November 7, 2011 at 11:21 pm · Filed under County Clare, Flute Making, Ireland, Irish flute, Irish traditional music, Martin Doyle, Music, Musicians, Personal Experiences ·Tagged 3 Instrument Makers (and their music), Davey Spillane, Ennistymon, Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery and Studio, exhibition, instrument makers, Irish traditional music, musicians, November 19-26 2011, Paul Dooley
3 Instrument Makers (and their music)
The west of Ireland is particularly strong in the tradition of music and County Clare is no exception being liberally blessed with gifted musicians and artisans – past, present and, no doubt, into the future. As a result, the county is host to many events that reflect, celebrate and perpetuate this living tradition of music.
One such event (which Martin Doyle is very honoured and excited to be part of) is soon to be hosted by the Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery and Studio. Opening from the 19th to the 26th of November, 3 Instrument Makers (and their music) is an exhibition featuring the work and music of Martin Doyle (flute), Davey Spillane (Uilleann pipes) and Paul Dooley (harp) who all live within a bulls roar of Ennistymon.
In conjunction with the year of the craft, this unique exhibition will offer the visitor a multi media experience of film, photography, audio, as well as a chance to see a display of the exquisitely crafted instruments made by each of these musicians.
Photographer Christy McNamara, well known for his photographs of traditional musicians will be collaborating in this exhibition with a series of commissioned photographs. Also included will be a short film made by Packmule Films documenting each of the musicians at work in their workshops. In conjunction with North Clare Historical Society there will be a lecture Monday 21st at 8pm by Eugene Lambe, collector of tunes and stories from County Clare. This exhibition will be held in the old courthouse building in Ennistymon which has been beautifully renovated into a new art space. Read more »
Details will no doubt be posted on the Courthouse Gallery website and their Facebook page. If you would like a PDF version (A4 size) of the 3 Instrument Makers (and their music) poster (pictured above), click on this link.
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November 5, 2011 at 11:24 pm · Filed under Martin Doyle, Music, Musicians, Personal Experiences ·Tagged Aoife Doyle, Classical Twist, Concert, Limerick, Martin Doyle, November 12 2011, singer, University Concert Hall, Vladimir Jablokov
Aoife Doyle
Martin Doyle speaking to his webmaster today:
“I have an Aikido course all day on the 12th in Galway and when that’s over I’m straight into the car and down to Limerick. My daughter Aoife is singing at the UL concert hall and I’m really looking forward to it!”
Aoife Doyle will be performing as a guest singer in Vladimir Jablokov‘s Classical Twist concert at the University Concert Hall in Limerick on November 12, 2011.
Aoife trained formally as a jazz singer at the Newpark Music Centre in Dublin but sings in a range of styles including jazz, blues and folk. She is also an accomplished fiddle and tin whistle player.
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October 10, 2011 at 4:40 am · Filed under Flute, Irish flute, Martin Doyle Flutes, Recently Added, Website ·Tagged Added, D flutes, fingering charts, Martin Doyle Flutes, simple system flute, Website
In the interests of serving those who play simple system flutes, Martin Doyle has added fingering charts for simple system keyless D flutes to his website. Printable PDF versions of the fingering charts are also available to download.
These fingering charts are inspired by the fingering charts published by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697–1773) in his treatise On Playing the Flute which was first published in 1752. Martin Doyle studied Quantz at the beginning of his flute making career and found On Playing the Flute to be a great source of inspiration and information regarding simple system flutes and eighteenth century music in general.
Martin Doyle's fingering chart for a simple system keyless D flute
Martin Doyle’s fingering charts for simple system keyless D flutes can be viewed here »
A big THANK YOU to Asankita for creating the graphics – chur bro…!
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September 22, 2011 at 4:53 am · Filed under African Blackwood, Conservation, Flute Making, Martin Doyle, Martin Doyle Flutes, Wooden Flutes ·Tagged African Blackwood, Conservation, Irish flute, Irish flutes, maker, Martin Doyle, Tanzania, Timber, wood, Wooden Flutes
It has long been Martin Doyle’s dream to be making Irish flutes from timber with a known source and that has been produced in a environmentally and socially equitable mode. In recent years, Martin has been involved in a number of projects that have highlight a movement toward that reality and he has participated in the making of three radio documentaries highlighting the sustainable use of African Blackwood – Mpingo as the valued tonewood is known in east Africa. Martin is the first flute maker to produce an Irish flute from FSC certified African Blackwood having received a small amount of the timber some months ago.
Martin Doyle with the newly arrived FSC certified African Blackwood
This week Martin received his first full shipment of FSC certified African Blackwood. Delighted at receiving the timber, he had this to say:
“The arrival of this timber gives us the feeling of working in a sustainable environment that is genuinely beneficial to the people of Tanzania and we are very happy to be participating in a chain of events that has a positive outcome for everyone involved. It’s a great joy!”
Martin thinks that this shipment of timber has been harvested from the sustainably managed Mpingo forests around the village of Kikoli in eastern Tanzania – an area Martin visited during his trip to Tanzania in 2009. Martin’s plan is to be using FSC certified African Blackwood exclusively from the beginning of 2012 as his present stock of material diminishes. The flutes made from the FSC certified timber will be stamped accordingly.
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September 21, 2011 at 10:54 pm · Filed under County Clare, Flute Making, Ireland, Martin Doyle, Personal Experiences, Wooden Flutes ·Tagged book, Conversations on the Coast, Flute, Interview, maker, Martin Doyle, Nick Hand, photographs, publication, soundslides
In September of 2010, Bristolian Nick Hand visited Martin Doyle at his workshop in Clare. After recording a conversation with Martin and taking a raft of photographs, Nick created a ‘soundslide’ that was included on his Slowcoast website – one of dozens of inspirational soundslides that he has created during his cycle tours around the coastal regions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Conversations on the Coast – by Nick Hand
Nick has just released Conversations on the Coast – a beautifully presented hardcover publication offering a selection of twenty stories and photography from the Slowcoast project.
Conversations on the Coast brings together artists and craftspeople from around the British Isles who talk about their work, their life and their passion.
“What I love most about this book is the humility of actually quite ordinary artisans chosen by chance as they came into focus on one man’s remarkable journey around the coast. What we learn is that when you take the time to look, even the apparently straight forward lives of a bicycle repairer, hat maker or basket weaver are driven by passion and a deep seated love for their work. It is inspirational.” – Robin Wood, Chair of The Heritage Crafts Association.
Nick Hand’s visit with Martin Doyle has been included in the book and Martin was delighted to receive a copy by post this week.
Nick Hand and his trusty steed
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September 6, 2011 at 5:25 am · Filed under Flute Players, Irish flute, Martin Doyle, Martin Doyle Flutes, Music, Musicians, Website ·Tagged Irish flute, Irish traditional music, Joe Doyle, Martin Doyle, Martin Doyle Flutes, Music, Website
MDF gets a facelift
It has to happen every now and then… spring cleaning that is. And in New Zealand, where Martin Doyle’s webmaster lives, it is spring – so the timing is perfect. The southern spring has sprung and Martin Doyle has a new website – well, a new template at least. Same content pretty much, with some minor additions and the odd little tweak here and there – a facelift in effect.
The new-look Martin Doyle Flutes website
So a little celebration is in order and what better way to celebrate than with music…
Joe Doyle makes music
Joe Doyle
Recently added to the Martin Doyle’s flute music page is a lovely piece composed by Martin’s son Joe Doyle. Joe was out in the garden at his father’s home in County Clare a couple of weeks back, ‘playing around’ with his recently acquired Martin Doyle rosewood flute, when a tune drifted through the music-rich ether of Clare and manifested itself through Joe’s flute. Joe dedicated the tune to his father by naming it ‘The Flute Maker Martin Doyle’ (‘by the flute makers son’, as Joe quipped) and recorded it later that day.
As a result, ‘The Flute Maker Martin Doyle’ can be heard here.
Fair play to Joe – a lovely tune.
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August 9, 2011 at 10:20 pm · Filed under African Blackwood, Conservation, Environment, Flute Making, Martin Doyle ·Tagged African Blackwood, article, Conservation, flute making, instrument makers, Martin Doyle, Sound & Fair, sustainable use, Timber, wood, Wooden Flutes
Sound & Fair is an organisation that aims to realise a sustainable trade in African blackwood through a Chain of Custody linking forest-dependent people in Tanzania to woodwind instrument musicians throughout the world.
Martin Doyle has recently been featured in a Sound & Fair news item regarding a new batch of Irish flutes that he has produced from Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified African Blackwood – a ‘world’s first’ for the flute making community. Martin’s concern for conservation and the conscious use of timber goes back to when he first began working with wood. In the Sound & Fair article he comments:
Read the rest of this entry »
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Born in Dublin, Ireland, Martin Doyle grew up in the seaside town of Bray in County Wicklow. One of four children in a family with music in their blood, Martin was influenced and inspired by his mothers melodious singing from a very early age – learning songs that have stayed with him to this day.
