Hello people of Chiff and Fipple. I am Mreek, who has just recently bought a quite nice D Major pennywhistle and has practically no clue how to play it, due to being a novice at wind instruments (I’m a guitar and piano player) and due to having no teacher. Does anyone have any advice for me?
That’s easy, in order to improve your playing - just buy more whistles!
The most highly recommended tutorial is The Clarke Tinwhistle Handbook (Book & CD Set) by Bill Ochs. It’s available from the Whistle Shop ( http://www.thewhistleshop.com/ ).
Brother Steve’s site at http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/ is also extremely helpful.
I just started whistle at the beginning of the year, having played guitar and several other stringed instruments for over 40 years. Try playing some scale patterns to get familiar with where the notes are, then work on playing some simple songs (that you already know) by ear.
One thing that’s different about the whistle is the two-octave limitation. You have to figure out where to start to get in all your low notes without going up into the upper reaches any more than absolutely necessary. I often capo my guitar on the second fret and work out a new melody in D (or B minor, E dorian, or A mixolydian), then transfer it to the whistle. Some tunes work out more conveniently in G (or E minor, A dorian, or D mixolydian), though I like to avoid C-natural when I can.
Here are some other sites:
Arnold Jacob’s Breathing Exercises: http://www.hsu.edu/faculty/bucknej/Resources/Trumpet%20Talk/Arnold_Jacobs.htm
Tony Dixon’s Whistle Tutorial for Beginners: http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/tutorial/basics.html
http://users.wirelessfrontier.net/~ysgwd/whistlelessons.html
Grey Larsen (Check out the Books link.): http://www.greylarsen.com/services/tunebank/index.php
There several links on this site to other sites that have tutorial material that will get you going as well as beginner information on this site.
At some time you may want to buy a tutorial such as the Clarke Tin Whistle book by Bill Ochs. This includes a CD that has all the music in the book played by Bill. It takes you from complete beginner to very competent level as quick as you want to go. Provided you are willing to work regularly at it.
Welcome to C&F. If it seems to you that we are all a little mad then you made a very good assessment.
Keep whistling
Ron
Put the blowing end in yer gob and blow through it. Then stomping yer feet make a rhythm by closing or opening the holes.
After a while you’ll get tired of that and do what I once did to a Clarke’s C tiinwhistle - other uses - prop open a window.
Happy tootlin and welcome to the wildest show in the west!
It’s good to hear such good reviews over the Clarke book. I bought it for a friends about a month ago. I picked up another copy in a round about way last week as well.
Oh, and the advice for buying more whistles is a good one, lol. It may be the best advice you’ll get. Everytime I got a new one, I’d play everthing I knew to compair it to how my other whistles sound. Keeps everthing fresh. You can get a heck of a lot of milage out of a bushel of cheap whistles.
One of the biggest things that helped me in the beginning (not that long ago) was the www.fingertrip.com site. All the tunes were superbly done and catchy, with the sheetmusic link beside it. I started out halfway reading the music and halfway learning by ear. I picked out a tune that was a bit of a stretch at first (I think it was Cooley’s reel) and worked it until I could play it up to speed by ear. That was a big deal to me when I learned it. When I managed that, I realized that I could work out pretty much anything I wanted. Up until then I had just worked up three or four “easy” tunes.
You should probably take my advice with a grain of salt though. I played several other wind instruments over the years including the recorder. (also known as the Antiwhistle, Lord of Deception, and Flute of Damnation)
Mreek,
I’ve been at it for going on two years now. The learning curve is still quite high for me but I’ve come a long way.
My advice:
1-Practice your fanny off whenever and wherever you can, if you really want to play you need to be a freak about it, a bit obsessive if you will. If you’re into it you’ll want to practice at every opportunity any way, but if you arent willing or don’t have time it’ll take forever (and you should stick to your other instruments if that’s the case). I practice at home, at work on breaks, in the John, anywhere I can. I anyoy my my wife, my daughter and my neighbors, but it’s not like a guitar where you can practice quietly. Try to get some practice in every day. 6-8 hours a week minimum.
2-Go to sessiuns and find out what they play. Tape some tunes if possible. Your local Cohmaltas chapter may have some tune books put together, get them, because you’re going to want to play with other musians one of these day’s. There may be a “Slow Seisiun” in your area, if so get into that.
3-Go to “Brother Steve’s” tin whistle tutorial on the internet. Lots of good learning material that is clearly presented and his philosphical musings are dead on right.
4-Get a metronome if you don’t already have one. Don’t be a slave to it, but use it to help you get steady and pick up speed and also to help you time your breathing.
5-If you have a whistle that craps out on you, due to quality control issues, like many of the so-called cheaper ones, try another one, you may have an easier time at it if your whistle co-operates. I’ve known people who never got very far because they were playing uncoperative instruments. The walton mellow D is a good, forgiving, beginner whistle.
6-Practice.
7-Did I mention practice?
Thanks to all of you. Unfortunatly I don’t know any place near me where I can buy more whistles, and I have no credit card to buy online so I must make do with the one I have. Got mine from this guy ( http://www.eriktheflutemaker.com/?pageid=7402 ) at a Renniasance festival.
Dollar General sells an excellent little C whistle for a buck. These are in lots of nice pastel colors as well. Other places to check are music stores or here on the intenet at Musiciansfriend.com for example.
Typical price for a better model than the DG special would be in the 10 dollar region -though I must add that with a drill and a bit of bathroom pipe plus a bit of wood and some whittling you could also make yer own. I do!
But I still like to tootle on my vast collection of bought instruments, a aGeneration and a Waltons … or is a something else … what ever.
We also have several other wind instruments - an Armstrong Flute - very exellent - several recorders and some home made flutes - I lost count of these a long time ago … lol but I still cant play worth a dang …gee what am I doing wrong?
Just kidding.
BTW my very first tune on TW was probably The Dawing Of The Day -because at school we had to play the TW and today I absolutely HATE that song.
You run across music stores that have whistles too occassionally. I got my first at one. A clarke original. (smashy smashy!)
Hi Mreek!
Welcome to world of whistling. I also live in a place where whistles are not readily available. I did find one - a Sweetone - at a local flea market. I have to buy online to feed my WhOA habit (Whistle Obsessive Acquisition disorder, a disease discovered by Dr. Wisely). The Whistle Shop that Darwin mentioned is a great place to find whistles, tutorials, more whistles … and takes payment by check or money order as well as credit cards, I think.
This is a great place to start your adventure. Check out the main page - Dale has a LOT of information available, even a beginner’s guide.
Hang in there! 
~Judy
Actually WHOA isn’t a modern malady. Caches of whistles left by early humans have shown that a whistle owner rarely ever, even in antiquity, own only one whistle. Often the cave whistlers had to have whistles made out of deer, antilope, bears, orangatans, hippopotomooses, warthog, doe doe birds, muskrats, bigfoot, and swamp rabbits.