Newbie Questions.

Whistle
1

So, I’ve always wanted to learn how to play an instrument, but never had the money to buy anything other than a recorder, but recorders are lame. I recently found out about the tinwhistle, so I bought one. An Oak in the key of D. Does anybody know of good resources for the beginner? How hard is it to play?

I’ve got some experience with the piano, so the diatonic scale thing shouldn’t be an issue. What I’m concerned about is being able to control my breathing, as I’m assuming that getting to the second octave is accomplished by varying the intensity of one’s exhalation.

Is there anything else that I should be aware of? Thanks for helping!

2

Hi MojoXN, welcome to Chiff & Fipple, and the exciting world of whistles.
There is lots of good info here about whistling.

Anything to be aware of, well, have a grain of salt ready now and then. :wink:

3

Check out the online stores. Get a tutorial (there are many good ones around and reviews here on C&F), preferably one with a CD attached so you can hear what it’s supposed to sound like. Get some whistle CDs or download some of the free mp3s from the web. Check out C&F’s “Clips and Snips” for a good place to start. Most importantly, just play it. You’ll figure out lots of stuff as your lungs, lips and fingers get used to the instrument.

Ahhh, we see you have not yet been turned to the Dark Side of the Fipple. There are those of us on C&F who also play The Fipple Flute That Cannot Be Named and enjoy doing so. The rest of the members enjoy giving us a hard time and we enjoy returning fire from time to time. The Fipple Flute That Cannot Be Named may be baroque, ancient and cursed with arcane fingering but it is not lame.

Welcome the the Chiff and Fipple - you’ve come to the right place to enjoy the wonderful world of whistling.

4

There are some great tutorials out there. The Bill Ochs book/tape from Clarke was the starting point for many of us. Also, Cathal McConnell’s 3 CD and Book from homespuntapes.com is very good. I’ve just purchased L.E. McCullough’s DVD tutorial for my niece, which I’ve heard is pretty good too.

There’s heaps of websites with whistle stuff on them. C&F, of course, and also www.whistlethis.com. Brother Steve’s ) Brother Steve's Tin-Whistle Pages ) whistle pages are very good as well. There’s also http://www.whistletutor.com/ .

As for the recorder being lame… well - Carlos Nuñez would like to have a word with you. :party:

I bought a recorder after watching that. :boggle:

5

hi there MojoXN, and welcome to the troupe!

Yep, whistles are nice sounding and easy to play! - you will find the initial breath needs to get the second octave after a bit of trial and error- not too demanding. Keep at it.

The next thing you will run-into is how to keep enough breath to keep the tune going - that takes a bit longer.

There’s lots more in store - I do hope you will enjoy every step of the way!

6

Especially not lame if it is a Renaissance r*%@$"^>r!

7

Welcome MojoXN!

I’m surprised no one has offered links to useful free resources on the net, so here’s my contribution.

Tunes

http://www.thesession.org/
The Session: a searchable database and forum for exchanging traditional (more or less) Irish tunes. Free to join and use, and tunes are available in standard notation and ABC format as well as MIDI. Tunes come with “comments” which are usually very useful and offer variations.

http://tunedb.woodenflute.com/
Similar to The Session, but smaller and without the forums.


Tutors

http://www.whistletutor.com/
WhistleTutor.com, “focuses on teaching Irish traditional music on the tin whistle.” Offers beginner through advanced tutorials, and sports video clips in Flash, RealVideo, and Windows Media.

http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/index.html
Brother Steve’s Tin-Whistle Pages aim “to help learners improve their understanding of Irish music and ways of playing it on this humble - but wonderful - little instrument”. Loads of information on a variety of topics from breathing through to advanced ornamentation. Music is shown in standard notation, not ABC, and sound samples are in mp3 format.

http://www.whistleworkshop.co.uk/
Similar to WhistleTutor.com and Brother Steve’s. The “Instruction” section includes lessons on the different kinds of Irish music, cross-fingering, ornamentation, and phrasing. Music is in regular notation, not ABC, and sound samples are usually in mp3.

http://kerrywhistles.com/
Kerrywhistles is the home of Phil Hardy, maker of Chieftain and Kerry whistles. There’s a Movies section on the site which offers a selection of Tutorial videos in Windows Media format. Phil also hosts some of his private stash of footage from gigs (e.g. Flook, Mike McGoldrick, Lunasa, etc) which are wonderful and provide great inspiration.

As others have said, it’s important to take some grains of salt with you as you venture through these resources: there is no set method to learning an instrument, and the whistle is no different. The way site #1 suggests doing a crann might differ from site #2. Feel free to experiment and find what works for (and sounds good to) you.

Enjoy yourself, and watch out for WhOA!
Brett.

8

Very helpful! Might be useful to have a sticky with resources like these which would help beginners and others still learning.

9

Welcome to the crazy world that has been created here. I joined just about a year ago and have found this to be a very helpful group. and fun to be around. BUT
:angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:


:swear: AAAAHHHHGGGGRRRRAAAAA :swear: have you not explored the musical world beyond your corner music store. There are recorders out there that would require a second mortagage on your house to buy. There are recorders in keys and voices that are far and away beyond the little plastic ones you might have seen. This may be a whistle forum but I will not let such words as “recorders are lame” to pass without a challenge.
My husband would pass out if I spent more than $65.00 on a whistle yet he doesn’t blink when I spend hundreds on a recorder.

10

Welcome…
Just keep your whistle where you see it every day and whenever you see it, pick it up and play something. This time next year you will know the answers to most of your questions from experience. The previous replys have a lot of good advice, so I don’t need to add to that.

11

This time of year, you can learn Christmas carols. You can find the dots for many of them in the bdh’s list. Many carols have simple melodies and, because you already know what they are supposed to sound like, they are very easy to learn.

12

Hi MojoXN—It’s nice to meet you. :slight_smile:

I found getting the second octave to be difficult at first but it seems to me to be more a thing where when you get it you get it—not some big nervewracking control thing. It’s more like there is a trick to it. Breath control is something people talk about, but don’t be worrying about it right now—it can get overwhelming to worry about everything at once I think.

If you whistle a tune with your lips, like My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, you’ll notice that you are doing a lot of things with your lips, your throat, your tongue, your cheeks, when you go from low to high notes and back again. It is really somewhat like that on the whistle. You do need to blow a little harder, but it is more that you are changing something about the shape of the airstream by doing things with the different parts of your mouth and throat. So just experiment around when you are trying the high notes and see when you get some results. It becomes automatic quite soon, so you aren’t always having to think about it. Don’t avoid the high notes (like I did) but also don’t be worried.

I think the suggestion to just start playing somes simple tunes that you already know by ear until you get a little practice in is a good one. If you know Christmas tunes, they would be fun for this time of year.

13

Yaeh man, recorder’s cool. Anything that lets you play Baroque music is cool, but recorder’s especially cool if you get into it. And I just play the cheap Yamaha things after all- you can make them sound kinda good if you try (also I’m cheap and spend all my money on bagpipes and flutes and PVC pipe and boring old books on theology)

14

Yikes! I see that I stirred up a hornet’s nest with my jab at recorders.

Oh, and after watching that youtube video, I will never consider the recorder lame ever again. It’s still not as cool as the pennywhistle, but definitely not lame.

Special thanks to:

bdh

Excellent resources, and a wonderful place to begin. I just got my whistle today, and I already see how the whole second octave thing works.

Now I suppose all that’s left is to learn as much as I can, and practice, practice, practice!

MojoXN

15

I’ll put in a plug for my own non-commerical site, Whistle and Squeak. On the Instruction page, I have some songs organized by level of difficulty, so that you can tackle just what you are ready for.

…And WELCOME! Even with a bad case of WhOA, whistles are cheaper than psychotherapy. (Sorry, Dale)

Mark

16

Here’s another for you. :slight_smile:

Carlos again:

Some recorder and some whistle there. There’s a little video editing glitch at about 2:13, but it’s still a beautiful piece of music. It’s one I wish I could play simultaneously to everyone on the planet. Maybe something would sink in and we’d realize there’s better things we could be doing than hating each other… Like learning to play whistles and stuff. :wink:

(Edit: The girl with the violin is a cutey. :smiley: )

You left one thing off of your list though: learn, practice.. and have fun! :party:

17

Hi Mark,
Nice turtle. Our red-eared slider and mud turtle hatchling would say hi but they can’t make it to the computer.

18

Well, MY turtle is very special! He has his own web page! www.geocities.com/turtlemanmark . (actually, I haven’t updated that page for eons) A hatchling, eh? That is some serious turtle husbandry!

Welcome to C&F, btw, deargciarog.

Mark

19

thats some cool stuff there !!!

i cought a babby snapper turtle in a lake when i was 4. i still have him. im 31 now. Tommy the Turtle.

HA!

any rate ~ sorry to get off topic there lads.

joe.

20

Just wanted to say that as a newbie whistler (I purchased my first whistle in November) I have really enjoyed Mark’s Whistle and Squeak site. There are plenty of simple tunes complete with audio and sheet music for the beginner there, as well as some more trickier one to try out as you advance. I’m having a great timel with “Load of Hay” right now-such a catchy little tune!

I also have found Bill Ochs’ handbook and CD “The Clark Tin Whistle” to be very helpful as far has heading me in the right directiion in the beginning shen I squeaked more than whistled! I have several and this one is my favorite thus far.

Welcome to the forum; it is a wealth of knowledge!

Most of all, have fun playing! :slight_smile: