I don’t usally do message boards because of some of the ones i’ve been to people seem to be very rude (and I’m VERY, VERY shy), I have read some of the messages here and found ya’all to be very nice.
I have never played an instument before (and I can’t sing) so I have no knowledge what so ever about all that stuff they put in sheet music.
My question is what book should I pick up to help me learn the Pennywhistle (I know the fingerings but I need more help on ornamentation) and what whistles should I get.
Well Childrenswriter as you have probably noticed we are all very shy around here too. But that doesnt stop us from wecomeing a new whistler. There are a number of good whistle books out there, so I will mention just a couple; The Clarke Tin Whistle by Bill Ochs which is kind of a standard around here, and another one The Penny whistle book by Robin Williamson. There are also some great websites mentioned in the C&F home page that are must see. As far as whistles go for starters you are about to get about 2000 different opinions about that. So for the first opinion I would say get a Clarke Sweatone in D. I would realy rather say get a Generation in D but they sometimes need a little work to get them to play right and the Sweatone is pretty much hasel free and very easy to play. And remember just because a whistle is inexpencive doesnt mean it is any less and instrument than the 100 dollar ones. In fact I love them all for one reason or another. So pull up a chair get confy and enjoy all the great people that are about to make you feel welcome.
Hi childrenswriter and welcome to the weird and wonderful but occasionally wired and wobbly world of whistling. (Did I really just say that? )
Occasionally war breaks out here I must confess but very rarely. It’s not the way we like to get along. We tease eachother a lot, but only those who tease back. Shy people are left to be … er … shy.
Good suggestions above. Since you ask about ornamentation, here’s a wonderful website, hosted by our very own StevieJ, which many of us swear by and nobody swears at. http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/
It has the added bonus of being free.
Good luck,
John
The Clarke Tinwhistle Tutor is a great one to start with, as it has tunes from America, England, Scotland & Ireland. It assumes you know nothing about music from the start, and shows the fingering patterns for the first few tunes, but teaches you the basics of reading sheetmusic so you learn as you go along.
Whatever tutor you end up with, I’d recommend you get an accompanying CD with the tunes & lessons on it. This is far easier to learn from, as you can set a tune to repeat while you learn & play along, until you’ve nailed it. That way you are also learnign with your ears first & eyes second if you follow the music in the book.
Happy whistling, & I’m curious as to what other whistles you have!
I’m incredibly shy myself, in person, so I can relate. People here seem to be quite polite unless you go about ranting about the most controversial things you can think of. (Which never seem to have anything to do with whistling.)
Wow, you have more whistles than me! (Somehow I haven’t got WhOA. Perhaps it’s my budget. Perhaps I’m just strange.)
I also suggest you use Wombat’s link. It’s very helpful and lovely and informative.
I would not get the book that comes with Walton’s Gift Set for somebody who knows nothing (me, not long ago). It has a few errors in it that can lead you to play wrong…it might just be mine, though, who knows?
In addition to the books mentioned here, check all of the links to internet tutorials. As for which whistle, you need to buy all of them and then decide for yourself which is best.
Welcome
Ron Kiley
Hi Childrenswriter! and welcome C&F. Here is a resource that you might like: http://www.ronimusic.com/ this is for the amazing slowdowner. This is just fantastic if you want to learn to play by ear. It changes the speed of the song without affecting the pitch. You can slow it down to, like, ridiculously slow to help you figure out those ornaments.
I learned how to read music by learning the whistle from the Ochs tutorial. I have since read many of the beginners’ books on whistle, but there is no other book that I can recommend as highly. If you want to learn from a book, this is the one to use.
I also have Robin Williams’ book, but I don’t think it is as good for the average beginner. This book has some truly lovely tunes and the notes about them are great. But the instructional part of the book goes way too fast for me. I take baby steps. And this book is for the folks who are more musical naturals.
For a fun tunebook, I like The Whistler’s Pocket Companion. The dorky picture of the bird on the cover kind of turned me off at first, but it really is a terrific collection of tunes from all over.
Heather,
Welcome and congratulations on finding C & F! I wish you many happy years of whistling and friendship!
Do you like to write children’s books? If so, what kind? I am very interested in that myself. I love reading children’s novels the best and I hope to be able to write some myself someday.
Martin, what is UP with your new avatar?!?! Who (or what ) is it? The expression on the guy’s face is too funny!
Just be aware to really know the music and know the tunes inside out (that means playing them SLOWLY as well as quickly) before you start screwing around with various ornaments.
That’s Hugh Laurie playing Bertram Wooster from the very entertaining series Jeeves and Wooster, which aired on Masterpiece Theater, here in the US.
Stephen Fry really plays the perfect butler. There are times I want a Jeeves and times when I am glad not to have a butler who is so much smarter than I am.
Martin, what is UP with your new avatar?!?! Who (or what ) is it? The expression on the guy’s face is too funny!
I was thinking of sending him a private message, that pic is hysterial! I feel as if I’ve seen it that photo before, or at least the guy. I have to know who it is!
ohh, I just read the above post from Pactrick. I’ve never heard of Hugh Laurie. Should I? It kinda reminds me of the goofy expressions that were shown on Monty Python. I’ve never been to England . . . maybe all Brits look that way.
Heather, If you need an illustrator for a childrens book, check it out: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=6330&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 Chris is really nice fellow. He posts regular here but he’s down in Mexico right now for a few months. I believe he does those drawings for fun, but I think he would do a great job illustrating a kids book.
But that doesn
Who (or what 
) is it? The expression on the guy’s face is too funny!
