Hello! I’m not “brand new”. I was born in 1957. I’ve been giving this tin/penny whistle thing a go for about a month now. At least half the time when I put a question to Google about all things whistley…(Is that even a word?) I ended up here. I figured this must be the place to be, so here I is!
How I got the itch is a strange tale indeed. Youtube seems to have a knack for making odd topics appear for no apparent reason. I have been playing/practicing Native American Flute for about 6 months. The usual stuff was appearing that I had already watched. Then one of the topics was “Tossing the Feathers” being played by the Corrs. So I watched that. Then a few more. This lead me to seek out other Penny Whistle topics. But the fella who really perked my interest was Micho/Miko? Russell. Anything Micho played had me tapping my foot and grinning from ear to ear. I’m thinking there is something Very Happy about this whistle business. It might be something I need to know.
So I bought an Ossian Publishing “How To” book written by Tom Maguire on the basics of whistle play that came with a Feadog whistle in the key of D. It was the only instruction book they had that came with a whistle. After playing quite badly for about a week I decided it wasn’t me that was stinking up the place, it was the whistle.
After a bit of research I bought a Tony Dixon DX005. Tunable whistle. Key of D. Reasonable price. Didn’t have to be shipped. It seemed to help a bit. It didn’t have the sound I was looking for. Good practice whistle though.
Not satisfied yet I go to Google some more. I see this Jerry Freeman fella making good whistles great. So I bought a Blackbird Tweaked Whistle in the Key of D also. It arrived a few days ago. It’s a Dandy. I don’t sound like I’m swinging a bag of cats over my head now, when I play in the second octave. A real weakness with the Feadog. Especially G and A. That was just plain hurtful before. The Blackbird is a slippery lil’ devil though. I always think I’m going to drop it when I’m going to play a C#. Something else to learn I suppose.
I have watched quite a few Youtube videos where people will be comparing a number of whistles. I see the Sindt is highly regarded. So now I think I will be needing one of those. They are hard to come by it seems. I go looking for one on Ebay. One had just sold for $454.00! I’m not sure I need one at this stage of the game for that sort of coin.
I had read that the Killarney Whistle has a number of similarities to the Sindt. They are reasonable and much easier to get. So I ponied up the dough and purchased a brass one in the Key of D too. So many D’s. So little time. They (Killarney) are fast. I put up an order yesterday and they had it shipped the same day. Free postage too. Impressive stuff. I can hardly wait! Christmas comes early this year!!
This is the last one though. No more penny whistles. I mean how many does one need? Okay. Maybe some in other keys. Other materials. Low Whistles down the road maybe. One or two. Maybe more. A lot more. Ugh. When I croak all I’ll have left to give in my estate will be musical instruments. I have to get the music out some how…Don’t I!?
Hi and welcome from another newbie . Nice thing about whistles - you don’t go broke when buying a few - at least not if you buy low end. And it’s also not too hard to make some yourself from PVC tubes. Some of my DIY whistles actually sound better than some of the ones I bought.
Welcome from a fellow Boomer! I was born in 57 too.
I’ve been hacking away at whistles for around 40 years, though.
You may be new to whistling but you have excellent taste! Micho’s music is amazing.
I highly recommend that you get together with a teacher, live or Skype, or check out some of the excellent instructional videos on YouTube. Books are very limited, with Irish music in particular.
That happens when people do the “book” fingering, rather than the fingerings many/most of “the old guys” used.
Watch videos of some old whistlers and you’ll see that many/most used a fingering system which left certain fingers on the whistle for many notes. So, C# is no problem, there being at least one finger down.
If you play with other people, especially in situations other than traditional Irish sessions, you’ll eventually need whistles to cover just about every key.
I have whistles in every chromatic key from Low D up to High Eb and I’ve used every one of them at some gig or other. I’ve had gigs where I’ve only used the E and Eb, gigs where I’ve only used the C#. You never know.
Welcome! I was exactly where you are now about 15 months ago. That was two Irish flutes and about 7 whistles ago. I take Skype lessons and went to Conal O Grada and Hammy Hamilton’s Flute Meeting in Ireland in March. If you would like to compare notes, shoot me a message. I’m also 57 and had no musical background. I thought a tin whistle would be a nice, inexpensive way to explore music.
Welcome to the whistle and C&F! Indeed, if Micho Russell caught your ear, you’re off to a great start.
You’ll be getting a keeper with the Killarney, so you’re set (for a D whistle…C or Bb is a key that’s lovely around the house, too; by the way, other keys just get played as if they’re a D whistle).
Here are two excellent instructional resources worth spending time with:
Although after all the years since that was done, the transcription page shows its age in its execution. The soundfiles are about as low fi as you can get (ah, the days before broadband was invented). But, for a number of reasons, it’s not likely the issues are going to be revisited.
And yet, its mighty fine playing. And what still seems to me like masterful analysis.
Its a tremendous resource.
I often visit for a listen, going on 5 years now.
And yet, its mighty fine playing. And what still seems to me like masterful analysis.
Sure, it’s fine playing, that was the reason for picking the clips. And while we’re at it, The clips attributed to Joe Skelton are in fact Seán Ryan playing, I realised that years ago but it never got changed. Brainfart. Skelton’s style would have been worth looking at though, I saw him play a only few weeks ago. Great stuff.
Analysis is such a big word, I always thought of it more like a guided tour through the tune: here on your left we have the long roll…
But it was a nice way to nudge people towards a few players they may not have heard of at the time, in those pre-youtube etc days, twelve to thirteen years ago.
Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. There were a couple comments made in the thread that I have no idea how they came about. Nature of the beast I suppose.
I am self taught with a few instruments. Guitar and Ukulele until the tennis elbow came to me with a vengeance. I learned a scale or two and all the chords from a book/CD’s.
I did percussion in high school for a year. I did well but my heart wasn’t in it. Sadly I missed the first week of school and all the other instruments were spoken for by then. It was an easy credit. Always liked those.
I also have been playing harmonica since I was seven. Learned by ear. I didn’t really learn very many songs. The blues lends itself well to improvisation once you know your way around. I’d go to local jams and play whatever I felt like at the time. It usually sounded okay. But it’s a bar with people full of alcohol. How good do you have to be?
This time around though I am going to make a concerted effort to learn to read music. It will be to my benefit. Difficult at first but pay dividends later on. The goal is to start slow. Get some simple session tunes under my belt. If I can play even 50 tunes well enough to have fun in public, I’ll be very happy.
I do agree getting a teacher with proper lessons this time around would be a very good idea. I doubt there are any locally here. Canada/Ontario isn’t really known for that sort of thing. Internet is the answer. Whistle and Drum looks promising. OIAM looks interesting too. We shall see.
I think I’ll go see if anyone has made a list here of essential session tunes for new people…New OLD people.
a list here of essential session tunes for new people
Best not to approach things that way. Learn the tunes you like, the ones that grab your interest and challenge you. Play to please yourself. Listen to your favourite player(s) and pick up the tunes you like them playing. The ones that catch your ear will be easier to learn and will give you more enjoyment.
All you are going to get in reply to that question is a list of hackneyed tunes nobody will like you playing when push comes to shove. There are thousands upon thousands of tunes out there, take your pick and take it from there. If you happen to fall in with a group of players you get along with, learn eachother’s tunes and play them together.
a list here of essential session tunes for new people
If you happen to fall in with a group of players you get along with, learn eachother’s tunes and play them together.
Yes, I prefer to learn the local players’ tunes around here first, and then explore the broader possibilities. I wouldn’t just search for somebody else’s list of tunes. You’ll build your own repertoire.
I also like to hear and play what the youngest players of traditional music are up to. Enjoyable… makes me feel younger… and with it!
Most of the songs I would like to give a whirl are beyond my skill level at the moment. I can’t help but feel that getting “my chops” in first and then going big later would be less frustrating. I usually have Micho Russell’s “The Battle of Fontenoy” in my head a good portion of the day. I can’t even fathom a good guess at half of what Micho is doing when he plays that tune. One of the happiest songs I think I’ve ever heard. Which is odd considering it’s title.
I’ll do a bit of digging. See if there are a few tunes I can learn that I enjoy listening to that I could manage without a lot of expletives.
Make practice a game and not a chore. Words to live by. I wish I’d thought of them myself.
“The Battle of Fontenoy” is a simple jig, possibly more well known as The South West Wind or Connie the Soldier. As far as I remember, Micho for the most part played it straight, very simple without much going on except the odd octave jump. If you have it in your head you may as well give it a go, take it slowly and take your time. Micho’s version. Micho’s Clare Slide from the pages suggested above should work as well, very simple, all in the rhythm but light on the fingers. And you get the sounds and notes thrown in to guide you.
If you really feel it’s beyond you yet, try play a few simple songs you know well, Twinkle, Twinkle or whatever you have in your head and get to grips with the instrument that way. If you want to keep it Irish you can try songs like Óró, sé do bheatha 'bhaile, (Micho’s version of) The Battle of Aughrim, the Eagle’s whistle or another simple march or polka but it’s probably easier to go with something you have in your head to begin with at this stage.
