How to hold the whistle...???...!!!...???

Whistle
1

Hello all - Hopefully you can help me out - I’m a beginner on the whistle and aside from belting out some tunes in the shower have no real musical experience…

I have come across a website www.Whistletutor.com.com which lists free tutorials for whistle playing - In one such tutorial it states that for a left-handed person (such as myself) to correctly hold the whistle I need to do so with my left hand playing notes F E D and my right playing B A G, which is the exact opposite of what I’ve begun doing - Effectively, this means currently I play with my LEFT hand above my RIGHT, whereas this tutorial says I should have my RIGHT above my LEFT.

Is there a benefit to reversing hands?
Should I reverse my hands?
:boggle: :boggle: :boggle:
Thanks all!!

2

hello welcome aboard :slight_smile:
as for holding the whistle you should just do what feels most comfortable for you.
there are people using the right above the left hand and comfortable with that or they just start out that way and know no better.
there is no right or wrong way where your hands should be, if you are comfortable with a particular hold and can sound good with that, well why not? :wink:
enjoy the fun!

berti

3

Thank you very much for the reply!

I know it was SUUUUUUUCH a newbie question to ask, but I also know how quickly “bad habits” can be come routine and routine the norm - I figured it was better to ask away here and correct any silliness with my technique before it became a routine -

Thanks again! I think I might try to reverse hands just to see if it does “play” better -


Bill :smiley:

4

If you can comfortably play ‘righty’ then continue doing so. It becomes more important if you move on to flute or pipes (although some play these ‘lefty’ as well). This is coming from a ‘righty’ though and may be ‘handist’ thinking.
There was a thread on this in the pipe forum.

5

I would keep left hand above right, just because that’s arbitrarily been deemed the ‘normal’ way to hold the whistle. But, you have three fingers on three holes with each hand, and there isn’t a lot of dexterity involved in your thumbs sitting still and keeping the whistle up.

I think both hands are used about equally, so there’s no real reason to be ‘backwards’ to right-handed folks. Unless you want to draw attention to being left-handed. It’s a conversation starter, I suppose.

–Chris

6

So, if I’m interested in moving someday to the pipes, I might be better off sticking with my hands in the position I’ve begun playing in? I’ll look for that thread - Thanks for the insight!

7

Short answer: no.

Longer answer - as long as you’re comfortable with it, you can hold the whistle either way. Most people hold left on top, but it doesn’t really matter much with tinwhistle.

However, if you use the reverse grip (right on top), you may have issues if you move on to flute (or most other wind instruments) - although it’s possible to get left-handed flutes, they’re a special order item.

Since you’re already more comfortable with the standard grip, there is absolutely no reason to switch over. (If you were already an experienced player in the reversed style, I don’t think it’d be worth switching - but you’re already more comfortable with the standard grip)

Question: how many Saxophone and Clarinet players do you see playing right-on-top? With most wind instruments, it’s well-nigh impossible to play them with reversed hands, and there’s no compelling reason to try since both hands do about the same amount of work. I used to play Sax, but when I left school I passed it on to my younger brother - he played all through high school (a lot better player than I was, to tell the truth). I’m right-handed, he’s left-handed - but we both played left hand on top.

I have seen an occasional left-handed guitar setup (with the string order reversed), but that’s a case where it makes more sense - the jobs of the left and right hands are very different.

BTW - if you’re looking for a good online tutorial, try Brother Steve’s site:

[u]http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/[/u]

Good Luck!

8

Emphasis added - that’s hogwash, b.s. and bad information. I’m left-handed and play with left on top, which is much more comfortable than the reverse. You should play the way that is most comfortable for you - there is no correct way. As you progress, you may find that having your stronger hand on top is a benefit for ornamentation.

I second DC’s suggestion about Bro. Steve’s page. It’s a much better tutor.

9

Good question. It’s one I’ve asked myself many times. I’m right handed and I play right hand on top. It’s more comfortable for me probably since my very first instrument was trumpet so I’m used to having my right hand closer. I’ve tried left on top and it was too foreign of a feeling for me. Laziness on my part? Perhaps.

This might work against me if I decide to try flute or pipes but for now it’s of no concern to me since I have a hard enough time with the whistle!

Cheers,
Jeff

10

Thanks all! I believe I’ll stick with the hand placement the way I’ve begun to learn with my left above my right - Thanks again for all the input/advice -

JEFF_H - I notice you’re fairly close to where I live, do you know of any instructional classes in the Central MA area?

11

If you plan to move on to the pipes and eventually play the regulators you must think about the dexterity needed to do, whether your right hand, as a lefthanded person, is up to that. If the answer is no, this is the time to change to left handed playing position.

12

I’m not Jeff H, but I live in East Hartford and was actually born in the town that Jeff H lives in now.

I doubt if there is instruction in Central Mass, but besides Jeff, maybe Robyn, (Spittin in the Wind), might know, she lives in Worcester, I think.

All the Best, Tom

13

Not much going on here in central MA for sessions or lessons. I really could use the lessons before the sessions though! Maybe it’s time to try and get something started…

Jeff

14

Well, I don’t know of anything in Central MA, but Boston College does have a course in tinwhistle:

http://www.bc.edu/centers/irish/studies/courses/

MU 087 TIN WHISTLE: BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE
MU 087 in the fall semester is the prerequisite for MU 087 in the spring. Learn to play the tin whistle. No prior experience required. Learn to read and play the airs and dance music of Ireland. Classes are taught at beginners and intermediate levels by Jimmy Noonan, a well-known, respected Irish tin whistle and flute player and teacher. Generation D type tin whistles are available for purchase locally at a nominal cost. A small tape recorder is required. Tues 6:30-8, Jimmy Noonan.

Then there’s this, which might be the same thing:
http://www.cceboston.org/p9index.html


A little closer to home, there are classes at the Blackstone River Theater in Cumberland, RI:
http://www.riverfolk.org/programs.html

6-Week Irish Tin Whistle for Advanced Beginners
For adults and children ages 12 and older, with instructor Aubrey Atwater. Classes take place Tuesdays in February-March beginning Feb. 1, from 6:30-7:30 PM. Class is limited to 12 students; minimum 5 needed to hold class. Fee: $80.00. Prepayment necessary. Must have basic whistle skills or have completed the beginner level class. Emphasis placed on playing by ear. A hand-held recorder is recommended. Aubrey will present this advanced beginner class on the Irish tin whistle, also known as the Penny Whistle. Using a tune by tune approach, she will teach simple dance tunes, melodies, and airs and give tips on ornamentation and expression. Aubrey will also teach participants some of her own style of playing the whistle with the hauntingly long notes and expressive vibrato that she plays in slow airs and accompaniment to lonesome ballads.

(I’ve heard Aubrey Atwater play dulcimer at the Green Rooster and it was awesome! You might give them a call and find out when the beginner level class will be offered, or if they give private lessons. Hmmm…I see there’s a class in beginner clawhammer banjo…)

And there’s this place, which might be a little far (Canton):

http://www.irishculture.org/about.html


I’ve started going down to play once a month with the Dulcimer Folk Association of Ct, in Avon. It’s a haul, but it’s really fun! Mostly dulcimers, but I whip out the whistle if the song is too fast for me to play comfortably on the dulcimer.

Have fun!

Robin

15

You don’t need a tutorial to learn how to hold a whistle unless you thought you had to hold it upside down. Give a whistle to any reasonably intelligent 6 year old and watch them work it out. I did like wise when I was young as so did many others including the Neanderthal who invented it with IQ of only about 90.

16

Robin, I haven’t been to the dulcimer group in AGES. . .let me know next time and I’ll bring my HD as well as the whistle. Of course, it’ll take me ages just to get the HD tuned up… :roll:

17

You’re on! It’s first Saturdays, 2pm in Old Avon Village. Last time, it was in a space over the Subway shop. I will probably miss the March gathering, if it’s the weekend of the 5th, but will be there after that. They’re working up some tunes to play at the Soundingboard Coffeehouse concert in June, nothing too tough. If you need me to send you some music let me know. It’s wayyy too much fun!! It’s a 3 hour round trip for me, but well worth the drive.

Robin

18

Tyg/Spittin - Thanks for the input! I’m actually from CT originally, and lived in Farmington, CT (just south of Avon) - So the drive is something I’m used to - As for MA locations, I’ll keep looking -

Talasiga - I appreciate your input as well, I was not looking for a tutorial on how to hold the whistle, I came across it while perusing a whistle site - I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a “hard and fast” rule that my hands be placed in any particular order/fashion so as to avoid learning a bad habit -

19

If it’s sessions your after, there are some in the Boston area, and also some in Western, Ma.

Tom

20

That’s really interesting. Like you, I’m right handed but have always played with the right hand on top and I’ve occasionally wondered why I picked it up that way. I’d always assumed it was just rank stupidity on my part when reading the generation instruction sheet, but I started on trumpet too, and I’m also chronically lazy, so your explanation seems to make a lot of sense.

I’m thinking of moving on to the scottish small pipes and/or border pipes some time. Is hand position important for these instruments?