He is also known for his collection of 143 compositions for recorder, Der Fluyten Lust-hof, the largest work for a solo wind instrument in European history.

Jacob van Eyck was born in 1589 or 1590[a] into a noble family probably in The Hague and raised in the nearby town Bergen op Zoom.

Over the years, he undertook projects to expand and improve the bell towers at the city hall, the Nicolaïkerk, Janskerk [nl] and the Jacobikerk.

[7] Van Eyck showcased his discovery to mathematician René Descartes, who on 23 August 1638, wrote to Mersenne: "In Utrecht lives a blind man with a great musical reputation, who regularly plays bells (...).

I have seen how he elicits 5 or 6 different sounds on each of the largest bells, without touching them, but only by coming close to their sound rim with his mouth..."[8] In 1633, Van Eyck told Isaac Beeckman that the ideal series of a bell's partials consisted of three notes each an octave apart, supplemented by a minor third and perfect fifth in the second octave, and he convinced Beeckman to write about it in his journal on 24 September.

Where other bellfounders haphazardly shaved the inside of a bell in an attempt to fix its tune, François placed them on a lathe rotated by five or six men to guarantee symmetry.

[10] Van Eyck's acquaintance with the intellectuals of the time along with his longstanding relationship with bellfounders helps explain how he was able to influence the Hemony brothers.

In 1644 in Amsterdam, Paulus Matthysz published Van Eyck's Euterpe oft Speel-goddinne I, a collection of variations on popular folk songs at the time for recorder.

[5] Probably in response to the success of the works, Sint Janskerk increased the salary paid to Van Eyck provided that he entertain passers-by with songs on his recorder.

The Utrecht Bellringers Guild awards the Jacob van Eyck Prize every three years to fund the preservation of Dutch cultural and historical heritage and campanological research.

[18] Van Eyck's sole published work, Der Fluyten Lust-hof, is an extensive collection 143 melodies, each with a number of diminutions or variations for solo soprano recorder.