Hey does it matter how you hold the whistle? i find it more comfortable to hold left hand on the bottom and right on top but i see that everyone does the opposite? does it matter if i do it my way?
Everyone doesn’t do the opposite. Some famous players play left-handed. I accidently happened to teach myself to play “left-handed” too. When I learned to play other instruments that can only be played “right-handed” that’s when this left-handed stuff mattered greatly. I tried re-learning the whistle right-handed. I couldn’t do it. The first instrument that I learned to play right handed was the silver flute. That took some slow and painful time of learning how to hold it comfortably. I can now play the irish flute left and right handed (with different techniques) but would only play in public left-handed. I can only play the whistle left-handed comfortably and have never mastered the recorder. Maybe it has to do with which direction the instrument is pointing that helps me. Somehow my brain has not been troubled much by all of this. The only upside to being able to play right and left handed is when I’m in a tight space. If I could do this all over again, I think I would like to have learned how to play the whistle right-handed to start with. Maybe. I don’t know. Do what you want to do.
ok cool. it s strange tho that i found the left handed way more comfortable being i m a righty.
I’ve heard a few theories on this site that explain why this is more comfortable.
The first 3 notes we learn to play are G, A, & B. A right-haned person is going to want to use their best fine motor skills and use their right hand to play these first notes.
On a piano, the lower notes are played with the left hand, high notes with the right hand. A beginner takes a while before the second octave matter.
Please tell us how you came to find the whistle and what you plan on doing with the whistle.
Generally it doesn’t matter at all-- do what feels right.
Only problem MIGHT come in the future if you feel to urge to get a low whistle. Some makers offset a couple of the holes for ease in fingering and if you play with the left on the bottom, those would be HARDER to reach. OTOH-- there are plenty of low whistles with in-line holes, and if you deal with a maker directly, he/she could probably offset the holes to suit you.
I’m thinking that if you are learning anew, learn it right handed. I can’t see a reason not to, laissez faire notwithstanding..
funny! I do that too! Just seems more natural
Second the view that you may be setting up some serious and expensive problems
for later. If you play in the standard way, by the way, it will soon become
quite comfortable for you, almost certainly.
I know a very fine flute and whistle player (and singer, who can play a bit of guitar and bodhran too, and goodness knows what else I haven’t seen yet - yeah, on of those!) - a young lady from Ireland currently residing and working in Liverpool - who plays flute “normal” R-handed way but whistle L-handed, with R hand on top. She swaps between the two, plays the same tunes on either, totally readily. When asked, she can’t really explain how this came about, but it sure doesn’t bother her.
That story told, unless you are fortunate enough to be such a “natural” and to have started in the tradition at an early age with the flexibilty of youth, I’d definitely advise to make the effort to observe the mainstream, normal convention from the off. As has been said, a fairly short period of working at it L hand top/R hand bottom and it will almost certainly feel normal for you. (After all, the majority of L-handed people learn to play all sorts of instruments R-handed - of necessity in most instances!) There are longer term advantages to being “in step” with the majority, but they are not essential or over-riding in this case. If L hand on top really feels bad and you don’t overcome that within a couple of weeks consistent effort, then go with what feels best for you personally and lets you play best.
I learnt to play lefty 14 years ago and i haven’t run into any serious issues save two (which some might argue are enough) first: if you start looking for a flute with a few keys on, then you must have one with key positioned for lefty players. (there are flutes and players who play them that do this. my favorite being Michael McGoldrick) second: trying to switch to uillean pipes is the same issue. You must find a set that is set up for lefties. (again, McGoldrick plays these and I’ve met several others as well) other than those two i’ve never had any reason to regret my botched lessons of years ago. While it is theoretically possible to learn to play whistle lefty and flute righty (my favorite flute player, Seamus Egan with Solas, is one notable example) it is extremely weird, even if you only have a few months of playing under your belt.
I too play left handed for no other reason than that’s how I naturally placed my fingers when I first picked up the whistle. I am a lefty when it comes to writing, painting, hammering, sawing, etc. However, I do the following right-handed: throw a ball, bat, golf, shoot a rifle, use a computer mouse…And then there are things I do with both hands as necessary: use a fork (depending on how crowded a table is), use wrenches. I have no idea what dictates which hand will dominate in my case, so I go with whatever my hands choose at any given moment. 
I actually do have a low D whistle with the bottom hole offset for a right handed person. In all honesty, I never even thought about it when I bought the thing. I just essentially accepted as it was and learned to work with the configuration. It really doesn’t seem that bad to me. Now you guys have me curious how much more easy it would be to play with the bottom hole in-line, or offset to the left. Hmmmm…maybe I better start saving my money!