Hello!
I’m new to the whistle (just got it Monday) and also picked my clarinet back up again a few weeks ago. I’m going through the tutorials on the whistle and was wondering if anyone had suggestions for play-along books, either with an option to play along myself or play along with another whistle player and follow them. I found that with the tutorials, it really helps to play and try to match the tone of the person playing.
Btw, is it normal to have a tough time adjusting to the low tones as opposed to the higher ones? Right now I’m concentrating on regulating air flow because coming from a clarinet background I find I’m over blowing 
.
Also, can you suggest some music that would be good to get and listen to?
Thanks in advance!
Celeste
Here are some of the most popular beginner instructional and tune books. For the complete beginner I found Dave Mallinson (Mally), “Instant Tin Whistle” – Irish and Popular tune books the easiest. And they are available with a CD of the tunes (if not from Amazon then from Mally.com).
Instructional Books
- Clare McKenna, A Complete Guide to Learning the Irish Tin Whistle (I found this book quite good)
- Bill Ochs, The Clarke Tin Whistle
- Cathal McConnell, Irish Pennywhistle
- Geraldine Cotter, Traditional Irish Tin Whistle Tutor
- Mizzy McCaskill & Dona Gilliam, Mel Bay’s Complete Irish Tin Whistle Book (should be able to read music for this one)
- L.E. McCullough, The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tutor (I found this book confusing)
- Grey Larsen, The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle (deep)
Tune Books
- Dave Mallinson (Mally), Instant Tin Whistle – Irish and Popular (two great little first tune books)
- L.E. McCullough, The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tunebook
- Clare McKenna, Ireland’s Best Tin Whistle Tunes Volume 1
- John Canning, Ireland’s Best Session Tunes
Yes. Since your not getting a reed to vibrate as in the clarinet, try just tonguing on the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Also try playing a few pieces with no tonguing at all.
Celeste,
Welcome to the world of whistling. This question has gotten asked a lot, and I’m at work so do not have my links handy for quick answer. You might want to try out the search function on this site.
For what it is worth though, if you are trying to learn tunes as a rank beginner(songs are the ones with lyrics, and you will find some folks a bit sensative regarding the difference), you should consider picking up Bill Oche’s tutorial book and accompanying CD. Other good sources are Michael Eskin’s http://www.tradlessons.com/Ryan Dubh’s and Brother Steve’s free online whistle tutorials.
Other good authors for tutorial books include Larsen, Cotter and McCullough (sp?).
As far as what to listen to, there is a lot out there to pique your interest. See the “stickies” at the top of the whistle board for recording suggestions as well as Youtube stuff. Plenty on Youtube, including some from members of this site. If you want to hear what the whistle is capable of check out anything recorded by Mary Bergin, but don’t be too intimidated, she is world class.
Again, enjoy your introduction to this underrated instrument. A little more practice will get you in touch with your lower/upper octave control (provided you have a decent whistle to work with, and most commercial whistles are more than adequate for a beginner). What manufacturer’s product are you using?
Actually if you play the clarinet, these may be too easy for you. A better choice for you may be Ireland’s Best Tin Whistle Tunes, Volume 1 & 2 and Ireland’s Best Session Tunes, Volume 1 & 2. These are also available with CDs of the tunes.
Hehe point taken on the difference between song and tune
Ok, I have a lot of good suggestions and I’ve run across several of these in my wanderings.
I’ll check the stickies more closely. I’ve seen some of the youtube videos was kind of hoping for a CD or something I could put on my mp3 player so I don’t hunch over my laptop all day 
I’m very happy to have started the whistle. I was really surprised at how difficult it actually is to play, much less master. I’m trying to take it slow but it’s hard when you want to sound nice right off the bat. I can read the music, figure out the notes. Why isn’t it coming out like I want? 
Thanks for all your help!
Celeste
Celeste, along with the Irish tune books suggested above, if you’re looking for some English tunes (or at least tunes commonly played at English sessions) then Nick Barber’s ‘English Choice’ is a good place to start. Two accompanying CDs are also available - ‘Bonny Kate’ and ‘Lovely Nancy’ and contain all the tunes in the book. Available from Phil at Big Whistle.
As for music to listen to there’s a sticky topic, Whistle Recordings, here.
Yup, whistle is a lot trickier than it seems looking at it from the outside, or perhaps it is just that the better players have now set the bar so high… I remember reading a quote about whistle players in some older book (might have been O’Neil, Stevenson, or Dumas, not sure right now) to the effect that rustic whistle players seem to spring into being fully formed and capable of producing amazing music, because you never hear any of them playing on a beginner level. Boy do I wish that was the case, I’ve been struggling for years.
I’ve seen some of the youtube videos was kind of hoping for a CD or something I could put on my mp3 player so I don’t hunch over my laptop all day
One tip I can give regarding youtube and MP3 format that should probably be over in the technical section of the forum. In any event, if you have a PC you can download the free RealPlayer program which not only makes copies of Youtube videos on your computer, but also allows you to convert them to audio only files (i.e. MP3). With a little practice it doesn’t take much time and gives you the portability you are looking for.
I’m new to the whistle and I have the same problem. I find the higher the pitch the more I have to blow and conversely the lower the pitch the less breath. I play saxophone so it’s very hard to blow so softly into the whistle. I am getting an Alto G maybe that will make it easier.
The lowest notes can definitely be a bit delicate and require some finesse. If possible, get an experienced player to check out your whistle to make sure the troubles you’re having are not inherent in the whistle. Even the commercially made ones differ a bit from one to another.
Any suggestions for Scottish tune books?
I can add these:
Based on a recommendation from the MK whistle site - An Fhideag Airgid (A Whistle Tutor for Highland Music) by Davy Garrett. I found it here… http://www.musicscotland.com/)
And I have been enjoying Sandy Jasper’s Tin Whistle Tutorial…
Good luck