I Want To Play Tin Whistle!, Advice? Good Sites for lessons?

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! )

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

I'm slowly learning myself, but I need to spend more time picking out notes...

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!

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...

I love Barley juice!

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

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,

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

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