I am new to the whistle and think that I could really benefit from some instruction. Is there any simple way I could go about finding an instructor in my area? If not, are there any beginner books that someone can recommend? I need to learn teqnique and not just just buy another book of tunes. BTW I live in SW Mississippi. Thanks!
Welcome the board. 
Everybody here wants a teacher, bun unfortunately not many people even knows what a whistle is, so finding a teacher is very hard, especially if you live in a rural area. Many if not most of us here have taught ourselves, so I’m sure we each have a slightly different technique, which has to be a good thing.
I’m not quite sure if you’re confusing tune book with tutorial, but I’d reccomend getting a good tutorial (www.thewhistleshop.com) and a few whistles, mabey 2 or 3. 120 is a good number, too, though.
Listen to all the whistle music you can, and try to learn as many songs by ear as you can. Key word: try. I try, don’t succeed, but I try. One day it will just snap and work. I’m confident of it.
For the first couple weeks I didn’t do anything but then suddenly I wanted to. And now I play every single day (and I suck majorly at it, but at least I play). You have to just keep with it.
If there are any Irish cultural associations in your area, or even Irish dance schools, perhaps someone there could recommend a teacher. In the meantime, most folks around here recommend the Clarke Tin Whistle Book, better known as the Bill Ochs book. It’s available here direct from the author here:
Or for about a buck less here:
As far as on-line tutorials go, the Whistle Shop has a nice one, as Cranberry mentioned, though I think Brother Steve’s is a little more in-depth. Check it out:
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/
Or maybe Cranberry meant you could buy a book at the Whistle Stop? Which is true, as well.
Keep coming back here and asking questions. We’ve got a million links and suggestions.
Best of luck!
Jim
Or maybe Cranberry meant you could buy a book at the Whistle Stop? Which is true, as well.
That’s what I meant.
When I first started whistles I tried kinds of online tutorials (including the whistle shop’s), and found out I learn better with actual books. I did print off some pages of the tutorial on the whistle shop site, but didn’t really use them. I need to update my whistle folder, but that would be terribly impossible to do now.
You may want to check Comhaltas home page to see if they have a branch in your area (click on “branches”). Another possibility is to check the list of teachers in the Woodenflute site. Many people who play wooden flute also play whistle. Good luck!
If there are no teachers in your area, you might check into Scoiltrad.
www.scoiltrad.com
Definitely, thanks for remembering them. Even if there are teachers in your area, be sure to check Scoiltrad.
g