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| Celtic Radio Community > Celtic Music > I Want To Play Tin Whistle! |
| Posted by: wizardofowls 17-May-2004, 05:53 PM |
| Hello all! I didn't know whether to post his here or in the Minstrel's Gallery! I want to learn to play the tin whistle! I have a tin whistle (3 actually), and I've been taking piano lessons for almost a year now so I'm learning how to read music. Any whistle players out there? I need advice! Where do I start? Any good websites? Books/Videos/CDs? I'm all ears! (Sorry, couldn't find an appropriate emoticon!  ) |
| Posted by: Raven 17-May-2004, 06:59 PM |
| My wife plays tin whistle (and about every other kind of flute type instrument known to man that is not a conventional flute) and she has never taken a lesson. She just started working with it playing scales and playing along with recorded music about 10 years ago and she is really quite good. I will get her to post her advice. I'm sure she remembers how she learned more than I do. Peace Mikel |
| Posted by: barddas 18-May-2004, 07:35 AM |
| I tend to agree with, Mikel's advice. Play along with your cd's. In *Most* celtic music a d whistle will fit for about anything. It's the common whistle. That is what I do. I keep one in the car for traffic jams, and stop lights. ( I don't recommend anyone else doing it;) ) I was playing with Heather Dale's Cd yesterday. And a d whistle works just fine for it. And you will be able to hear your mistakes instantly. One thing is that there are sharps (#). And the way you do a sharp on a tine whistle is to cover the finger hole half way. And that way you are able to get that traditional 'bend' in the note. The begining of Amazing Grace for example. |
| Posted by: barddas 18-May-2004, 07:41 AM |
| OH!!! I almost forgot! If you have a tuner of some sort use it! Check your whiste to make sure it is in tune.I have had several where I had to adjust the mouth piece becase it was a touch out of tune. The way you do it. In the case of a d whistle. Set your tuner to d. Apply all your fingers over the holes. That is d. Blow and check the tuner. If it is out what you need to do is boil some water. Once it is boiling put the mouth piece into the water for a minute or so. Then slightly adjust it up or down depending on if your whistle is sharp or flat. Once you you get it tuned, let it set for a while so the glue can cool. |
| Posted by: wizardofowls 30-May-2004, 12:41 PM |
| I found a book and tape set at the public library called Irish Pennywhistle written by Cathal McConnell of the Boys of the Lough! The book only has 26 pages and there are 3 tapes! To vioalte copyright laws or not to violate copyright laws! THAT is the question!  |
| Posted by: Gaelic Bread 05-Jun-2004, 06:22 PM |
| Sorry to post on this so late after the fact... But I play the whistles for a group on the CelticRadio site, and can tell you that the easiest way to learn is to take the directions that come with a whistle and toss them. It's a matter of putting your fingers over the holes and listen to the note. then try to learn a tune slowly. After time, you'll know where to put the fingers without looking. Works for me... and I'm on stage!  |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 05-Jun-2004, 08:32 PM |
| Thanks for the advice, everyone! I've been working some with the Cathal McConnell book and tapes, and I can now play the first two songs (It's Not Yet Day/Neil Shay Na Law and O'Donnell Abú) in the book! Not great, mind you, but at least it's a start! |
| Posted by: Aaediwen 06-Jun-2004, 07:16 AM |
| I'm slowly learning myself, but I need to spend more time picking out notes... |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 06-Jun-2004, 07:46 PM |
| Hi Aaediwen! I think its cool that you are learning too! Do you use any sor t of books or tapes or websites to help you learn? One good site that I have found is called www.sessioneer.com. It not only gives lessons but also has a directory of sheet music of Celtic tunes made especially for the whistle! |
| Posted by: Aaediwen 06-Jun-2004, 08:20 PM |
Nothing special. I found a decent beginner's book to help me get started when I bought my first whistle. It helped me find the initial fingering and get oriented... I need to work with it a bit more too I guess, but I have a feeling that by ear is supposed to be better at this point...  |
| Posted by: Raven 06-Jun-2004, 09:18 PM | ||
I love Barley juice!  |
| Posted by: barddas 07-Jun-2004, 08:03 AM | ||
GB!!!!!! Great ta see ya m'friend!!!!! Congrats on playing w/Barley!!!!! And i do have to agree with yer whistle advise! So, you and USA kilts comin' to the CincinnatiCeltic fest this year????? Drop me PM. Cheers |
| Posted by: balisodare 07-Jun-2004, 10:36 AM |
| I've been playing tinwhistle for almost ten years now and have tried lots of different approaches.... The one I recommend the most is starting by ear and playing with recordings. However, this can be difficult and it is tricky to catch everything the artist is doing without listening to the CD a million times. Therefore, if you can slow the recordings down at all....it is a huge help. Places like Elderly Instruments (www.elderly.com) sell portable CD players that slow down recordings at pitch. Another tool you can use (which is free btw) is winamp. Winamp is an mp3 player for windows machines and one of the newer versions has a plug-in that allows you to slow down music at pitch. Also, don't be afraid to use music to help you get your bearings for what is going on with the recording(s) you are listening to. There have been plenty of times that a lick as stumped me and I've cracked open my O'Neill's collection (a great Irish music reference btw) to figure out the 'B' section of a tune. Finally, try to find any slow jams or sessions in your area. These are great resources because you not only will be able to get experience playing with other people in a relaxed atmosphere....but usually the members of a slow session are other beginners who can share their insights and tricks. Hope this helps. Cheers,  |
| Posted by: balisodare 07-Jun-2004, 10:41 AM |
| Oh, one more thought.... Don't feel that you have to jump right in and play blazing fast jigs and reels like the pros. Start out with easier things like songs and airs; they are slower and offer a lot of nuance and artistry that one can begin copying right away which will make the dance music that much sweeter when the time comes for it. Cheers |
| Posted by: Raven 07-Jun-2004, 01:01 PM |
| Great advice everyone. I actually own the CD player that Elderly sells. It's a Tascam and has been very helpful to learn guitar licks with. You can zero in on the riff you want to learn and loop over and over the same 4 or 5 note as a slow speed and on pitch if you want. Alwasy remember like has been said not to worry about speed at first (on any new lick) that will come with time. But practice makes permanent, so if you are practicing so fast that you make mistakes it is difficult to overcome this later on. Learn the licks at a speed that makes sense even if it is very slow. Slain Mikel |
| Posted by: Tradlad 07-Jun-2004, 02:12 PM |
| http://www.madfortrad.ie is an online music school where you can learn tunes on lots of instruments, including Tin Whistle. ATB. Martin. |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 07-Jun-2004, 10:06 PM |
| Hi there Tradlad! I tried to get into the site you posted via the link but it wouldn't let me in! I'll try again later! Thanks! |
| Posted by: greenldydragon 08-Jun-2004, 04:32 PM |
| the link is www.madfortrad.com |
| Posted by: Raven 11-Jun-2004, 08:54 AM |
| here is another site for you Wizard O!! http://www.chiffandfipple.com/ |
| Posted by: greenldydragon 11-Jun-2004, 09:07 AM |
| If you want to slow down music and don't want to buy one of those c.d players made to do that, Transcribe! is a good program. |
| Posted by: Aaediwen 12-Jun-2004, 04:30 PM |
| Opinions on if the first section of "Reel Around the Sun" from Riverdance might be a good place to start trying to learn by ear? |
| Posted by: ebendigo 15-Jun-2004, 05:11 AM |
| Hello Everyone, I just was informed by Wizard that this thread existed so I thought I would post too. I've been playing the whistle for about 5 years now. I'm not that good at reading music even though I played the flute for about 6 years when I was a kid. I have a pretty good ear and can usally pick up the tune pretty quick. My favorite way to practice playing is poppin' one of my favorite Chieftan's CDs and play along. I've been invited to play at some slow jams, but I've never had the time to go to them. I've heard that this a great way to learn tunes though. Anyway I'm glad to see that there is a thread out here for us whistle players!  Cheers, -E |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 22-Jun-2004, 09:12 PM |
| Thanks for sharing with us, Ebendigo! I'm still plugging away at learning, though I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like lately... |
| Posted by: TheCarolinaScotsman 24-Jun-2004, 08:48 PM |
Hey Wizard, I should make a good audience for your tin whistle since I have a tin ear.  (ducking and running) |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 24-Jun-2004, 08:51 PM |
| Hey, hey HEY! Watch it! Just cuz it sounds like a ruptured duck just now is no reason to be throwin off on me playin'.... |
| Posted by: erickbloodax 24-Jun-2004, 09:13 PM |
| I started playing using the Clark Tin Whistle book, it came with a tape and would go through the tunes slowly then at speed. It does teach you how to read music. I have found that notes in folk music are mostly a suggestion I play my mandolin mostly now, not very good but I have found that you can't worry and play music at the same time. |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 25-Jun-2004, 07:36 PM |
| Thanks for sharing with us, Erick! Was the Tin Whistle book expensive? I've never heard of it! I'll have tot od some looking around for it! |
| Posted by: Aaediwen 08-Jul-2004, 04:13 PM |
| Finally getting somewhere! I found sheet for "Amazing Grace" online. I used to know it on recorder way back in middle school, and thought it would be a good place to start. So far I think I've been correct. The sheet looks like it's in a key of C, but I'm remembering that playing something of the sort on a D whistle only changes the key you're playing in; nothing else. I've gotten about halfway through it, and there's one segment where this puts me trying to go back and fourth between A/B and a high D though. Being a bear to figure out how best to do this, specially when some of it is between eighth notes and I'm having a little difficulty landing the fingering right on whole notes. Is it just one of these where I keep at it and eventually get it? or is there some way I can help make this section a little easier on myself? |