I’m interested in purchasing some sheet music for Christmas songs. Does anyone know where I might find some specifically for the tin whistle?
~~TINA
I’ve not seen a Christmas book for the whistle yet. You might try some Christmas books for the mountain dulcimer, though. These are almost without exception written in the key of D or G, or one of its modal derivatives. Most of this is covered by the D whistle, but it doesn’t hurt to also have G, A, and possibly E whistles.
If you can’t find dulcimer books either, try books for “easy guitar”. You will have nearly every tune covered by the whistles mentioned above.
Geez, I ought to write one. I sat down and worked out a couple of dozen Christmas carols a couple of years ago, but never wrote them out. I love playing Christmas carols, and a great many of them suit the whistle very well.
Redwolf
http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/songtype.asp?songtype=15
Free, no purchase necessary. All good on the whistle. I’m missing little drummer boy, which is a shame because it sounds superb on the whistle.
Don Oiche Ud I mBeithel
First Noel, The
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Here We Come a-Caroling
Jingle Bells
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Joy to the World
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Tannenbaum
Silent Night
Wafaring Stranger
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
For the Little Drummer Boy, Start on A and then figure it out, listening as you go. That’s how people learn to play by ear.
JP
I have only recently began trying to read music and suchso forgive me for a stupid question.
But in sheet music, such as for Good King Wenceslas listed on the link above..why do some songs have 2 sets of bars and others 1?(I can’t really explain much better seeing as how I am an idiot when it comes to music, but they have a set of notes then right below a second bar with notes and on hte left of both a wavy sort of line “enclosing” the two)
Parts for two different instruments? Duet, I guess.
Or possibly a bass line under the treble line?
edited to add: aha, if you mean this: http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/sheet.asp?code=good_king_wenceslas
then it looks like harmony accompaniment on a second instrument, which is what Martin said.
Cool - Thanks, Wanderer! I have visited your site many times, but hadn’t seen any duets yet. Love Good King Wenceslas.
If anyone is looking for a book of Christmas songs, The Whistle Shop ( www.thewhistleshop.com ) has one called “A Celtic Tinwhistle Christmas” for $7.60 USD, with 24 songs, some also as duets. The website gives a list of the songs included.
~Judy
Yup…and it’s a pretty easy one to learn that way. I learned it with D as the starting note, but a quick grab in my whistle drawer confirms that A is a good starting spot for it too.
Most songs (Christmas or Irish) are pretty easy to pick out on the whistle…the melody lines are a lot simpler than dance tunes. But, I really should notate it and put it up on the site for folks who aren’t that confident in their ear yet, but still want to learn the tune.
I think I have just one other, if memory serves:
http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/sheet.asp?code=rufty
But then again, I’m getting old..there might be another one, and I’ve just forgotten 
There are some Christmas songs here for tinwhistle including tablature.
Tina,
Christmas carols are often the melodies that folks can most easily pick up by ear. I find having a key and a few starting notes is often enough to muddle through.
Using these as a start I can quickly transpose to a common key by learning a carol in a particular key on a D whistle and then switching whistles. This is helpfull if you need to accompany carollers in a more comfortable key for them.
Here’s a worksheet I started (and posted) a couple of years ago to help; give it a try if you want. I have a copy I reduce down to the size of a 3 by 5 card for my shirt pocket that I carry around during the holiday season. It jogs the old memory.
Christmas Carol Worksheet.
- Title: Here We come A-Caroling
Key: D - Starting: DEF#E - Title: Over The River and Through the Wood
Key: D - Starting: AAAF#G - Title: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Key: G - Starting: DGGF# - Title: The First Noel
Key: D - Starting: F#ED,EF#G - Title: What Child is This
Key: G - Starting: E,GABcb - Title: Joy to The World
Key: D - Starting: dc#B,AG - Title: Bethlehem
Key: G - Starting: B,BBA#B - Title: Jingle Bells
Key: G - Starting: DBAG,DDD - Title: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
Key: G - Starting: E,EBBA - Title: We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Key: G - Starting: D,GGAGF# - Title: We Three Kings of Orient Are
Key: G - Starting: B,AG,EF,GFE - Title: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Key: G - Starting: G,GDG - Title: O Holy Night
Key: C - Starting: EEE,GGAAFA - Title: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Key: G - Starting: E,GBBB, - Title: Silent Night, Holy Night
Key: C - Starting: GAGE - Title: Angels We Have Heard on High
(The Westminster Carol)
Key: G - Starting: BBBd,dcb - Title: O Christmas Tree (O Tennenbaum)
Key: G - Starting: D,GGG,ABBB - Title: Away in a Manger
Key: G - Starting: d,dcB - Title: Deck The Halls
Key: D - Starting: AGF#E,DEF#D - Title: Deck the Halls (alt)
Key: G - Starting: dcBAGABG - Title: Once in Royal David’s City
Key: D - Starting: DFG2,GGFGAAF, - Title: White Christmas
Key: G - Starting: B,cnatBAG,B,c#d - Title: Good Christian Men Rejoice
Key: G - Starting DG,GB,Cnatd,ed - Title: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Key: D - Starting: DB2,FAG,ED2,ED2<*>
Now that we’re talking about Christmas Carols, I’ve been looking for some time for the sheet music to “The Skyline Jig.” It’s on one of The Chieftain’s Christmas CDs and the whistling is incredible. “The Boar’s Head” is another tune that I’ve been trying to find sheet music for. Can anyone steer me in the right direction for these tunes?
Thanks,
Will O’Ban
ps: thanks, judy for the info on a celtic tinwhiste christmas. it contains “the wexford carol” which i was also looking for.
This should be a sticky thread … until Christmas 
Thanx again, Wanderer – “Rufty Tufty” has been printed out and just waiting for me to latch onto my whistle-playing niece. For some reason whistles and her auntie here are taking a backseat to the boyfriend … 
Will, “The Wexford Carol” is one of my favorites, too. The only problem with the book is the lack of lyrics. I don’t read ABC notation well, but is this one of the songs you’re looking for?
X: 1
T:The Boar’s Head
% Nottingham Music Database
%P:AAB
S:Vic
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:C
|:G|"C"c2 cc|"G"Bc "C"G3/2E/2|"F"FF "Dm"AF| [1"G"GA/2B/2 "C"c:| [2"G"GA/2B/2 "C"c2|
"C"ee "G"dd|"Am"AA "Em"G3/2E/2|"F"FF "Dm"AF|"G"GA/2B/2 "C"c||
Found it at the web-wide abc index
~Judy
That’s the strangest transcription I’ve ever seen of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It is supposed to be in 6/8.
My all time favourite carol is “Past Three O’Clock” which I heard for the first time on the BBC on Christmas Morning.
I was with the United Nations Peacekeeping force on Cyprus in 1966/67. I was on observation duty high up in the Kyrenia pass that early morning keeping watch and had loved that carol ever since.
Years latter when I had become a librarian (but not the music librarian,as I am now) I was given the job of creating a display of the history of English Carol (s) and what I found out, was that there are carols for all the differenct church seasons throughout the year in the Church of England. Many are quite beautiful to play. So check out your nearest library and see what they have.
MarkB
Oh! The only original Canadian Christmas carol is “The Huron Carol” and I have heard it sung in Huron, French and English, very lovely.
Back to the original question about where to purchase whistle yuletide music, I just ordered “A Celtic Tinwhistle Christmas” from Gaelic Crossings for $7.95.
There are seven or eight Christmas carols in “The Whistler’s Pocket Companion” by Donna gilliam and Mizzy McCaskill.
It is a Mel Bay book. Worth the price of admission, there’s lots of other stuff too.
John