I started my instrument frenzy at thirteen, and I’ve collected quite a few different types. I started the tin whistle at fourteen, and loved it. I’m planning on buying a flute, I already have a fife which is similar. I must warn you however that if you’re not careful you’ll become obsessed like the rest of us. JK. 
All I can say is keep practicing and you’ll have started a most rewarding hobby. I play my instruments for hours each day, Luckily I come from a musical family where almost everyone practices an instrument. I find that you can avoid the screeching on tin whistles and recorders if you blow more softly on the lower notes. Good Luck! 
Wow, this forum makes me feel sooooo young! Haha I’m only 20 an starting out on the whistle.
I’ve just picked up on ocarinas a month back and a few users over there (the ocarina forums) talked a lot about this forum and through a series youtube video searches, google searches, ebay searches I’ve instantly gotten hooked onto the Tin Whistle as well. Can’t wait to get my first one this month. Most probably a Clarke C & D set.
What do all of you reckon? Would that be a good choice as someone totally new to the whistle? There are some Feadogs on sale as well which are quite cheap, and from what I’ve read, the Freeman modded ones seem to be quite popular?
I hope to be quite active on this forum and learn lots more about celtic folk music and ofcourse, the tin whistle 
Welcome aboard Darren.
I took this up at age 51, and I’m having alot of fun so far.
…and I just got my second whistle! 
I own a Clarke Original in D, and yes I would recommend it for a beginner. It is amazingly in tune, and very easy to finger. It has a wooden block which needs extra care and a seam in the back. Some people dislike the seam and say it makes it hard to hold the whistle, but I have never encountered this problem. It comes in a box with a fingering chart and a few tunes. It is also on the quiet side so when practicing you probably won’t bother people. I’ve only had one person get mad at me for whistling. My older sis, who doesn’t practice an instrument, once threw something at me cause she didn’t like me making it squeal and slur. :tantrum:I was on my loud tin whistle so that might explain a little, I guess… 
Well i’ve been practicing on and off, although not always easy when you have 2 boys running round the house 
Can do a few basic tunes : Donkey riding, The Muffin Man, Au Clair De La Lune, Oranges and Lemons … gradually working through the Clarke Tin Whistle book ( Donkey Riding from another book )
I’ve now got 3/4 whistles as i’ve added a Freeman Mellow Dog D/C set to my Generation D and Dixon Trad D.
I’ve mainly been playing the Dixon, although the Mellow Dog D is a very very close second. The Generation now gets left behind … or becomes the one my boys play with, as, compared to the other 2, I find it not as good ( but that’s just my personal preference )
Still enjoying the whistle journey
I wouldn’t be surprised if whistle has roughly the same curve as other instruments. Roughly:
100 hours of focused practice to start to get to grips with it.
1,000 hours to achieve general proficiency.
10,000 hours to become a master.
So that 1,000 hour mark would be maybe an hour a day for three years, or 30 minutes a day for six. Or some other combination.
(And no, that’s not to say that everyone can become a master musician in 10,000 hours of practice, but that no one can become a master without it. And similarly for the other benchmarks. More or less. And depending how you want to define the various terms. And maybe there are exceptions, but they haven’t been found yet.)