Hi All,
Hope you haven’t seen this question to many times.
I’m 63 years old and can’t read music and couldn’t carry a tune with a truck.
I have always wanted to play a music instrument and the whistle has always sounded so sweet.
Bob
I’d say whistle is something close to the ideal starting instrument for the music novice. It’s diatonic, so it gives you a very strong feel for how a melody interacts with a scale early on. It’s a lot easier to make a sound on than, say, a flute or trumpet, as there’s little to no embouchure work involved. And, it’s a lot of fun. It’s one of those instruments that can be as limited or as wide and varied as you make them.
You don’t need to be able to read music, and some on this board will tell you it’s better that you don’t learn. I would say that it’s a skill you’ll probably want to develop at some point to help with learning tunes, but it’s hardly a requisite for learning whistle.
Hi Bob,
Relatively, extremely easy.
Depends on the learner, but for someone in your situation I would suggest starting with regular lessons with a teacher who knows what he or she is about and is open to teaching without using sheet music if that is what suits you best.
Absolutely not. I’m in favour of teaching without written music so that you develop your ear as much as possible, which is very important. Sheet music might make things seem easier at first though, it’s really up to you.
Yes, it is a right instrument for a complete beginner. Cheap, simple, relatively easy to get a nice sound out of.
Get stuck in, good luck.
Steve
Hi Bob
I am 66 and have been playing for about 2 years. It is easy to learn to play even for old goats like me. I taught myself to read the music but worked just as hard on developing my ear. Learn to play the tunes you know real well. Someone told me if you have a tune in your head soon or later it will come out the whistle. That is a true statement. Some of the tunes I knew best were hymns so I learned to play the ones I knew.
Easy to learn but to play real well will take some time.
Ron
It is the simplest instrument I have attempted.
Most people can knock a simple tune out inside
of a couple of days of trying.
IMHO stick it in your mouth and start blowing.
You will start to figure it out quick enough.
3. Do I need to be able to read music?
No not at all.
4. Is the whistle the right instrument for a rank beginner?
Really is. But get a nice sounding whistle.
I suggest a Susato to start with.
If you get one in a lower key
you will not annoy family and friends
as often while practicing.
Just enjoy the process.
I’ll second pretty much everything everyone has said.
Except this:
But that’s my personal opinion 
Susatos have great intonation and are very consistent, but they are loud, needs a lot of breath support and sounds awful (not sweet at all) to my ear.
I’d recomend a Clarke Sweetone. Not my favurite whistle, but they are cheap, consistent, easy to play and have a sweet sound.
Like a lot of instruments, it’s easy to play a bit, really hard to play well. The fact that it is such a basic piece of equipment makes it cheap and simple but also means that the further you go with it the more it is down to you to make it sound good. I would say it gets exponentially harder the further you progress. When I first started I thought "This is easy, I’ll be whistling with the best in a month or two. Now I know better!
Best of luck and enjoy yourself.
Well, I am on the uphill side of 50 and just started the whistle a few months ago.
Wish I had done it much, much sooner. But just because I enjoy it so much. I have almost no background in music, so if I can make progress and have fun, almost anyone can.
I do suggest you find a whistle you like to listen to. You practice more and the early mistakes don’t sound so bad. I played several cheap whistes and then I was lucky to find a good match in one of Mack Hoover’s whitecap whistles.
You don’t have to spend much for a good beginner whistle. I still play the Meg I started on. But once you know this is a path you want to follow, you may want to consider a mid-range instrument. Or a nicely tweaked whistle from someone like Jerry Freeman.
And you have great support in this and other websites.
hi , i just started playing whistle myself with the same musical background as you, i found we only need to read the music notation that effect us ,there is a link to a fingering chart at this site i printed it off the computer enlarged it and laminated it for about 5 bucks thats most of the info right there ,stay away from beginner songs with the fingering picture above each note or white them out i found that its just as hard to train yourself to read and follow them as reading music and you might as well start with the real thing,one more thing i have a mack hoover brass high d and a burke high d i love them both but for learning the macks much better it takes very little breathe so you dont have to worry about where to breath nearly as much
Get any whistle at all. It’s heretical on this board, but one whistle is much like another when you’re starting.
D is the commonest Key, so buy a D whistle if you think you might like to play with others one day. If not D, then C.
I’d go with a MEG or Sweetone. As a beginner I had trouble with the cylindrical whistles, especially in the second octave. I found the Clarkes much easier at the beginning. A little time and alot of listening and you’ll be well on your way, all the best!
Hey and Welcome!
All I have to say is this: If you want to play the whistle, or music at all for that matter, JUST DO IT! I have told this to people who are thinking about playing music but haven’t yet… you can’t play music until you start, so start now because the sooner you start the sooner you will be playing!
Also the whistle is a great place to start because it is theoritically simple because it is just one scale with six holes, compared to more complicated instruments with keys and stuff sticking out of everywhere.
Good luck, and I would recommend that you start with a cheap whistle, but get a nicer whistle once you become determined because nicer whistles by my experience are much smoother to play.
-Casey
Unless you were considering the drum as a starter instrument, play the whistle. You just can’t beat it.
miffle
Hi Bob,
I’ve been playing my whistle for about a week now. I’m 39 and don’t read music either. I can already play a lot of songs fairly well, strictly by picking them out by ear and then practicing all the time. I can even play Amazing Grace with some embellishment now! I don’t sing and have never played any kind of instrument in my life.
Ok, I’m addicted! Going to Melody’s Traditional Music and Harp Shoppe today to do what? Get another whistle!!! Maybe a C this time to go with my D. I’m taking my father who is 72 to talk him into his first whistle if possible. He’s thinking guitar or dulcimer though.
You’ll do great, I’m sure! I didn’t think I had an ear for music until I found the pennywhistle. You’ve also found the right place for advice and encouragement.
Donna
I’ll second this. I suggested the Sweetone mainly because I felt compelled to name a good beginner whistle. If your local music store has a Clarke Sweetone, then fine, but really, any whistle will do. Don’t pay any attention to people who’ll suggest you get a whistle for over 10 bucks, because that’s just unnessesary. The $5 whistle will play just like the $300 whistle when you start out, and for the next couple of months as well, probably.