I’m also a complete novice [got my whistle on Friday ]. Amazing Grace is the first piece that I learned. It helped that the tune is familiar, so I could focus on getting each note. Although I tend to want to play up to speed, it sounds better if I take my time and concentrate on getting a clear, sweet tone. Although I can read music, actually seeing it is another matter. My white cane is wonderful for mobility, but not too handy when it comes to seeing the printed page. LOL
Thank you, to all of you patient, talented musicians who take the time to share your love of music, knowledge and humour with us newbies. Scanning your postings reveals a goldmine of information, encouragement and good natured banter.
Anyone have any thoughts on whether learning by ear is an advantage or disadvantage?
I am in the “it doesn’t matter how you learnt the tune as long as it sounds good” camp. Dots, ABC, (even if you have to use Braille), ear, whatever works.
Welcome to the whistle forum. I too think learning tunes in any of the ways is ok as long as you don’t get stuck in a way that isn’t working. Lots of listening will help a lot and regular practice will get you where you want to be. Most of all keep it fun… its not a chore.
I’m not that experienced, but since I learned to read music long before I picked up a whistle, I didn’t see any reason not to continue to use the ability. But I only use the sheet music at the first stage of learning a tune. Once I have the basic shape of the tune in my head, I don’t look at the music anymore. In some cases, I first learn a tune by ear and only consult the music if there’s a passage that I’m uncertain about.
But it’s all about convenience, in my opinion. If your visual impairment makes it a pain to work from sheet music, I wouldn’t bother with it. Lately, I’ve been using TunePal on my Android phone more and more, to find tunes and learn them from the midi playback. The same can be done at thesession.org, and even though the midi playback generally leaves a lot to be desired, it’s a way to get the tune into your head.
Learning by ear is supposedly easy - but I seem to have difficulty rendering the sounds in my memory with the whistle. Puts me lower than those dogs, I guess.
I’m also a newbie, and I’m taking a kind of hybrid approach. I’m mostly learning from sheet music; but once in a while I’ll just sit and play and try to play things I’ve learned. Also, when I learn tunes from sheet music, I usually have some recording in mind; and if the sheet music I found doesn’t match the way I think it should be, I have no compunction about changing it so that it does. EasyABC is my friend, here.
Another useful tool I’ve found is an iOS app called “The Craic”. It’s a combination ABC editor, search tool, and tune book. If there’s a song I’m interested in, it can usually find it; and it will play it back as well. It comes with a selection of jigs and reels pre-installed.
Thank you for the encouragement and suggestions, everyone. I’ll definitely follow up on the apps, Philaquino and Ubiamo and will Practice-Practice-Practice. What’s the old saying, “Grant me patience and I want it now?”
I’ve found music and mp3s online at <gc-music.com/Play.htm> which have really helped.
Do whistles complain about being cold by squeaking, or is it just lack of proper technique? It seems to happen more during the first 5 minutes of practice sessions.
A friend told me about an Irish sing-a-long in a local pub, so I’m going to go to learn some tunes and try to find a mentor. The only person I know of locally who plays the whistle is off on a 2 months vacation in Central America. My whistles will likely remain at home until they cease to be instruments of torture for others.
A cold whistle tends to play flat, especially a metallic whistle. The bottom notes will tend to be a bit more likely to break too, until it’s warmed up. But I’m talking about cold, as in left out in the car in winter. A whistle at room temperature that’s “cold” in the sense of not yet played might still be a tad flat but otherwise no problem. And it shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds of playing or blowing through it to warm it up completely.
Cold fingers, on the other hand, might cause squeaks by leaving holes incompletely covered.
There are people who give online whistle lessons, such as Blayne Chastain, who sometimes posts here. I’m thinking of doing this myself.
Interesting point about the difference between the whistle and the hands being cold. My hands are often quite cold when I start playing.
Thanks, Ubizmo. I’m trying out a couple of the online “whistle beginner” sites and do like the flexibility they offer. Being less computer savvy than you and the other posters, I’m a little nervous about signing up using my credit card to take a course such as the one you mentioned. I’m doing the first set of free lessons through OAIM and am considering signing up with them.
Has anyone here actually used a paid online service? If so, was it worthwhile? Was the banking information secure?
My dream is to get a low D whistle. Should I practice with the high D until proficient (that could take forever!) or should I get a low whistle and learn them together?
Well, gotta go practice while the dogs are outside; that way they only have to hold their ears during tonight’s session.
I would start with the high D and then transition later once you get a good start on it, at least. You don’t have to be great, but just comfortable with the instrument and the basics and the fingerings and such. Reason being that the finger stretch is vastly different between high D and low D, and it can take a few minutes to get used to the difference when switching between the two (muscle memory and all). Sticking to one will eliminate some of the confusion while you’re learning the basic mechanics of playing whistle, without throwing too many variables into the mix.
(That said, plenty of people do both or start with just low whistle, and do fine, and really you can get used to anything, but IMO this is the easiest way.)
Hi Mutepoint,
Long term, I’d love to connect with a folk singing group. I used to play guitar at local folk song circles , a hundred years ago, but arthritis in my left thumb makes playing guitar painful. I’ve found an Irish group locally but it meets in a place almost inaccessible by bus, and it is miles too far to walk. (I 've gone a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it. It did wonders for the cadiovascular system, too!) I’m hoping that when neighbors return from basking in the Central American sun that I might be able to chip in for gas and catch a ride with them.
Mostly, I miss the camaraderie of playing with a group. There’s no illusion of becoming a solo performer, I just love being part of the magic of playing with a group for the sheer joy of it.
One of the items on my life bucket list is to play a low whistle both at the beach abd in the forrest.
Phil, thank you for suggesting the craic app. I’ve played around with it most of the morning.
Did anyone else find that sleep got tossed out the window after receiving their first whistle?
My piano teacher isn’t going to be pleased with how little the ivories have been tinkled in the last week. Thankfully, she is encouraging me to work on the whistle, and is the person who led me to the local Irih session.
Katherine, even if I order a low whistle now, it sounds like it will take a month or two to get it. Do you think that would be long enough to get a basic understanding go the high D? I’m leaning toward a MK Pro. Any suggestions?
Thank you, for all of your helpful suggestions. It’s time to torture the hounds - it is interesting how they have suddenly taken a fancy to lying outside - pure coincidence, I’m sure.
Take care,
Nurse Froggy
PS And, Yes, people really do call me nurse Froggy
I tend to practice my high whistle, low whistle and flute together. I think there is a good amount of synergy in switching between them. I think you will find the low whistle to force you to play slower and more deliberate and to concentrate on your breathing, and then when you switch back to the high D you won’t help but appreciate the relative ease of it.
Hi Squeeky Elf,
That’s essentially what I’ve been doing.
I purchased an alto and tenor recorder at the same time as the tin whistle last week. Like you, I’ve alternated between them, partly to avoid repetition fatigue, which at my age is an issue. Sometimes one can fool the arthritis by alternating activities, while doing any one thing repeatedly is likely to result in not being able to do anything for a few days afterward
.
Getting old is still better than the alternative.
The difference in fingering style between pipers grip (or whatever they call it now) and high whistle fingering would likely be enough to help with the repetition fatigue.
I have a MK ‘Kelpie’ and I like it just fine, but I haven’t had much of a chance to compare it with any others so I suppose you would have to take that recommendation with a grain of salt.
Since you mentioned the hounds, I’ll share this. The dog that I had when I learned the whistle never, ever appreciated the whistle. She did not like the awful squawking when I was learning. As soon as I touched a whistle, even when I got good, she’d go to the farthest corner of the home or outside if the weather was nice. Later on, I learned the simple flute. I think since it was an octave lower, she didn’t care. But a friend’s dog would sit on my feet when I played the flute.
Mute Point, your hiding hound story made me laugh. My guys are so social that they want to be wherever I am, so sometimes I put a children’s gate up to keep them in a different room for their own comfort. They also let me know when I’ve practised piano too long, by putting their heads on my lap. Sam presses gently at first and then starts to press down harder when he reaches his level of tolerance.
A neighbour has a gorgeous husky who howls whenever the boys across the street take out their pipes and drums or the local pipe band practices in the lot across the street. It is hilarious to hear the mixed chorus. Unfortunately, the son who plays the pipes and whistles is working in another province now, so I haven’t been able to tap his well of knowledge about whistles.
Never having heard a low whistle in person, I’ve been scanning postings on various topics on the forum and listened to various YouTube clips. I’m leaning toward a MK Pro, although a Kelpie is an more affordable option. I’d like to get the best that I can because I can’t see being able to get a second expensive whistle for quite a while. It’s the old “the heart says yes, but the wallet says no” that some wit somewhere on the forum so aptly put it. I’m also looking for something that has an even tuning across octaves, has a deep, rich, clear tone and is forgiving in the lung volume required, due to limitations from asthma. In other words, the perfect Low D whistle.
David, does the Piper’s grip accommodate smaller hands? The tenor recorder is a real stretch for me, but this is just the first week trying it out. I love the low rick tones that occasionally make it out of the instrument, between the squeaks. When comparing the alto or soprano recorder with the C or D high whistle, I prefer the freedom and lilt of the whistles. The recorders seem to have a slower action. Bare in mind that I am equally inept in both recorder and tin whistle.
Happy Whistling!
My current project is Down By the Sally Gardens, the D, A and G scales with the Whistle Tutor on line Beginner series. It really helps to listen, then try to accompany the instructor. It really helps to be able to repeat the video clip over and over, without the instructor becoming bored or impatient. I noticed that there is a discrepancy between the sheet music and the way he actually plays the 11th bar of the sheet music. I wonder if he just naturally puts in some grace notes?
]. Amazing Grace is the first piece that I learned. It helped that the tune is familiar, so I could focus on getting each note. Although I tend to want to play up to speed, it sounds better if I take my time and concentrate on getting a clear, sweet tone. Although I can read music, actually seeing it is another matter. My white cane is wonderful for mobility, but not too handy when it comes to seeing the printed page. LOL