[*]Hello to any and all. I have gone over some of the notes and see that the D is the most common whistle. I have two more questions if you please.
1/ I can not see well enough to read the small musical notes on a page… Is it possible for a person to become a great whirled “by ear”.
2/ I have a song I would like to start with but do not know which whistle to begin with. The song is “Ar Eireann Ni Neosainn Ce Hi” by the HIGH KINGS… Could someone kindly instruct this uber- new be? I’ll be sippin’ somethin’ lovely until. I hear from you.
Welcome. This is a good place (or THE good place) to hang out if you want to find out about whistle related stuff…
I am not experience enough to answer your questions, but I know that there are some here who will tell you that dots are an obstacle to learning properly. Myself, I still feel I need them.
But size need not be a problem. If you use a computer you can enlarge the dots on the screen in a number of ways, and if you print them then you can print them large. I use a program (free!) called ABC Explorer (there are plenty of others), which displays the tunes as large as you like on screen (or printer). You would need to encounter ABC to use it but this is no bad thing.
You can find that tune on the session if you want the dots. Or you could download audacity (another free program - there are others) and use it to slow down the tune (without changing the pitch) so that you can learn by playing along…
And I am sure there will be plenty more advice along soon…
I am not so computer savy but will give it a go.
I have never seen music sheets for the whistle… do they all appear as a picture of the whistle with the holes covered or not covered as in the examples given on this site. That certainly would be easier than normal notation, ta be sure.
Bearing in mind that I am far from being an expert…
I started using ‘whistle tab’ as the ‘pictures of the whistle with the holes covered or not covered’ seem to be called. I found it to be a dead-end, and quickly adapted to using the standard dots. If you want to use notation then you might as well get used to standard notation - it will be easier in the long term.
MTGuru (I think, apologies if not) once rather elegantly pointed out that the standard dots are actually pictures of whistles! I wish I could find the thread where he did that.
As for computer literate - well you have made it to C&F, and posted. Using ABC is not really much more difficult. And a good ABC program will create a MIDI for you to listen to as well. I may be chastised for suggesting that though.
Playing by ear is a great and necessary skill to develop. Whether or not you feel inclined to learn to sight reed sheet music is up to you. Whistle tab can be a help to some getting started just learning fingerings, etc. but it will limit the tunes you have written access to and ultimately you’re back to your ear again. Again, it’s up to you if it’s something you want to pursue but I highly recommend you develop the ear.
Lovely song, by the way. Reminds me that I first heard it by DeDannan years ago. I checked out Youtube in search of your song by that artist and found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcNc_zUanSU
It looks/sounds like from the video that the whistle part is done on a D whistle (looks like a Clare whistle upon first glance) so you should be able to get this by ear with some listening and practice.
Howdy Downatpub, from a fellow Noob, Welcome.
What’s your whistle?
I just got my first one, a Clarke Sweetone in D.
To the Elders-
I have a relevant (hopefully) question; what book is most recommended for beginners?
One for complete newbie’s, covering reading music, and all the rest.
Downatpub I’ve got a load of whistle tab songs on my computer which I could zip up and email or pm you if you want as its the way i’m learning. if you want them let me know.
People are right though learning either music notation or by ear is better but I’m finding using the whistle tab songs keeps my interest going as I dont have to stick to the one song.
Welcome, Downtapub. I have mostly lurked around here, for a few years, but it’s a great place for whistle information. I would also encourage you to learn to play by ear, it will open many musical doors for you. Learning to read notation is also a worthwhile goal but I must admit that I remain notationally challenged.
I have a relevant (hopefully) question; what book is most recommended for beginners?
… well, I don’t consider myelf to be an “elder”, even if I’m older than many but I can recommend Bill Och’s “Clarke Tin Whistle” book, Robin Williamson’s “The Penny Whistle Book” and Tom Maguire’s “The Tin Whistle Book”. They’re all of a similar (high) standard. I have them all for two reasons : firstly they were second-hand (read cheap) and secondly they each have an extensive selection of tunes. They also each have another feature in common, the various basic exercises are given in a very understated way. It is assumed the student WILL study and practice them until they are mastered, before moving onto the next page. It’s all too easy to think “I’ll get back to that” when you can’t quite get your fingers around a particular scale or phrasing … there’s no-one looking over your shoulder to say “Try that again!”
I like the Clarke book WITH the CD. I can read the notes but have trouble with the timing so the CD gets me started in the right direction.
Dont miss Ryan Duns…youtube lessons.
Most of all have fun and do ask the "elders " ( I love that phrase) any and all questions.
Susan
Welcome, Downatpub! You’ll love whistling forever!
I used to think I could not learn a tune without music. But I found if I listen carefully to a tune a number of times, I can “finger it out”, and begin playing it slowly–and eventually speed up. Ryan Dunn’s U-tube videos help. And the “Whistle This” site.
Thanks for posting the link what a great video & song and the Clare “D” whistle sounds so good. Playing by ear is a good thing to learn but Videos are good as well…check-out Father Ryan Dunn on youtube free lessons with lots of songs. Good luck and Cfiff & fipple is a good hang.
Welcome. I’m a newbie to this site, too, and have been playing the whistle for just over a year. Learning by ear is not as difficult as you may imagine, and it is very rewarding and satisfying. As has been mentioned before in posts and articles, one advantage of aural learning is the ease of memorizing and keeping the tune in memory. I am using both methods, aural and dots, to develop a small repertoire of tunes. All of the tunes are committed to memory as soon as possible, where it is easier to work on fine tuning the rhythm and variations. I also ty to find versions of the tunes on the internet to help with rhythm and variation.
This book is one of the best I’ve found…By Bill Ochs “The Clarke Tin Whistle” comes with a CD for playing by ear if you so choose…:-)m I think you can buy this book at Amazon.com
Good Luck with the vision. I’m heading down that road myself. I learned other instruments through sheet music and learned the whistle that way too and one day while sitting in my car without any sheet music, I decided to give playing a tune without music a go. I was amazed I could pick out tunes on a whistle, something I cannot do on a piano or a guitar. A whistle is so portable, why carry around sheet music?
(Start with Christmas Carols or children’s songs or other songs implanted in your brain and just pick out the tune. You can do this too.)
Oh, and please tell us how you came to the whistle. We’re nosey.
Howdy from another newbie.
I’ve enjoyed reading the advice here…good stuff.
I’ve had many of the same questions myself!
As I’ve been making my way I have also been utilizing the local library - which in my case can retrieve books from throughout the area. Thusly I’m able to see which one(s) I like before I finally buy one.
I’ve also found a couple of beginner level books at a used book store.
Hello all, I am new to the site and whistle, but a long time musician. I am also a music teacher. It may help those first getting into instrumental music to know that both learning by ear and sight reading are important skills to develop. Most traditional music around the world was taught by rote, meaning it was passed on to learners by demonstration. Part of the reason written music was developed was to provide a way to visually record music passed on by older generations(much the same reason for a written language). And as written letters allowed us to share literature without sharing it verbally one on one, musical notation has the advantage of being easier to share with people around the world. Another advantage of developing the skill of sight reading, would be going to a session and being able to play music you’ve never seen or heard before.
Developing the ability to learn by ear makes playing with others much easier. It also allows for learning and adapting on the fly. If you can’t learn by ear, what happens when the other people you are playing with take a repeat your not expecting? Someone who can hear differences in the music will be able to find their place in the song more quickly. Also, as not everyone plays each song the same way, having a good ear will help you match what they are doing more easily.
So, which is more important? I would have to say they are pretty much equal. But players who tie themselves to reading music are probably at a greater disadvantage when it comes to playing with other people. I suggest starting the way the beginner books do it, developing both your ear and your reading at the same time. don’t be afraid to blow up the music if its too small. For some reason, some music printers think everyone has some super human ability to see notes the size of a pin head…
Oh, and the reason most beginners start with a D whistle is that the beginner whistle books are written for it.
but I can recommend Bill Och’s “Clarke Tin Whistle” book, Robin Williamson’s “The Penny Whistle Book” and Tom Maguire’s “The Tin Whistle Book”. They’re all of a similar (high) standard. I have them all for two reasons : firstly they were second-hand (read cheap) and secondly they each have an extensive selection of tunes. They also each have another feature in common, the various basic exercises are given in a very understated way. It is assumed the student WILL study and practice them until they are mastered, before moving onto the next page. It’s all too easy to think “I’ll get back to that” when you can’t quite get your fingers around a particular scale or phrasing … there’s no-one looking over your shoulder to say “Try that again!”
