A while ago there was a poll on how long people practice. Coming from a formal music lession background, I have a related question: what should newbies practice?
Tunes? Yes. Ornamentation? Yes. What about old-fashioned scales and fingering exercises? Grey Larsen’s “The Toolbox Exercises for Finger Coordination”?
I started with scales through both octaves. Also, octave jumps both up and down the scale. I didn’t really improve until I started playing with others. You have to listen to the music to grasp it.
Another thing, don’t get involved in seeking a perfect whistle. I had an Oak for 15 years before I got a second whistle. Take the time to learn the breath control to get the most out of the whistle that you have. When you switch whistles, you have to make subtle (and not so subtle) changes in how you play them. Stick with one and learn how to control it.
Angelo
Here we go, stealing Don’s thread…
A counterpoint to Angelo’s interesting response is that – in my experience – it was only by playing different whistles that I learned that I had to control my breath, what that felt like, and that I was doing it naturally.
I agree, though, that almost any whistle is fine for learning. Only one of my whistles, a Generation Bb, would be excessively hard to learn on. But when I play with others, some whistles clearly work better than others.
The what to practice is a good question. I’ve been focusing on the tunes I want to be able to play with others. Maybe that’s not enough?
Angelo wrote…
Wow! That’s gotta be some kinda record! Bravo! Unfortunately, we’ll have to take samples of our blood to concoct an anti-WOAH vaccine. This’ll only hurt for a moment…
Sorry about the double post, but I wanted to warn you that trying to play jigs and reels too fast can be discouraging. I would start with slower stuff, like, say, the Lord of the Rings theme??
This may be an obvious answer but I would say go with what works best for you.
I am a beginner, and I started with scales but got bored. So I tried simple tunes (mostly non-ITM). Then I tried ornamentation like taps and cuts. Then I tried rolls…
I found I just couldn’t get the rhythm right, but if I tried a tune with a roll in it that worked. So I looked for tunes with rolls (eg. Wind that Shakes the Barley etc.) Ok, now I can do rolls reasonably well.
Regarding types of tunes, I have been learning jigs and reels (surprisingly mostly reels for some reason), but tend to play them all at half speed. or slower. I am slowly working on speed but not at the expense of proper fingering, rhythm or breath control. If I want to play along in sessions I stick to songs, airs, and I am beginning to look at hornpipes.
I am not saying this is always the best approach but it seems to work for me.
As a beginning whistle player, I too am searching for “beginner music” and several people have mentioned “The Lord of the Rings” theme. Does anyone have a link to the notation for it? Thanks!
I found Gabriel’s Oboe was also a good tune to try as a beginner. It has a lot of slow notes and kind of takes you between octaves.
If you want really simple look through a kids song book. Things like Row Row Row, or London Bridges. If you want a bit harder tune you could try the theme to Sesame Street.
Christmas carols are often simple. For example Joy to the World starts with a scale.
Southwind is a nice slow ITM tune.
I hope this helps.
I think that you have to mix it up – scales, tunes, etc. – but always do scales, major and minor. Those are fundamental. (And don’t forget the arpeggios!) Start with slow tunes but try a few fast ones, too.
A few years ago I had an opportunity to be able to practice my whistle for 2 or 3 hours a day. (I was unemployed during the .com bust.) Every day I did scales, and almost every day I tried at least one new tune, even if I just muddled through it. After only a few weeks I noticed a difference, and after a couple of months, I noticed a big difference.
Hi all, new whistler here, playing a home-made whistle. (Great forum by the way.)
I couldn’t practice for two or three hours even if the time were available. At some point around 45 minutes or an hour I hit the wall. I start making more mistakes and I have to put the whistle down and pick it up later. When I do, I’m better than I was last time I picked it up, and of course better than when I put it down, if I stopped due to frustration.
Working at the computer at home there are times when I have a few minutes of nothing to do while I wait for the computer to complete something. I think I’m finding six short sessions of 10 minutes is better for me than one session of 60 minutes.
What have others found?
(This would not apply to playing tunes I know, that would just be fun.)
My two cents: Play what you enjoy. At some point, you’ll see the need to practice scales or arpeggios or whatever because that weakness in your technique will begin to affect your enjoyment of your music. Practicing that item will then be fun because it will have an immediate impact on your playing and your enjoyment.
I’m assuming you are learning to play the whistle for the fun of it. If you are preparing for a concert in New York next month, forget all the above.
Both! I like to have a solid practise time but also have whistles next to the computer, by the TV remote, next to the bed, in my rucksack and even in the bathroom. I doubt if this is unusual among whistlers.
At the end of the day you just have to do what works best for you.
Happy practising!
Thanks to all! As usual, the left brain is getting in the way of the right. I’ll just try to keep things fun for a change.
All sorts of thoughts come to mind about whistling in the bathroom … I won’t go there. 
We should run a poll and discover where whistlers stash whistles around their homes to play in passing. Anyway, what’s wrong about playing whistle in the bathroom? Ah! I forgot that in American English the word bathroom may not refer to a room with a bath!
Some whistlers even keep a whistle in their vehicle. 
Oooh! that would mean that I have a valid excuse for buying more whistles than the two I have now??? how nice
Tunes? Yes. Ornamentation? Yes. What about old-fashioned scales and fingering exercises? Grey Larsen’s “The Toolbox Exercises for Finger Coordination”?
From the way the question is phrased, I’m guessing you’re aiming toward playing Irish music. If this is the case, listen to good recordings of the tunes you want to learn. Get the feeling of how they’re played into your head. Try playing along. Use a slow-down software to get it manageable. The thing most beginners miss is the pulse or rhythm of the tune. It’s more important to get right, especially at the beginning, than fancy techniques. And, it’s pointless to challenge your speed abilities before you can make the tune sound right played slowly.
Tony
Only having two whistles is a perfectly valid excuse for buying more… lots more. 
Ignore the dude who only had an Oak for 15 years, that’s just plain weird. 
[quote="ScreeeechOnly having two whistles is a perfectly valid excuse for buying more… lots more.
Ignore the dude who only had an Oak for 15 years, that’s just plain weird. [/quote]
Well, I have only played the whistle for a month, so I think that two whistles at this point is OK, and (ahem ahem) I forgot to mention the low D that I have ordered…
Several previous comments have struck home -
I often take a whistle in the car and whistle at the longer stop lights. It’s much easier to manage behind the wheel than a guitar.
“Play it slow” is a must. There is no point at all going faster than you can with good precision. You are training muscle memory, and if you practice with errors, you will be practicing the error into your song.
“Listen to the the tune a lot” for sure, if you can’t sing it, (or at least hear it in your mind’s ear) how can you expect to play it?
Here’s what I’ve been doing -
Since I spend most of my days at my computer (professional geek) I use the ABC player and find a tune I would like to learn. I let it play over and over in the background as I work for a couple hours until when it switches off I find it playing in my head.
Next, I slow it down (easy to do with ABC) so I can hear each note. Really slow. I let this play for a few hours. By the end of that time the tune is in my head.
In the evening I start to play the tune - really slow, being sure to get all the notes right. Once I can play it through I pick up the speed a little, but only just. If I make errors, I slow it down again - I am not ready.
Using this method I can learn a tune in a couple days, which I think is pretty good since I have only been whistling since Christmas. I do have the advantage of six or seven years of clarinet in school. That was 40 years ago, but the breath control and relaxed fingerings came back quicky.
Well, b*gger me! Play scales on a whistle?
…it just never ocurred to me. Just play what you like and play it slow. It will get faster. Also (handy hint) listen to the tunes that people sneer at.
“My Darling Asleep” It’s a beginner’s tune!
“The Winding Road” likewise.
How about “The Donegal Lancers” and “The Rakes of Mallow”.
My whistles live in my laptop case…
except for the ones that live in a vase beside the bed…