Recently I have been trying some tunes in A – “Rosemary Brown” and “Puff, the Magic Dragon” – and have trouble with the G#. I can get it in the first octave using XX0XXX, but in the second octave I get Bb instead of G# (on a Dixon soprano D). Does anyone know any alternate fingerings for the second octave G#, other than half-holing?
I remember having a conversation with Mary Bergin about “alternate fingerings”. I asked her what she did when she needed a C natural or G# on the D whistle. She looked at me and said, “Well, I just move my finger just a wee bit off the hole instead of all the way off”. I then asked her “But don’t you worry about getting the note flat or sharp?” Her reply was legendary. “Bob, there are no frets on a violin, are there?”
I rest my case.
Bob Pegritz
I’ll never claim to be anything but a rank amateur, and I can “half-hole” a G# and E# fairly easily. Kind of like doing a slide, but deciding not to at the last minute.
Give it a shot, it’s a lot easier than trying to find some magical fingering that might not work on the next whistle you pick up.
I am by no means a half holeing expert but this works for me…if you are using the piper grip slightly and quickly straighten your third finger together with your pinky for G sharp and relax your finger to play G nat.I’m not actually thinking of covering half the hole,relying more on a kind of reflex action.I hope this helps…maybe someone can explain it better and apologies if I’m passing on a bad habit. 
Mike
Does anyone know any alternate fingerings for the second octave G#, other than half-holing?
In the second octave, xxo-xxo will work quite well on Generation-type and other “non-loud” whistles. On some other whistles you may be able to use xxo-xoo. I don’t have a Dixon, so you’ll have to experiment.
In most cases neither of these notes will be quite in tune – they’re fractionally too sharp (not quite flat enough). However this fingering is good to have up your sleeve. I find it provides a very useful alternative to half-holing, particularly when you are playing a fast passage like A-G#-A. In this case the “sharp G#” acts more like a dip in the pitch of the A. Very similar to an effect fiddlers often use to ornament an open string (using their fourth finger on the lower string).