Hi!
I am considering purchasing a video entitled
“Learn to Play the Irish Tin Whistle” by Vinnie Kilduff.
Does anyone have it? Is it any good?
There aren’t a bunch of people around to show me how to do ornamentations, so I thought this video might help. If not this one, are there any good instructional videos?
Thanks!!!
Different people learn in different ways. It might help but I’ve found the best way is to listen. Get a Clarke or other set with a CD or tape that comes with the whistle. Then get CDs on whistle music. As for ornamentation that is a more advanced technique and will take time to get there. You not only need to learn how to do ornamentation but when to use it. It is very much improv like Afro-American Blues and the best way to learn is to hear masters do it.
I have both this vedio and L.E. McCullough’s and I would say L.E.'s is better.
Joe
skywatcher, believe me I understand. I live in the valley here in Oregon, and i’ll be damned if I can find any sessions, much less whistle players to learn from. Books and CDs are all well and good, and learning by ear works as well as it can given you don’t know what key to start in. Let us know how you think that the video worked for you. I for one would be most interested.
I have both of the videos. I found some things in them that made them worth watching, but neither was really worth buying for the information contained.
The Vinnie Kilduff video had some sequences where he is playing as part of a band to give the viewer an idea of how the tune goes together with other instruments. That was nice. I also really liked his bit at the beginning about selecting a whistle. Other than that, I felt I would have been better off using a tunebook with tablature to learn the tunes, instead of watching his fingers and trying to copy.
The L.E. McCullough video didn’t really go into whistle selection and his demonstrations were solos, but very well done. For me, the real value was that he gave a good idea of what the difference is between a full-speed ornamented tune and the note-by-note beginner’s version. I found that very helpful, but still not worth the price of admission.
I would also strongly suggest a CD that demonstrates tunes you want to learn. I don’t like ear learning, myself (I can do it a bit, but I prefer the dots and lines). I taught myself to read music when I learned the whistle from a book (the Clarke book - excellent, by the way).
If I were to suggest some books for you to get, they would be these:
Clarke Tinwhistle book with CD - my starting point in whistling. I can’t say enough good about it.
110 Ireland’s Best Tinwhistle Tunes with CDs - a large enough tune collection to keep me going for a long time. Most of the tunes are really nice, too. The CD is very helpful and even enjoyable on its own.
The Whistler’s Pocket Companion with CD - Sadly, the CD does not demonstrate all the tunes, just a selection. But the music collection is great! It is one of the few books I have see with a fair amount of non-Irish music arranged for the tinwhistle. The book has aver 150 tunes, including several duets and some pieces with piano parts. Well worth the price.
There are others out there. I really wanted Geraldine Cotter’s tutorial with the CD set that demonstrates 100 tunes from the book, but The Whistle Shop was out of the CDs when I ordered. 121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes get consistently good reviews here.
I don’t pretend to have anywhere near all of the books on the market. I just wanted to say that these are good books for me to learn with solo in Fairbanks, Alaska. They certainly helped me more than the videos mentioned above. I know there are other whistlers about this town, but I never seem to find them.
-Patrick
Thanks, Patrick!
I blow on a “Cosmic Drainpipe” Overton low d.
I have “The Low Whistle Book” & CD. I keep listening to how to do the ornaments and reading how to do them, but I still can’t get it too well. I need to SEE someone do them. If any video has clear directions showing how to do ornaments, I would love that. I could play it over and over until I get it. I’m only 1/2 Irish.