can someone recommend me where to look, for slow easy pieces for newbies (or what other advice you have).
I am playing whistle currently and the only thing I can think of is slow airs but not all are easy 
…I like slow things with long notes…hmm kinda dreamy?
any books, sites etc would be highly appreciated.
not that I play flute already but I would love to have some things on hand to study in on the whistle then when I am ready, move on to flute.
greetings
berti
Many Carolan tunes are good for this. They are not however good for learning how to play jigs, reels, etc, butt they will help with getting your fingers in the right place and proper tone.
The Arran Boat Song is a nice slow one.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/986
Eddie
star of the county down
Dark Island
Hector the Hero
Bachelor’s Farewell
Loch Lomond
Down by the Sally Gardens
O’carrolyn’s quarrel with the landlady
Polkas. Not necessarily slow, but easy.
E.g: britches full of stitches, John (aka Sean) Ryan’s, Ballydesmond #3
etc
g
While we’re at it, are there any slow and easy classical pieces that I can pick up by ear? I can’t read sheet music, but I’ve heard some short pieces (or parts) from classical music that I liked a lot. I just don’t know any of their names.
~nash
Bach, Minuet in G–this is a very good exercise for flute, IMO,
as well as being very beautiful.
Sheep may Safely Graze
I recommend you get a copy of “A Dossan of Heather” (edited by Jean Duval & Stephen Jones).
This is the music of Packie Manus Byrne. The tunes are simple, most don’t even go far into the second octave, and the written ornamentation is very minimal.
But they are some mighty tunes. Some favorites that, while not being difficult to play at all, really “pack a wallop” are Ar thaobh na Carraige, An botha/n, Suan cloch tei/neadh, The ghost’s welcome (a really nice reel), and The half door, which is given both as an air and a jig, and either way, is hands down my favorite in the whole book.
–James
Go with some slow airs (Irish, Scottish, and Welsh they will all help you don’t be a snob and say oh I’ll only play Irish songs) most are pretty easy here are some I would recomend: For Ireland I Would Not Speak Her Name, Westmoreland, The Twisting of the Hayrope (real title is in Gaelic but I can’t remember it), The Parting Glass (look for the version in Em), Amazing Grace (really really easy to play), Ye Banks and Braes (listen to it first), Suo Gan (sp* it is a welsh lullaby), and The South Wind. Most of these are really easy look for them they are all really beautiful songs. 
Go with some slow airs (Irish, Scottish, and Welsh they will all help you don’t be a snob and say oh I’ll only play Irish songs) most are pretty easy here are some I would recomend: For Ireland I Would Not Speak Her Name, Westmoreland, The Twisting of the Hayrope (real title is in Gaelic but I can’t remember it), The Parting Glass (look for the version in Em), Amazing Grace (really really easy to play), Ye Banks and Braes (listen to it first), Suo Gan (sp* it is a welsh lullaby), and The South Wind. Most of these are really easy look for them they are all really beautiful songs.
Sorry it posted mine twice I must have done something that I didn’t mean to do. 
You know, Glauber, I find polkas easier, too. Why is that? I guess their construction helps …
Meanwhile, there’s something about slow slip jigs I like … for example, A Fig for a Kiss and the good ol’ Butterfly actually sound lovely to me when played as simply and artlessly as possible. I’ve heard beginners play these and have liked their versions better than my attempts.
Also, as I mentioned in another post, “Leaving Glasgow” is another easy-to-memorize & very mournful tune.
As for classical stuff Nash, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise or Godard’s Idyll are nice … and Debussy’s Nuages from the Nocturnes is lovely … I also like the second (Adagio) movements of a lot of flute concertos – Mozart’s G & D Concertos both have pretty memorable middles, altho’ they are longish to learn by ear (& I don’t know where you are in terms of accidentals, etc.) … hope this helps!
A great slip jig is The Foxhunter’s Jig good for begginers the first song I learned on flute without having known it on another instrument. 
Glauber has posted information on slow sessions at Murphy Roche that has sheet music and recordings played slowly. I found this an invaluable help in learning some new tunes. You can find them at http://www.murphyroche.com/Slow_Session/List_of_Tunes.htm.
-jeff
Jim and Cat, thanks for your suggestions! I managed to get hold of mp3’s of these pieces on the Net. But picking up classical music by ear is going to be a whole different animal than ITM! There are no repeated parts, no familiar phrases that I can borrow from other Irish tunes I’ve learnt. Let’s see how it goes.
~nash
What a great thread! As a newbie myself, though I don’t post often, the comments about easier pieces for newer players gave me a lot to think about. I want to thank everybody concerned. I get all wrapped up in how much I have to learn, working like crazy on jigs and reels, and forget how much great music there is that’s easily played by someone with minimal skills, and sounds great and is fun, into the bargain. I would like to make a suggestion myself–‘Off to California,’ a fine hornpipe, is easy to play, sounds great, and is commonly encountered in sessions.
Thanks everybody,
What a great thread! As a newbie myself, though I don’t post often, the comments about easier pieces for newer players gave me a lot to think about. I want to thank everybody concerned. I get all wrapped up in how much I have to learn, working like crazy on jigs and reels, and forget how much great music there is that’s easily played by someone with minimal skills, and sounds great and is fun, into the bargain. I would like to make a suggestion myself–‘Off to California,’ a fine hornpipe, is easy to play, sounds great, and is commonly encountered in sessions.
Thanks everybody,