I was wondering if anyone had recommendations with regard to book/CD whistle tutorials. I’ve seen a few (L.E. McCullough, Bill Ochs, Geraldine Cotter, etc.) out there, but I’m wondering which would be the best choice in terms of quality of instruction and tunes included.
I’m sure this topic has been covered here before at some point, although I couldn’t find it in the archives. My apologies for being redundant and thanks for your help.
Paul Runci
I have a couple that have done very well by me over the years. The first, which is also the very first whistle book I ever bought (lo these many years ago) is “The Penny Whistle Book” by Robin Williamson. I especially like the variety of tunes he offers…there’s a fair bit of Irish stuff in there, but also plenty of stuff from Wales, England, Scotland and even America. I also think he explains ornamentation and tonguing very well, and also gives a lot of useful information about different modes and keys, as well as the history of the various tunes, that I find interesting.
The other book that has helped me a lot is “Cathal McConnell Teaches Irish Pennywhistle” from the Homespun “Listen and Learn” series. I especially like the CD that came with the book…makes it very easy to HEAR what you’re supposed to be doing (and he does a bit of explaining on the CD as well, and some “compare and contrast,” as in “This is the song with the ornamentation and this is it without.”)
Mel Bay’s “Whistler’s Pocket Companion” is one I pull out occasionally as well. It’s not really a tutor per se (though I think it contains enough “how-to” notes to get someone started)…it’s more a tune book with exercises to help you improve your skills.
Between them, these books include a wide variety of tunes. There’s some overlap, of course, but not as much as you might expect. Each book has its strenths and weaknesses. I think if I could only recommend one, I’d go with the Williamson book, simply because he breaks things down so well.
I just reread your post, however, and it sounds like you’re asking specifically about book/CD combos, so perhaps this information won’t help you as much. The only one I’ve worked with is the Cathal McConnell one, and, while the CD was very good and quite helpful, the book didn’t offer much instruction…it’s not a bad combo for people who have been playing for a while, but I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners. Some of the tunes are quite simple, but if one either doesn’t read music or finds learning solely by ear challenging, it could be frustrating to try to learn from scratch from it.
Redwolf
Cantate Domino Canticum Novum
[ This Message was edited by: Redwolf on 2002-10-21 00:55 ]
The Bill Ochs book/cd is the best tutorial of that type available. $17 at Elderly. Now go buy it.
On 2002-10-21 03:51, jim_mc wrote:
The Bill Ochs book/cd is the best tutorial of that type available. $17 at Elderly. Now go buy it.
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jim-mc, your endorsement has me going to Elderly in a moment. And as far as a good and FREE tutorial, how can you beat Brother Steve’s site??
~Larry
I have listened to four of the tutorials;
McCullough, Cotter, Ochs, and McConnell. I think they all have a place, depending on your needs. My opinions for their greatest utility is as follows:
I think Bill Ochs’ tutorial is the best one for starting from scratch (so this is a whistle).
I think L. E. McCullough’s tutorial is the best for learing the Irish style of playing from scratch, or if you have had some music before.
I think Geraldine Cotter’s tutorial is the best for someone wanting to expand a repertoir once you have moved past beginner to novice, or as a second tutorial if you still hunger for more. I think Geraldine moves too fast from her absolute beginner section to her intermediate section (I’d like a few more tunes played slower).
I think Cathal McConnell’s tutorial is the best for tricks and novelties, and also a good choice for a second tutorial. I would think of this as a great first tutorial, but the well done beginners section doesn’t have a good bridge (or an advanced beginner section) that moves on to the well done novice section. This is very similar to my concerns about Geraldine Cotter’s tutorial. Cathal does some really amazing things on here.
Some definitions for perspective’s sake. I consider a beginner to be someone just picking up a whistle and with fewer than a dozen tunes in their repertoir. I consider a novice to be someone who is beyond a beginner and beginning to play some tunes at full speed, and with a repertoir less than +/- 30 tunes.
Overall, I think it is hard to go wrong with any of them. I consider no portion of these tutorials to be anything less than very well done. I think some things could be added, but I would not take anything out. Thats my nickle, YMMV.
Cheers
If you have the basics down – where the notes are, how to tongue, how to slur, what a jig sounds like, etc, – your best bet IMO is Bro Steve’s. Free, well paced, covers the really tough things in detail, provides sound clips.
But if you’re looking for tunes, tunes, tunes, that’s another story. McCullough’s books are certainly nice that way, even if I don’t particularly like his use of ornamentation or version of tunes.
As for learning the basics, Ochs’ book is very good.