Do the two mix? I’ve done a little story telling and have found the whistle to be an excellent means of communicating with children. Nothing can imitate the sound of rain of the roof, or of someone sneaking away, or of someone walking with a happy strut as a note or two on the whistle.
Seeing the creative sparks that can fly on this board, I’m wondering, what are some of the ways you’ve used your whistles with kids?
I it like this…"Now Behave, Or I’ll play my whistle "
Seriously ..Our children both have their own whistles. Our son practices diligently, and his fine motor skills are improving as well,
this is a blessing. Our daughter practices
not as diligently but she really likes practicing with us, whereas our son practices by himself
Funny thing though..niether have them have WHOA
Have to work on that
Dan
I’ve played for kids of various ages and have always had a positive response. Once I played for a 4th grade class at an extremely racially diverse city school. I played standard jigs, reels and airs, and gave a very brief little ethnomusicology/music history lesson. The response was the best I’ve ever had. It sparked an interest with some kids who I can safely surmise would not be exposed to Irish music at home. I heard stories from kids whose relatives and friends played quenas, chinese flutes, pan pipes and all kinds of things.
Both of my kids have their own whistles. My 12 year old has pretty much switched over to the fife, though. My 3 year old has developed a form of whoa. Whenever I play something he particularly likes, he has to have the whistle I played it on. Kind of like his Dad needing a Sindt after seeing Mary Bergin!
One caution with the little ones: don’t let them walk with whistles in their mouths. A fall could be disastrous.
I do shows a few times a year telling irish tales to grade school kids, this last year I have added a few tunes on whistle and they really respond well to it. Now I take some extra’s along so they can try them out