This article addresses the issue of the simple system wooden transverse flute as an instrument present in traditional and folk music in four musical traditions: Irish, Cuban, Breton (France) and Roztocze (Poland). It traces the instrument’s transition from the professional concert sphere to amateur practice, and characterises the regional specificities of its use (performance technique, ensemble function, repertoire). Such an approach to the wooden transverse flute in folklore is pioneering. In addition to existing scholarship, the article also draws in part on the author’s own research (including fieldwork) concerning the Polish context.