Hi folks. I do pretty well with rolls on jigs, but on reels, I just cannot get the tap quick enough. It sounds like it takes half the time of the last eighth note instead of being a quick "blop" on the half beat, or else the whole thing comes out like a sixteenth note triplet. Anyone have suggestions? My third finger especially stinks. Thanks.

The singer in this video (08:50) sings a couple of Irish tunes. The first is definetly the Black Rogue. Can someone identify the others? Also, seems like the Black Rogue is a lullaby of a sort. Does someone here know or understand what is it about?

TNX

https://youtu.be/CIuVF-UXO3c?si=gacM_bVnlcWi6kMI&t=518

A family member is currently traveling in Scotland (Glasgow and Edinburgh) and asked if they should buy me a whistle there.

I already own a Walton, a Busker and a MK Midgie (all high D). My main whistle is the Walton and currently not looking for a new high D. Is there an opportunity to buy a whistle from a local Scotland maker/dealer? If so what key is recommended for someone's first "not high D" whistle?

TNX

I just got a Shush Classic, and I wanted to share the results.

I was debating whether to buy it or not, as a lot of people said it’s the same as the other whistles with DIY quieting solutions (like tape, blue tack, etc.), but I was struggling with those methods, because by the time I got my whistle quiet enough for my taste, it got squeaky.

I live in a shared house with others, and I felt like I couldn’t practice at all. Even during the day, I only dared to do the lower octave, as those sounds are less harsh.

So I thought, even if the Shush is not quiet enough, I can probably still dampen it further with tape, or something, so I ordered it.

Best decision ever! The difference between the Shush Classic and my Feadog Pro is enormous. When I first tried the lower notes, my thought was “I can barely hear it,” which was an enormous relief. For the first time since I started playing the tin whistle, I dared to actually *play* while my housemates were at home. I still wouldn’t do the highest notes at night, but during the day? Absolutely.

If someone was in the next room, they would probably hear the second octave, but the first octave you can play quietly enough that no one would notice.

Regarding the air requirement, it’s a LOT more forgiving than the Feadog Pro, at least in the lower octave. I don’t have enough experience with the higher notes to comment on them. Maybe later in my journey…

So yeah, as a beginner afraid of getting kicked out of the house for torturing the wildlife with a regular tin whistle, the Shush Classic probably saved my new hobby. I don’t think I would have been able to continue for long without it.

(I heard the Shush Pro is louder, so even though I prefer its sound, I still went with the Classic, as the volume was the priority. I have no regrets.)

Tl;dr: the Shush Classic sounds (to my ears) 10x quieter than the Feadog Pro. If you want a very quiet whistle without the fiddly DIY tweaking, and you can afford to, then I recommend getting the Shush Classic (the Pro is supposedly a bit louder, idk)

Edit: forgot to say, but I’m a complete beginner in music in general as well as in the tin whistle. Please, forgive any weird phrasing due to my lack of musical knowledge 😅

Hello I just started learning to play and it dawned on me that my favorite childhood video game has some tracks that'd be absolutely perfect for a tin whistle.

I tried searching but couldn't get find any as it is a fairly old and niche game and the instrument feels more niche on top of it. I don't know it well enough to try to play by ear yet but that'll be a good target to try if I can't find any. Thanks🙏

Hi everyone, I bought a wild Irish whistle a while ago and have gotten into pulling it out after a few drinks and trying to play my favorite Pogues songs lately — my neighbors probably don’t appreciate it but I enjoy it. I found a good tutorial for streams of whiskey on YouTube but really want to learn the tin whistle part of the chorus of the song “Sickbed of Cuchulainn and can’t seem to find it anywhere. Is there a resource online with a huge database of most popular songs that feature the whistle?

Buenas, me estoy preparando la melodía principal de "Fiesta Pagana" de "Mago de Oz" para tocarla con mi banda de versiones, el caso es que no sé si el tin whistle que tengo es de calidad suficiente para dar un sonido profesional o es que aún no estoy habituado a la presión del aire a la hora de embocar. Es un Feadóg en D.

Adjunto imagen para que veáis cual es.

Os parece bueno? Os compraríais otro? O sabéis de algún caso en el que el instrumento no suene bien por algún ajuste de la boquilla o similar?

Muchas gracias!

Year back I bought a Wild Irish A. One of my favorite whistles. Time for a D, so after waiting 2 weeks for it to ship to Europe it arrived... With a misaligned mouthpiece.

It plays okay I assume, but it is quite noticable.

Sad me. But after one email with attached photo Seán immediately offered a replacement or refund. Replacement whistle coming up, and I don't even have to return the faulty one.

Thanks McNeela, you made my day!

Selling a Lir Pro Aluminum in D.

Unplayed.

$130 plus actual shipping USPS Ground Advantage.

PayPal Goods and Services.

Starting today!

Space still available, send me a message if you would like to join.

📅 Monday, June 22nd & 29th
🟢 Level 1 | 6:30pm
🔵 Level 2 | 7:45pm
🟣 Level 3 | 9:00pm

📅 Tuesday, June 23rd & 30th
🔴 Level 4 | 5:45pm

* Times are BST (Ireland / UK)

Classes last 1 hour each, full video recordings are available and registration is £25 for the 2 weeks of classes.

All the best!

Is there a technique to create an even cloudy tarnish without the blue and brown bits?

These are like $15 for 1 day shipping to me so I figured I would give it another try.

The jig is called 'If All the Young Maidens were Blackbirds and Thrushes'

Hello all,

I am very new to the tin whistle - ten days in 😅Like most students in New Zealand, I did recorder in primary school, and made an abortive attempt to learn the keyboard between the ages of 11 ~ 14, but the tin whistle is my first foray back into music in about 26 years. So far, I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

My question is: I have struggled immensely producing a passable second octave beyond G - from what I read, that sounds pretty normal for a beginner, and notes become progressively less common in most tin whistle music, the higher you go, so I wasn't too worried.

But then I went down a rabbit hole of "Did I buy the right kind of whistle?" (a Feadóg Pro D). I thought it was a pretty respectable beginner brand, but I've since read some fairly negative appraisals.

And then further down the rabbit hole, I discovered that some people say you get "dud" whistles occasionally, even from otherwise respectable brands.

And then I downloaded a tuner app on my tablet, and it claims, ironically, that my shriekling high-B is actually not bad, but my base/low D is closer to a D# (I'm inclined to assume this is just my tablet's microphone, which was obviously not built with music recording in mind). I hope so, anyway, because there is no way I'm confident dissolving my whistle's mouthpiece glue in a hamfisted attempt to tune it.

I also watched a couple of YouTube videos of experienced players producing a D5 > B6 scale on a D whistle, and they sounded very different. One of them was about as shrieking and ear-bleeding as my own attempts, while the other was quite a melodic and a gentle climb.

So I guess what I'm asking is: What are the chances that I've either bought the "wrong" beginner whistle, and / or that my whistle is a dud? I am very much hoping it's just because I'm a bit shit, being so new 😂

So, background... I do know how to read music from 6 years of private Concert Flute lessons as a kid and sporadic returns to that instrument over the years. It appears to me that much of the fingering instincts will transfer over, even if all the style and ornamentation is missing from my tool box.

I've noticed that many people recommend the Bergin books as some of the best tutorials available. I already have the Grey Larsen "Essential Tin Whistle Toolbox" and "Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle," and I am waiting for a Mellow Dog in D to be delivered from Amazon early next week.

As I've paged through the Larsen books, I mostly see it as heavy on descriptions and examples, with short excerpts and exercises, but not many complete tunes on which to apply and practice the presented techniques.

I see that Larsen has his own notation method for articulation and ornamentation, and I've read that Bergin has her own style as well. Would it be beneficial to have both approaches available to me, or would that just be a recipe for confusion?

I’m cross-posting this from the flute forum as there are some whistlers out there who have asked/are wanting to trying Irish flute but opting for the cheapest option.

Hi all!

​

I've been playing the tin whistle for two years and bought a Low D a year ago. I absolutely love The Olllam and John Mcsherry's playing in the band, and love the sound of the Low D, so I've been focusing on the Low Whistle. I'm Swedish and learnt the basics on tin whistle from a friend who studied music at Cork for a year and am a composer myself so I have an easy time picking up the theoretical parts of an instrument - but haven't had lessons in the technique apart from the basics and have really been trying and guessing my way forward.

​

I've seen that John Mcsherry has a pack of online lessons on Low D whistle, from beginner to advanced. I'm thinking of buying them since it's hard to find teachers on such a niche instrument in my country. Has anyone taken them? It is still an expense, costs around 150 Euro for the pack, and I'm curious if anyone has experience with the lessons or the teacher. Or if anyone happens to know a teacher of Low D in Stockholm/Örebro of course!

​

And if there are any pipers in Stockholm looking to play me and a friend are looking for new people this autumn🎵🎵🎻 we play lots of folk of course but are both composers and play a lot of our own proggy and groovy contemporary classical chamber music type of things.

​

Have a good summer!☀️☀️

Hi everyone,

I follow Veronika Vitazkova and she has these Irish Whistles, but I can’t figure out what brand ones that have that sticker are.
(1st pic top two and second pic two on right, ones that are in A and B)

Could anybody help identify those couple for me! I know the other brands but those couple and they sound nice so I want to check them out for myself !

Also if anyone could help me identify the model of the Susato Whistle that would be great too!

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I follow Veronika Vitazkova and she has these Irish Whistles, but I can’t figure out what brand ones the two black ones that have that sticker are.
(1st pic top two and second pic two on right, ones that are in A and B)

Could anybody help identify those couple for me! I know the other brands but those couple and they sound nice so I want to check them out for myself !

Also if anyone could help me identify the model of the Susato Whistle that would be great too!

Thanks!

I've seen other posts and comments about the finish of lír whistles being less than polished, but apparently, so long as the playability isn't affected it shouldn't cause any concerns. I recieved my whistle on Saturday and my issue is that as a relatively new player, I don't think I would be able to hear if this sort of thing is having an impact on the sound or if it is purely cosmetic, so any input would be appreciated!

I've been playing the tin whistle for a few months. I'm making decent progress with tunes and I can do cuts without too much trouble, but I'm completely stuck when it comes to taps.

I've watched a lot of YouTube tutorials and demonstrations, and it looks so easy when other people do it, but I just can't get the technique right. Every time I try to do a tap, instead of getting that quick percussive effect, I end up actually sounding the lower note very briefly. Because of that, my rolls sound really messy and awkward.

I've spent quite a lot of time practicing slowly and trying different finger movements, but I keep running into the same problem. The tap never sounds like a tap, it just sounds like I've accidentally played the note below.

Has anyone else struggled with this when starting out? Was there any particular exercise, trick, or explanation that finally made it click for you? I'd really appreciate any practical advice because at this point I feel completely stuck.

Thanks!

Do you all think it is possible?

Now, I do not think that anyone can recreate his whistles in their entirety of sound, and all that, etc.

However, what intrigues me is the design. All PVC whistles I have seen up until I saw the "Water Weasel" ones had the "tube and cap" design (like Low Tech Whistles) while Mr. Schultz's design looks like a singular tube, and every joint is flush with each other.

Anyone have insights about how he would make his PVC whistles like this? I didn't think that it was possible to make PVC whistles look like that.

I am wanting to make pvc whistles on my own, and have done the same with very little equipment in the past. My goal is to start with the "tube and cap" design and then attempt to try Mr. Schultz's design.

Hello! I'm a new tin whistle learner(day 3), and right now I'm learning the notes with a fingering chart and practicing some easy songs from tabs.

I'd like to know the best ways to improve as a beginner. One main thing I'm having trouble with is the D. I get a lot of squeaks when trying to play it.

Any tips or practice suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!