2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Whistle
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1. What did you accomplish on whistle in 2019?
I got started. After abandoning any hope of being musical over three decades ago, I decided to have another go, and got a swathe of different instruments, the whistle being one of them. Maybe I should specify limiting myself to two whistles as an achievement too, seeing how others can’t leave them alone.

2. What are your whistle-related goals for 2020?
My music goals, are to learn a few tunes on ALL my instruments (6 string, and another on the way, 4 wind, and 2 keyed) by the time I’m 50, which is late 2023. I don’t have specific goals for this year.

3. What tunes are you learning this month, and which is your current favorite?
Fields of Gold, Skye boat song, Bach cello prelude - all on different items. I’m also working through exercises and method books.

4. What whistles are on your 2020 Wish List?
A djolomyga. Two tin whistles are enough for me, that itch is scratched. I would like to get better on them, but any new acquisitions will be something different that I’ve never played before, rather than “more of the same”, hence the Balkan double whistle. It adds a layer of complexity, and is chromatic. I also want to add a xiao or other end blown ethnic flute.

5. What do you enjoy most about playing tin whistle?
It’s the simplest instrument I own. All my instruments are challenging in some way of other, but the whistle is the easiest to locate and produce clean notes on. There’s also very little to go wrong with it, whereas several of my others are complex and need a lot of careful and attentive upkeep.

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If you google

whistle mute site:http://forums.chiffandfipple.com

You get a lot of posts about whistle mutes.

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Thanks for the search tips. I have been using site search with Google most of the time. However, it’s tricky to limit Google’s results to only the whistle forum. The closest Google query I’ve come up with is this:

site:forums.chiffandfipple.com inurl:f=1 search terms here

In theory, the “inurl:f=1” should restrict it to the whistle forum. My suspicion is that it’s only returning a subset of the total possible results, but it’s often enough.

Limiting results to a single forum is something that the C&F search function does brilliantly.

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Adding /viewtopic.php?f=1 to the main URL string or putting f=1 in the search terms used to work, but they don’t seem to any more.

That search gives me different results from google.com and google.co.uk. I have learned not to simply suggest people Google something, especially if they are on another continent, because me having found it straight away doesn’t mean they will!

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With that variety of instruments, you probably play a number of different styles. What musical genres do you play on whistle?

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After typing my previous reply, I’d like to hear from others, too. I’m adding this question to the Q&A list.

Question #6: What musical styles or genres do you typically play on tin whistle?

My answer: I’ve limited my whistle playing to mostly ITM for now. For other styles, I switch instruments. Recorders for renaissance, baroque, and classical. Ocarina for folk, anime, and some movie scores.

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Mostly ITM with an occasional easy classic tune. At the moment I practice “Air on G string” by Bach (not really hard but takes a lot of puff because of those super long notes). But I play it on an F flute. Could just as easily be played on a tin whistle however. I also did play “take five” on the whistle once.
https://youtu.be/Y-yFK9liy6E
Almost 2 yrs ago. Time flies by.

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Questions:

1. What did you accomplish on whistle in 2019?

I picked up the whistle in late 2018 after tripping round Ireland and memory lane with my parents and my oldest kid. I started off with Whiskey in the Jar, which I can now play comfortably on 5 different instruments, and in 2019 I buckled down and learned my kid’s favourite tune, the Musical Priest. Many thanks to Ryan G. Duns, “the real musical priest” whose lovely playing both inspired us and also gave me something to focus on https://invidio.us/watch?v=lNU_ATqwpAk I guess it took about 3 solid months to level up, and I’m not done yet but I think I’m starting to feel the limitations of my whistle which has a few cracks and bruises, and not just the issues of the player, of which many remain.

2. What are your whistle-related goals for 2020?

  • Join this forum (accomplished!)
  • Get a local tutor for some lessons (recommendations/contacts welcomed, I’m in Vienna, Austria)
  • find a regular-ish session to join up
  • learn whatever they’re playing and be a regular
  • get a better whistle

3. What tunes are you learning this month, and which is your current favorite?

I keep coming back to The Parting Glass. So simple, and yet finding many ways to embellish it. I’ve been working on a few of my own, none finished. I’m still polishing existing stuff, and focusing more on keeping strict enough time that might hold up at a session.

4. What whistles are on your 2020 Wish List?

Oooh. My only whistle is a brass Dixon trad D, probably worth around 20 quid. I like it more than the 6 euro predecessor my son swears by, but it also isn’t quite in tune, which drives me mad. It’s suffered greatly from being played every day and taken on every trip. I want to upgrade to something special, really in tune, and probably wooden, and perhaps one of those fancy metal ones with interchangeable bits as well. I found that there’s a local-ish whistle maker http://www.pa-music.com/ so I will pay them a visit and get some hands-on experience. I will peruse the forums but advice is welcomed, particularly around what key options would suit other than the standard D.

5. What do you enjoy most about playing tin whistle?

It’s so damn convenient. In those boring phone meetings I slap mute on, I whip it out and stick out a few tunes. The joys of working from home! I find that I end up spending more time with my whistle, than my much less convenient accordion and violin. You can just throw it in a bag, take it on the plane, or on a bike ride, and get another hour or two in almost any day. Other than singing, I’ve never had such a portable and convenient instrument.

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Question #6: What musical styles or genres do you typically play on tin whistle?
Answer: anything of any style as long as it’s got a strong and clear musical feel to it that I enjoy playing for any reason. I’m exploring the instrument itself and trying to find what voices it’s capable of; long notes, trills, effects, melodies, moods, combinations and any complexities and changeups. I find that the Irish Traditional music as played on whistle is so often a very fast and highly embellished music that I find myself getting very picky about what pieces I would want to learn. I’d never fit in a strictly Irish music band, but I could sit and watch an Irish band for hours if they explore the range of music possible within the tradition (it’s huge).

I want to learn the techniques and apply them to any kind of music, so the use of ornaments, effects and great tonal control are what I’m working at. As for style, in the exploration stages, that comes out as “noise” sometimes. Noise is an under-rated musical genre with a long history, with bootleg practitioners on every continent. I will say this; when I watch a highly accomplished whistle or flute player such as one of the great players currently showing up for YouTube videos or new sessions or albums, I’m mesmerized and want to learn everything I can. Most of them are working the ITM angle. If ITM is a strong supportive garden of musical encouragement, great, let it grow! Personally, I don’t care what song or style they’re in, if it’s great music, I’m there if they are.

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Hello, and welcome to the forum. Nice to have you join us. There are so many knowledgeable members here, and they are always happy to help newcomers.

We only started posting our 2020 goals three days ago, but I believe you hold the distinction of being the first person to actually accomplish one. Congratulations!

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Folk, rock, blues, Scottish, classical, smooth jazz, really anything that takes my fancy, (I’m not into ITM, most of it is not melodical enough for me).

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Began teaching one of my grandsons.

Increase speed, nimbleness of fingers.

Keep teaching grandson.

March of the Kings of Laois, The Cuil Aodha (Polka). Teaching the grandson Teampall an Ghleanntáin (reel), as an introduction to rolls and the ACA triplet. Like them all.

None. Still on the waiting list for a couple of Sindts but not bothered; I like the whistles I have just fine.

The ease, simplicity, and portability. Fun to make music on such a basic, simple, and cheap instrument, that nevertheless can have a lot of depth and satisfaction.

ITM only.

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I’ve picked two - first one is Waterford Boys which was a pretty easy play by ear as I must have listened to Ronnie Drew sing this a bazillion times. I have a fair bit of work to get the fingering smooth but should be rough & ready in a week or so. The stretch goal will be Christy Barry’s Jig https://www.invidio.us/watch?v=161xhB8e8oo

I first heard Kevin Crawford play it here https://www.invidio.us/watch?v=W4Yg9zHxu7c which despite the background noise is amazing. I haven’t yet found any whistle fingering for this so please point me to some common websites where that can be found. I expect this will keep me quiet for several months, maybe through to end of summer even, but I’m looking forward to it!

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For whatever reason, those links aren’t loading for me right now, but TheSession.org has eight settings of Christy Barry’s Jig on this page: https://thesession.org/tunes/843 .

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You’re welcome! That modification is clever, too clever for me to have thought of, and I’m in debt to the person that shared the method with me.

Yes pushing the head further down raises the overall pitch of the whistle but doesn’t correct a flat 2nd octave.

Yes usually no matter how bad a whistle’s tuning is it’s possible to blow it into tune.

Possible but not desirable IMHO.

I want my whistles to play in tune without me having to do breath gymnastics to fix all the bad notes.

Just an ordinary hobby saw.

I did that to make gigs easier. A song that requires the Bb might be followed by one that needs the C, and I only have a moment to grab the next whistle especially if I play the intro. It’s not good to start the next song in the wrong key!

It can be confusing, especially in dim light, and when I have multiple whistles of the same make

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Question #6: What musical styles or genres do you typically play on tin whistle?

My main interest over the years has been ITM but I’ve also done a large number of church gigs and studio gigs.

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Do you have any tips to point me in the right direction where to find those recordings? Because, I agree to what you have been writing about the style and the influence of other instruments on the flute (and also the whistle – see the never-ending controversy about tonguing that pops up every few months in the FB-groups).

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Do you have any tips to point me in the right direction where to find those recordings?

The first classic flute players to listen to would be Tom Morrison and John McKenna’s output, I suppose. ITMA will have playlists, also, Kevin Rietmann’s permathread on the flute forum has been sitting there for years, right under your nose. Take it from there, there’s loads more to explore.

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Thanks a lot! Indeed, I never noticed that thread :astonished: . D’oh! Stupid me.

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Things are often just sitting there until you are ready to notice them :wink:

The ITMA playlists are a good starting poiint as well.