Can a 50 year old with a tin ear play a tinwhistle?

Whistle
41

Tango Papa - This is my first post ever. I was inspired to post because I wanted to share my experience with you. I was 67 two years ago with NO musical experience when I started trying to play the tinwhistle. A trip to Ireland and hearing wonderful music was the motivator. I was given a D Sweetone and the book by Mel Bay called “Fun with the Tin Whistle”. I had so much fun learning. I bought L.E. McCullough’s “The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tunebook”, then “The Waltz Book” collected and edited by Bill Matthiesen. While I couldn’t play some of the tunes in these books, I could play others if I worked at them, day after day. (I can marginally read music.). I recommend these books.

I was very surprised to find that I was actually making progress every day. Sometimes I was enjoying it so much, a couple of hours would pass with me learning a new song. My husband and I live in a little Colorado town for five months each year. There is a musical group there who play together every Sunday night and who welcomed me and were very encouraging (and forgiving). that helped a lot. It was gratifying to play with accompaniment. Made me sound better. I am finally going to get a Burke whistle. I think two years with the $6.95 Sweetone is enough.

I feel as if anyone could learn to play the whistle if I can. I have a tin ear, can’t sing a song back to someone, even familiar ones, and am struggling to learn tunes by ear.

I’m really interested in your progress and whether you keep going with it. Keep me (us) posted.

42

Tango Papa - This is my first post ever. I was inspired to post because I wanted to share my experience with you. I was 67 two years ago with NO musical experience when I started trying to play the tinwhistle. A trip to Ireland and hearing wonderful music was the motivator. I was given a D Sweetone and the book by Mel Bay called “Fun with the Tin Whistle”. I had so much fun learning. I bought L.E. McCullough’s “The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tunebook”, then “The Waltz Book” collected and edited by Bill Matthiesen. While I couldn’t play some of the tunes in these books, I could play others if I worked at them, day after day. (I can marginally read music.). I recommend these books.

I was very surprised to find that I was actually making progress every day. Sometimes I was enjoying it so much, a couple of hours would pass with me learning a new song. My husband and I live in a little Colorado town for five months each year. There is a musical group there who play together every Sunday night and who welcomed me and were very encouraging (and forgiving). that helped a lot. It was gratifying to play with accompaniment. Made me sound better. I am finally going to get a Burke whistle. I think two years with the $6.95 Sweetone is enough.

I feel as if anyone could learn to play the whistle if I can. I have a tin ear, can’t sing a song back to someone, even familiar ones, and am struggling to learn tunes by ear.

I’m really interested in your progress and whether you keep going with it. Keep me (us) posted.

43

Tango Papa - This is my first post ever. I was inspired to post because I wanted to share my experience with you. I was 67 two years ago with NO musical experience when I started trying to play the tinwhistle. A trip to Ireland and hearing wonderful music was the motivator. I was given a D Sweetone and the book by Mel Bay called “Fun with the Tin Whistle”. I had so much fun learning. I bought L.E. McCullough’s “The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tunebook”, then “The Waltz Book” collected and edited by Bill Matthiesen. While I couldn’t play some of the tunes in these books, I could play others if I worked at them, day after day. (I can marginally read music.). I recommend these books.

I was very surprised to find that I was actually making progress every day. Sometimes I was enjoying it so much, a couple of hours would pass with me learning a new song. My husband and I live in a little Colorado town for five months each year. There is a musical group there who play together every Sunday night and who welcomed me and were very encouraging (and forgiving). that helped a lot. It was gratifying to play with accompaniment. Made me sound better. I am finally going to get a Burke whistle. I think two years with the $6.95 Sweetone is enough.

I feel as if anyone could learn to play the whistle if I can. I have a tin ear, can’t sing a song back to someone, even familiar ones, and am struggling to learn tunes by ear.

I’m really interested in your progress and whether you keep going with it. Keep me (us) posted.

44

Well, it has been just over a week.

I have tried to practice each day, and have missed only one or two, due to things like picking people up at the airport 100km away during a blizzard. Sometimes a half hour, sometimes 10 minutes here, 10 there.

I am working from a book called Play Pennywhistle by Peter Pickow, and am trying to learn the “First Waltz” that is in that book. Just started that song last night. The book came with a CD, so that is a great help, and was available locally some time ago. But meanwhile, I grabbed a bunch of simple music from here and there and have somewhat learned a little Welsh lullaby, the Muffin Man (and was humbled when others in the house assured me that they did not recognize the tune), Old McDonald, etc.

And I have done some kind of flash card exercises to learn the fingering for the basic notes, and to start to relate that to written music.

I have a tweaked Sweetone D on order from the fellow who had some heart health problems a month ago, but haven’t heard from him since placing the order. All emails come back with a canned response. (Not a big problem, my $15 is nothing compared with heart surgery recovery – it is just that I know that if I order a second one, the first one will arrive the same day). So I went and bought a Meg D from the local music shop. $3.95 CAD and came with a little song sheet, so worked on that.

So, in a week, I can find all of the notes / fingering for the basic D octave, whatever you call that, with less and less hesitation, can play 3 or 4 little ditties with the music in front of me to prompt me, and am learning slowly to, as someone suggested elsewhere, see a note and know that it is “that hole” and not “Lets see, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge so that must be “A”, carry the two, OK, that is this hole…”

Anyway, once I can do those ditties by ear and work my way through that whole waltz, I will feel quite pleased. Then the next song on the next page in the book has many indecipherable squiggles, connected notes closely packed, secret codes, etc. But I am trying not to look ahead at the next page. “Sufficient unto each day is the evil thereof.”

Thanks for the encouragement one and all. I am having fun, some progress already, enough to make me pick it up the next day, and could care less if anyone ever does recognize my squawks as a tune.

And it is nice to know that in 3 weeks or so I turn 51 and it will be a different year because for the first time in my life I am playing a musical instrument.

Cheers,
Tim

45

We want a progress report when you turn 52!

BTW-- as evidence that an old dog can indeed learn new tricks, I started making whistles when I was your age. Still some life left in us old f*rts!

46

I took up the fiddle at 40, and my Mom took up accordion that same year, at age 70. I’m now 53, and she’s 83. We both play well enough to get by, have added more instruments to the list, and have no regrets, (except for not starting earlier)!

I mean, would you rather be on the sofa watching sit-coms? (Not me).

47

Just a thought on the “tin ear” aspect of this discussion. If I had a friend, who was just taking up the whistle, and who claimed to have a tin ear…I’d urge him/her to get a whistle that’s pretty well guaranteed to be IN TUNE!. Then, when he/she played, and came close-enough to the note desired, the in-tune whistle would tend to “herd” the tune along on the right path.
I don’t know how spot-on MY ear is…but I own four Burke Low Whistles, and when I play 'em they sound really in tune. I don’t have to baby or bully them into tune!!! I can bend 'em, wail on 'em, or walk straight down the garden path…and they’re THERE!
I have other whistles that I love, and that are in the “in tune” category, but all in all, Michael’s tooters are brilliant in this regard.
(I’m not a pro musician, teacher, or musicologist. But I love music, have played for years, and this is just a seat’o’the pants observation.)
Happy playing and listening!