Hi. I’m new to this forum and to whistling. I have a Clarke sweetone D and C. My problem is tempo. I can play a slow piece fairly well. I like to play hymns. But I can’t play a jig to save my life. Is it just a matter of doing it over and over, or are there fingering exercises I should be working on, too?
i like to play the jigs slow at first, then i get faster and faster until its perfect. it just takes some time and practice. 
One word: Metronome.
Thanks. I’ll keep at it.
Peace,
Bill
welcome, bill. 
don’t worry too much about the proper tempo right now - that comes with experience.
the soul of the beast is in its rhythm. trust me, if irish trad doesn’t have a rock-solid rhythm then the final product is going to sound BAD. a reel or a jig played at a slower tempo, but with an even, steady rhythm is something that anyone will appreciate. those same dance tunes, however, played at lightning speed, with an uneven rhythm, will just annoy your audience.
in irtrad especially, “the tune don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”
~shoelaces~
Listen to good recordings of jigs so you get a feel for them.
One good trick to mastering a tricky musical phrase (or more) is to sing it: da da da etc. I have found that if a music student can sing something they they can play it.
The quickest way to playing something properly at performance speed it learning to play it faultlessly sloooooooooooooooooooooowlly. The finger memory will develp.
Another exercise is to play something you know really well, but faster than usual.
I have loved the hymn, “O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” for years. It’s usually rendered very slowly. I learned it as a slow song, but then started speeding it up. It’s a really cool tune played at a faster clip, and has a sea-shanty kind of sound that fits with the words.
Mark
Keeping the tempo steady is much more important than playing it fast. Don’t practise a second faster than the speed you can play the tune (or at least the part you’re practising) perfectly. You will want to go fast for theeasy parts and slow down when it gets tricky. Everyone wants to do this, and it’s exactly the wrong thing to do.
As for drills, it certainly wouldn’t hurt for you to show up to a couple of "irish’ dances, if there are any in your area. Once you have danced once or twice to each tune type (reel, polka, jig, etc) then you’ll have a better feel for it.
Thanks for all the great advice. It’s helpful to know that steady and slow is better than unsteady and quick-ish.
Peace to all!
Bill
Hmmm… I don’t know of anything in Bay City (well, other than the Tall Ships Festival, which probably had some nice Newfoundland tunes back in July), but there’s usually something on the go every other month or so in Remus. And of course if you’re willing to drive south a bit, there’s regular weekly Irish music in Ann Arbor and metro Detroit.
Beware the dark side. Metronome is cool to give you an idea of where you’re at and to get in the groove when you’re having problems with that, but don’t go overboard, merely building speed at the expense of actually listening to and playing fully ALL parts of a tune with the proper phrasing. I say this from experience because, concerned with speed, I went off into the night with the evil metronome, and gaining great speed and losing my musical soul. Yes, not the metronome’s fault, but mine. I played something (a reel) the other day at insanely slow speed and had someone of note tell me that that was the most beautiful playing he’d ever heard from me. I had a bad habit of only paying attention to the more emotional phrases that grab you and rushing over some of the connecting less inspiring sections of tunes. Now that I’ve slowed up and relaxed and am more conscious of every part of every tune, I’m enjoying it and playing so much better and hearing more than ever before.
Philo
You must feel the FORCE and trust the FORCE.
But first you will need to build up those neural
pathways in the old grey matter by dint of much
playing and even a bit of practice.
I play piano and can whip out any bit of ITM dance
music like OK. But after more than 2 years of playing
whistle, I am just getting the hang of jigs and reels.
Hang in there bro!
I have struggled with tempo issues on whistle and flute, and (as suggested) it has usually been a result of playing beyond my speed-ability level.
I second the suggestion for a metronome. If you set it right, you’ll probably feel it reining you in, rather than helping you speed up. This is what you want it to do. Set it waaaay slow, and work at getting your rhythm solid. As stated, the ability to play at speed comes automatically, and usually requires no effort.
Well, I feel very encouraged to know that it takes a lot of time. I’m just beginning, and feeling a little impatient, but I think there’s hope. In Bay City, by the way, I’ve discovered that the Friends of Celtic Culture bring in Irish and Celtic bands pretty regularly.
Thanks again for the advice and encouragement.
If you don’t like the metronome idea, find a recording of a tune you like and slow it down using the computer. For example, I have a program called Audacity that can change the temp WITHOUT changing the pitch. I usually slow the tune down about 30% to 40% and play along. That way I can also learn the artist’s nuances. I find that works better for me than a metronome.
Another think I have done is spent some time learning Hornpipes. The are faster than Airs and slower than Jigs…
Brian, that’s bizarre. I just downloaded Audacity last night so I could record myself! I didn’t know it was so versatile. I’ll be sure to check it out.
Thanks!
Bill
Every musician I know who has a computer* seems to have audacity. It’s achieved enormous penetration.
- Except (I guess) for those who have full-scale suites like protools.
To be honest, Audacity came highly recommended on a freebie downloads site. I couldn’t pass it up for that price. 
Look under effect–>change tempo