

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Handel

This is the opening movement of a sonata in B minor for flute and keyboard that is thought to have been composed by George Frideric Handel. First published in 1730, the sonata is referred to as Halle Sonata No. 3 (“Hallenser Sonate Nr. 3” in German). Its authenticity is uncertain; in fact, of the three “Halle” sonatas, it is the best candidate for not having been composed by Handel, although if it wasn't, it is an extremely good imitation of his style.

Thanks to Cesar from Brazil for suggesting this piece!

Tune of the Day: Chaconne Polonoise by Naudot

This grand chaconne constitutes the closing movement of the last of Jacques-Christophe Naudot's 6 Babioles pour 2 Vieles, Musettes, Flutes-a-bec, Flutes traversieres, Haubois, ou Violons, sans Basse. The French word babiole humbly indicates something of little value or importance, a trifle.

Tune of the Day: Caprice in E minor by Andersen

This staccato etude is the fourth piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.

Tune of the Day: Hinchy's Fancy

This jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. It is named after Tom Hinchy, a blind fiddler from East Clare, Ireland. O'Neill considers this tune to be “a better setting” of “Hinchy's Delight”, a similar piece which had previously appeared in his 1903 collection Music of Ireland.

Tune of the Day: El Farrista

Here is a new tango arrangement for flute and guitar. This “Creole tango” was composed by the famous Argentinian singer and composer Ángel Villoldo, often nicknamed “the father of tango”. The Spanish title “El farrista” roughly translates to “The Party-loving” in English.

Tune of the Day: The Sailor's Tear

This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833. The melody was composed by Sidney Waller, who also authored the tunes to “Love From the Heart” and “My Heart's True Blue”.

He leap'd into his boat, As it lay upon the strand; But oh, his heart was far away, With his friends upon the land; He thought of those he lov'd the best, A wife and infant dear, And feeling filled the sailor's breast, The sailor's eye a tear.

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

This exercise in double tonguing is the forty-first study from the fourth part of the Méthode pour la flûte by French Romantic flutist and composer Louis Drouet, published in Paris in 1828.

Tune of the Day: Taymouth House

This reel in the key of A Mixolydian is taken from Alexander McGlashan's A Collection of Reels, published in 1786. More recently, it has appeared in Harding's All-Round Collection with the title “Faymouth House” (probably a misprint).

Tune of the Day: Tempo di Minuetto by Telemann

This minuet-like piece is the fourth movement and third “aria” of Georg Philipp Telemann's Partita No. 4 in G minor, TWV 41:g2, originally published in 1716 as part of the Kleine Kammermusik (“little chamber music”) collection. The original edition indicates that the melody is intended to be played by an oboe, a violin, or a flute.

Tune of the Day: Affettuoso by Schultze

Today's piece is the opening movement of a Sonata in G major for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.

Tune of the Day: Caprice in D major by Andersen

This playful Moderato in D major is the fifth piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.

Tune of the Day: The Last of the Lot

This Dorian-mode jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The tune shares similarities with “The Fairhaired Boy”, from which it probably descended.

Tune of the Day: Rondo by Mozart

This Rondo is the final movement of the second of 5 Divertimentos for three basset horns composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1783 to 1785. These pieces were later rearranged for solo piano and published as the Six Viennese Sonatinas, which is why this piece is also known as the Rondo (Allegro) from Sonatina No. 2 in A major.

Tune of the Day: Come, and Beneath the Linden Shade

This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833. The melody is attributed to the famoust Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti.

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Drouet

This exercise in double tonguing is the forty-second study from the fourth part of the Méthode pour la flûte by French Romantic flutist and composer Louis Drouet, published in Paris in 1828.

Tune of the Day: Gordon's Reel

The only known appearance of this Scottish reel in print is in Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. We transposed the melody from C major to D major to better fit the range of the flute.

Tune of the Day: Preludio by Chédeville

This is the prelude to the third of the Il pastor fido sonatas, first published in 1737 and traditionally attributed to Antonio Vivaldi. The actual composer, Nicolas Chédeville, made a secret agreement with Jean-Noël Marchand to publish a collection of his own compositions as Vivaldi's Op. 13. Chédeville supplied the money and received the profits, all of which was recorded in a notarial act. This may have been an attempt to give his instrument, the musette, the endorsement of a great composer which it lacked.

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Schultze

This Allegro is the second movement of a Sonata in G major for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.

Tune of the Day: Caprice in B minor by Andersen

This little etude is the sixth piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.

Tune of the Day: Apples In Winter

An early setting of this tune appears with the title “Kennedy's Jig” in Joyce's Ancient Irish Music, published in Dublin in 1890. Though different, this Dorian-mode melody shares some similarities with Jackson's Stranger, which is sometimes also referred to as “Apples In Winter”.

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Handel

This Allegro is the second movement of a sonata in B minor for flute and keyboard that is thought to have been composed by George Frideric Handel. First published in 1730, the sonata is referred to as Halle Sonata No. 3 (“Hallenser Sonate Nr. 3” in German). Its authenticity is uncertain; in fact, of the three “Halle” sonatas, it is the best candidate for not having been composed by Handel, although if it wasn't, it is an extremely good imitation of his style.

Tune of the Day: The Hunters' Chorus

This “Huntsmen's Chorus” is sung in Act 3 of the 1821 opera Der Freischütz (usually translated The Marksman or The Freeshooter) by German Romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber. It is often performed as a standalone concert piece, and is relatively well known; additionally, its popularity recently received a boost from being included in Book 2 of the Suzuki Method for the Violin.

The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.