Hello folks. I’m new here and I got a tin whistle for my birthday last July, and I messed around with it some, but it’s time to get serious and really learn to play this thing. So where do I go from here??
Hi Jazzy J,
Welcome to C&F. You have come to the right place - you will get lots of help and pointers here.
The whistle is one of the easiest instruments - you can pick one up and be playing simple tunes almost imediately. But you said serious? OK 
You would do well to define for yourself what kind of music you want to be playing on whistle. This will influence what technique will be a priority to learn. Most use whistles to play Irish traditional music (ITM) and its off-shoots. Assuming you will be diving into ITM, you will be needing some tips on the basic techniques and embellishments - a good place to start is at http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/ .
Also have a look at http://whistlethis.com
Be patient with yourself - although the whistle itself is easy, making it sound like a serious instrument takes time.
Hope this helps!
If you want a book, pick up Bill Och’s Clarke Tin Whistle book & CD. That will set you on the right track.
All the books, CDs and tips will come to naught if you are not motivated to learn and exposed to decent players. The drive comes from within. The best thing I did when I was just starting was to join a local session and just let the tunes soak in thru all my senses. It is what gave me the will to practice. No, it actually made it fun to practice, having other people who cared about the music. I suggest you see if there is a session that you can get to, and visit them. No need to play anything, just tell them you are learning and want to soak up some tunes. It is a journey that you will never finish, which is a good thing, because it is a great trip!
If you can’t make it to a live session locally, watch for them when you travel, and drop in when you can.
In the meantime, search around on YouTube (see the sticky thread at the top of this forum) and listen to the better players.
Fair winds!
Carey
Oh I know all about the journey this is the 7th instrument I have began to play…
I think it would be best to pick up a good tutor book that comes with a CD or DVD so that you can hear or see how it is meant to be played. Very often is the whistle compard to the recorder which are entirely two different instruments. I’m not knocking the recorder as I also play it, but it is just very, very different in regards to style, ornamentation, and sound. Don’t tell my recorder friends but I find the whistle more fun.