I just ordered my first whistle, an Oak, and I’m VERY excited about it. I’ve played guitar for 20 years and can’t wait to get into something new. Any advice? I’ll take it all 
Hi Mendel,
The Oak is a great whistle, but as discussed in a recent thread, it takes very little breath, or you’ll get the odd squeak, and the bottom D will be difficult to hold. Just breathe into it to get a lovely tone.
If you’re planning to play Irish music (jigs, reels, airs etc) you should hear them before you try to learn them off sheet music, or you won’t get very far. Musical notation just doesn’t cut it for Irish music, until you’re familiar with the tune types & the feel.
Start off playing tunes you know well, like Happy Birthday, Freres Jacques etc, to get the feel of holding, breathing etc right, before you dive into new tunes. i.e. get the basic in place before you try to do too much, or you will get frustrated.
Depending on your previous musical experience, this might only need half an hour, or a couple of weeks, before you feel at home with the whistle.
Pop back in soon and tell us how you are getting on!
all the best, Martin
Other than that, have fun.
Thanks for the advice! I’ll post again soon and let you know.
Mendel5, should we take it from your moniker that you’re a mutated fife player (groan…)?
On 2002-12-06 06:38, Roger O’Keeffe wrote:
Mendel5, should we take it from your moniker that you’re a mutated fife player (groan…)?
Nah, he’s a geneticist ( double groan)
Mendel-- get yourself one of the cd/book combo whistle tutors such as Bill Ochs’ The Clarke Tinwhistle, or the LE McCullough set. They will get you well on your way, right from the basics up to advanced playing.
Welcome, Mendel5! I’m sure you’ll enjoy hanging out here with us…um… interesting people… 
Don’t forget; when it comes to music, practice makes perfect. 
Good luck!
More seriously, Mendele, you should eat plenty of guacamole, but also check out Brother Steve’s site here: http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/
for very sage advice for beginners. Also try to contact some like-minded musicians in your area, whether via C&F or otherwise. If the Irish music is part of what you’re into, listen to recordings, rather than learning from sheet music which is an adjunct, but but no more than that. And try to make it to at least one residential weekend or summer school, that’s where you really start to make serious progress.
Thanks to all! Got my whistle yesterday and spent a couple hours playing around. It didn’t take long before I could “feel” my way around a few Christmas tunes … in BOTH octaves ! As you can see, I’m very excited! I’m definitely going to order a book/CD combo to learn more. I don’t know if there are any classes around, but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for them.
As to the moniker: Fife? Nope … whistle is first pipe. Geneticist? Not a fan of peas at all.
Finally, thanks for welcoming me to the site. You’ve all been very kind to me. I’ll keep you all up to date on my progress and when I’m ready for my public debut