Free Flute Sheet Music

Tune of the Day: Birnam Wood

This slow strathspey, characterized as a “Marching Air” by Paul Stewart Cranford, was composed by John Gow, one of the sons of Niel Gow, the most famous Scottish fiddler of the 18th century. John established a London publishing firm with his brother Andrew, and distributed brother Nathaniel Gow's publications.

The town of Birnam, Perthshire, sits on the River Tay, opposite the town of Dunkeld, home to the Gow family.

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Blavet

This is the opening movement of the sixth of six sonatas for flute and continuo first published in Paris in 1732. This sonata is nicknamed “La Bouget”.

Tune of the Day: The Plough Boy

This traditional English reel is also known as “The Curly-Headed Ploughboy”. Back in the 1950s, when the BBC used traditional tunes to introduce programs, this particular tune was used to introduce an early-morning market report for farmers.

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

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

This “Poco allegretto” (“A little allegretto”) is the eighth 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: Kate Kearney

This Irish tune can be played as a waltz or as an air. The words to the song “Kate Kearney” were written by Irish novelist Lady Morgan around 1807; the melody, however, had previously appeared as “The Beardless Boy” in Bunting's General Collection of the Ancient Irish Music, published in 1796.

As the famous music collector Francis O'Neill noted, “As a waltz tune Kate Kearney lacked a sufficiently distinct second part, which some orchestra leader eventually supplied. This though serviceable for the purpose intended is devoid of any trace of Irish feeling”.

Tune of the Day: Presto by Benedetto Marcello

The Presto we present today is the second movement of a Sonata in G minor for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712.

Tune of the Day: Prélude in B major

This short prelude is the only piece in B major in the 55 Easy Pieces collection by French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Site update: Our New Online Metronome

In the rapidly evolving world of web technologies, 6 years can be quite a lot of time. That's why we have decided to upgrade our online metronome, which has been running continuously since the launch of flutetunes.com in 2009. No more Java, which means no more plugins to install and no more headaches. The new metronome takes advantage of the most modern web standards, supported by all recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera. It's just as powerful as the old metronome, but with improved sound quality and better compatibility. It even works on iPads!

Sadly the new metronome does not fully work in Internet Explorer 11, as Microsoft hasn't implemented the Web Audio standard yet. If you're an IE user, consider installing a more standards-compliant browser, such as Google Chrome. Alternatively, you can still use the old metronome.

We hope you'll enjoy this upgrade. As always, your feedback is very welcome!

Tune of the Day: Study in E minor by Gariboldi

Today we present the fourth 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: Cossack Lullaby

While the composer of the melody to this old Russian lullaby is unknown, its lyrics were written by poet Mikhail Lermontov during the first half of the 19th century.

Sleep, my darling, sleep, my baby,
Close your eyes and sleep.
Darkness comes; into your cradle
Moonbeams shyly peep.
Many pretty songs I'll sing you
And a lullaby.
But you must slumber, with your eyes closed.
Sleep, dear, rock-a-bye.

Thanks to Moira for suggesting this tune!

Tune of the Day: Allemanda by Blavet

This allemande is the second movement of the last of six sonatas for flute and continuo that French flutist and composer Michel Blavet published in Paris in 1732.

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Devienne

This Allegro is the first movement of the last of French flutist and composer François Devienne's Six Duos pour Deux Flûtes (“Six Duets for Two Flutes”), published in Paris around 1790.

Tune of the Day: Study in G major by Drouet

This study in double tonguing is the tenth piece 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: Jackson's Over the Water

This jig was composed by the famous 18th-century gentleman musician Walker ‘Piper’ Jackson, of the townland of Lisduan, County Limerick, Ireland. Jackson was one of the first Irish tune composers to have had their music published. “Jackson's Over the Water” was part of the 13 compositions that were published by Samuel Lee in Dublin in the circa-1774 booklet Jackson's Celebrated Irish Tunes.

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Benedetto Marcello

The Adagio we present today constitutes the third movement of a Sonata in G minor for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712.

Tune of the Day: Duet in G major by Hugues

Today's piece is the first duet from the second volume of La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute) by Italian composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Site update: Our New Online Tuner

After upgrading our metronome last week, it's time to upgrade our online tuner as well! Thanks to one of the most cutting-edge web standards (WebRTC), we have been able to completely remove the dependency on Java, which makes the new tuner easier to use and faster to load!

This new standard is currently only supported by Chrome, Firefox and Opera, so if you are using another browser, such as Safari or Internet Explorer, the new tuner won't work. In that case, consider switching to Google Chrome: it's fast, secure, and easy to use. Alternatively, you can still use the old tuner.

So, happy tuning! And remember to let us know if you have suggestions or if you encounter any issues!

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Gariboldi

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

Remember: just because a study has a slow tempo, it doesn't mean it's easy to play well! Make sure you play the written rhythms accurately, and always, always pay careful attention to the quality of your sound.

Tune of the Day: Carolan's Dream

This beautiful harp tune is often attributed to the famous blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670–1738), but it seems it was actually composed under the title of “Molly MacAlpin” by William Connellan, a 17th-century Irish harper who lived in Scotland. Carolan reportedly said that he would rather have written this tune than any of his own.

Tune of the Day: E lucevan le stelle

This famous romanza is taken from the third act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca, which premiered in Rome in 1900. It is sung by the character of Mario Cavaradossi, a painter in love with the singer Tosca, while he waits for his execution. The Italian title “E lucevan le stelle” means “And the stars were shining”.

Thanks to Kaylee for suggesting this piece!

Tune of the Day: Tendrement by Naudot

This is the first movement of French composer Jacques-Christophe Naudot's Suite en trio “Les plaisirs de Champigny”, Op. 18. The piece was originally written for musette (a baroque-era instrument similar to a bagpipe, but producing a sound similar to that of the oboe), flute and violin, but it can be played as is by two flutes and a violin, or with very little modification (the little notes in the violin part) by three modern flutes.

Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!

Tune of the Day: Study in F major by Drouet

This lively Allegretto is the eleventh 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: Jackson's Night Cap

This jig was composed by the famous 18th-century gentleman musician Walker ‘Piper’ Jackson, of the townland of Lisduan, County Limerick, Ireland. Jackson was one of the first Irish tune composers to have had their music published. “Jackson's Night Cap” was part of the 13 compositions that were published by Samuel Lee in Dublin in the circa-1774 booklet Jackson's Celebrated Irish Tunes.

Tune of the Day: I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard

This parlor song, also known under the titles “Two Little Maids” and “See, See My Playmate”, was written by American popular music composer Henry W. Petrie in 1894, to words by Philip Wingate.

Once there lived side by side, two little maids, Used to dress just alike, hair down in braids, Blue ging'am pinafores, stockings of red, Little sun bonnets tied on each pretty head.

When school was over secrets they'd tell, Whispering arm in arm, down by the well, One day a quarrel came, hot tears were shed: “You can't play in our yard,” but the other said:

I don't want to play in your yard,
I don't like you anymore,
You'll be sorry when you see me,
Sliding down our cellar door,
You can't holler down our rainbarrel,
You can't climb our apple tree,
I don't want to play in your yard,
If you won't be good to me.

Thanks to Steve for suggesting this tune!

Tune of the Day: Légèrement by Boismortier

This is the opening movement of the tenth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. It is unusual in that it starts in a major key (G major) and ends in its parallel minor key (G minor).

Tune of the Day: Study in D minor by Gariboldi

Today we present the sixth 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: La Bissette

This old country dance, probably originating from France, appears in the second volume of James Aird's A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish, And Foreign Airs, Adapted for the Fife, Violin, or German Flute, published in Glasgow in 1782.

Tune of the Day: Les tendres Badinages

This rondeau is the third movement of the last of six sonatas for flute and continuo that French flutist and composer Michel Blavet published in Paris in 1732.

Tune of the Day: Duet in D major by Hugues

Today's piece is the fourth duet from the second volume of La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute) by Italian composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Tune of the Day: Study in D major by Drouet

This “Allegro deciso” is the twelfth 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 Fairy Queen

While this is one of the best-loved tunes by the legendary blind harpist Turlough Carolan, some scholars say it's actually an older melody he adapted for the harp. In particular, Irish collector Edward Bunting (1840) believes that the air “Ciste nó Stór” is the original of “The Fairy Queen”. The tune can also be found with the titles “My Love and Treasure” and “Awake the Harp's Slumber”.

Thanks to Fred for suggesting this tune!

Tune of the Day: Presto by Benedetto Marcello

The Presto we present today is the fourth movement of a Sonata in G minor for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712.

Tune of the Day: Gaiment by Naudot

This is the second movement of French composer Jacques-Christophe Naudot's Suite en trio “Les plaisirs de Champigny”, Op. 18. The piece was originally written for musette (a baroque-era instrument similar to a bagpipe, but producing a sound similar to that of the oboe), flute and violin, but it can be played as is by two flutes and a violin, or with very little modification (the little notes in the violin part) by three modern flutes.

Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!