Egan’s “The Single & Double Flageolet Preceptor”

Egan’s tutor, first published in about 1820 in Dublin is one of a very small number of tutors for the double flageolet and the only Irish one I have come across.

Fingering charts for the double flageolet are difficult because the lower note of a chord can vary between the left and right pipes depending on the precise notes required. Egan had a further difficulty in that he was marketing his work to amateurs who might wish to learn without playing another instrument or taking lessons. Egan’s solution, of teaching simple chords for a D and G major scale is sensible, although some of the chords are not frequently encountered in practice.

The Single & Double Flageolet Preceptor,
to which is Added
A Collection Of Airs,
Principally consisting of
Irish Melodies, With the Dublin Cries
Composed, Selected and Arranged for
The Double Flageolet or Two Single Flageolets,
likewise for
Two German Flutes or Two Violins,
Dedicated To Mr. Bainbridge, The Inventor of the Double & Single Patent Flageolet,
By F. Egan, of Dublin.

Ent’d at Sta.Hall. Price 5.s

Gamut, for Bainbridge’s Single & Double Flageolet

Single Flageolet

Natural Notes

		D	E	F	G	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
Left Hand	1	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
	2	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	●	●	●
	3	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	○	○	○
Right Hand	4	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	●
	5	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	●	○
	6	●	○	●	○	○	○	●	●	○	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Lit'e fin'r		○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Key		●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	○	○	●

Chromatic Scale

		C♯D♭	D♯E♭	E♯F♮	E♯F♮	F♯G♭	G♯A♭	A♯B♭	B♯C♮	C♯D♭*	C♯D♭	D♯E♭	E♯F♮
Left Hand	1	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	◎	○	○	○
	2	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	●	●	●	●
	3	●	●	●	●	●	○	●	○	○	●	●	●
Right Hand	4	●	●	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●
	5	●	●	●	○	○	●	○	○	○	●	●	○
	6	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	○	●	●	●
Little finger	7	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	○	●
Key		●	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	○	●

		F♯G♭	G♯A♭	A♯B♭	A♯B♭	B♯C♮	B♯C♮	C♯D♭	D♯E♭	D♯E♭	E♯F♮	F♯G♭
Left Hand	1	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	◎	○
	2	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
	3	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
Right Hand	4	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	●	○	●
	5	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	●	○	○	●
	6	○	○	●	●	○	●	○	●	●	●	○
Little finger	7	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Key		○	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	●	○	●

[The “Bull’s Eye” symbol: ◎ refers to the thumb-hole being open.]

*This method of fingering C♯ is generally the best, however, the ear must determine; as this note is not true on all Flageolets.

Gamut in G. Major One Sharp

Gamut showing a scale of G Major for the double-flageolet, with fingerings.

Gamut in D. Major Two Sharps

Gamut showing a scale of D Major for the double-flageolet, with fingerings.

Left hand Scale

Gamut showing a chromatic scale for the left-hand pipe of the double-flageolet, with fingerings.

Right hand Scale

Gamut showing a chromatic scale for the right-hand pipe of the double-flageolet, with fingerings.

The 1^st Gamut in G being the easiest, I recommend the Pupil to study it first. The first two notes F & D are made by covering the four upper holes of the left hand Flageolet with the left hand, & all the holes of the Right, with the Right hand; observing the letters R & L, which shows what Flag.t sounds the upper note.

The figures 1, 2,3,4, show which holes are to be covered.

C♯ in alt. cannot be played on the Double Flageolet.

Gamut showing the higher notes of the double-flageolet

I have divided this scale in the above manner for the purpose of particularly showing the Pupil which hand produced the upper notes, as a great deal will depend on the knowledge of that hereafter.

Scale in C♮

Gamut showing a scale of C Major on the double-flageolet

In the above Lessons the Pupil will perceive by the R. meaning Right Hand & L. meaning Left (placed above) which hand plays the upper notes.

Scale in G Minor

Gamut showing a scale of G Minor on the double-flageolet

NB. The E♭. & E♮ the F♮. & its Octave; the B♭. B♮. C♮. Are invariably played on the Right Flag’te. A diagram of the previous passage.

The C♯. & high D. are always played on the Left. A diagram of the previous passage.

The remainder of the notes may be played on either Flag’t as they will be marked with Right or Left where the passages require it.

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