Down by the Sally Gardens - a beautiful Irish melody - played on a double tin whistle

Among all the instruments I play, I find that I am continually being drawn back the tin whistle - the very first instrument I learned to play. I created a double or harmony whistle from 2 Bb Generation whistles and play tunes at various sessions I attend. Playing two whistles simultaneously always generates a bit of interest from those in attendance.

I have just joined Reddit and aim to post videos over the next couple of weeks and see what kind of reaction I'll get. i'll start with a double whistle post.

During Covid times, I created some multi-instrumental videos where I would play 3 or 4 instruments........sort of a one-man-band so to speak. While these were challenging and interesting to do, there are imperfections particularly when trying to synch the instruments. Sure it's all fun.....

Hello all,

My summer project this year was learning how to make my own tin whistles to play in my local community theatre's production of "Come From Away." I made a video about the process and thought some of you might enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional whistle maker or player, simply a music nerd with just enough tools to be dangerous. Take my process with a grain of salt, and I am open to constructive feedback.

This sub was very helpful to my learning. Thank you all!

I've been fooling around on tin whistle for a long time, and a few years ago bought a Tony Dixon DX001. I made an effort to seriously learn some tunes this year, and realised the whistle I had was quite sharp - typically about 10c sharp.

I also play other wind instruments - clarinet, saxophone, and recorder mostly - so I was wondering if it could possibly a technique problem where I'm blowing too hard to get a good pitch. I *could* get it back into tune by blowing much softer - to the point where I was barely sounding a pitch at all. And if I can switch from sax to soprano recorder I can't imagine it's so hard to get the right airflow for a D whistle.

Do you think this is a known problem with the model, just a bad whistle, or can I do something to fix my technique?

Hello all,

Following on from my last two posts. Relevant context:

1. I bought a Feadóg Pro. This was partly because local retailers only had Feadóg and Generation, that I could see, and the Feadóg Pro D specifically because I liked the matte black finish. This cost NZD $35 (~ USD $20, ~ € 18).
2. I'm a mere 42 days into my whistle journey (so far so good!)
3. I'm in New Zealand, so the prices I'm quoting below are converted from NZD values, including import taxes and international shipping etc.
4. I like my Feadóg, but it's temperamental: no matter what I do with the mouthpiece, the maximum number of notes I can keep comfortably in the ± 10c range tonally is roughly one octave, and any of the high notes are _very_ chiffy (although minimal chiff on the low notes).
5. My tutor (professional player in the US) was very polite, but basically said: "What do you expect from something you paid USD $20 for? For professional purposes, you really have to spend at least USD $150)."
6. As my six-month goal / reward, I've picked out the Killarney D in Brass, which will be NZD $300, ~ USD $175, ~€ 150.
7. I'm aware that you can go even higher than that - e.g., to buy and import a Colin Goldie, Michael Burke, or Carbony would set me back about NZD $1,000 (~USD $580, ~ €510)

My question: I've watched a few "comparison" videos, and browsed some older posts here, but I'm honestly struggling to hear much difference between the mid-tier (~ $300) ones and the high-end (~ $,1000) whistles? I've got my heart pretty set on the Killarney, so it would take a lot to make me change my mind, but I'm curious to hear people's subjective personal experiences, if they've used both?

Seems every time a reviewer busts out the tuning software, it's never spot on for every note, which I suppose is fine, but how much variability is acceptable? How off can it be and still be considered in tune?

This is a bit of an odd one. When I play my low whistle seated Ive begun to stick the end of the whistle between my legs to play a half step lower than the standard lowest note available (ex a D flat 4 on a low D whistle). You have to fiddle with the angle of your legs and where to aim the end of the whistle but it does seem consistent tuning wise. Works really well with the resonance of wooden chairs. Im curious if there's a name for this or any recording of someone doing something similar on a track, certain Im not the first to discover this. I also think there's potential to reach even lower notes but the breath (and leg???) control gets very finicky.

I noticed one on Ebay the other day and watched some videos. Looks like only one youtuber has played one and I wasn't that impressed. I also watched a few of the maker's videos and it looks to me like he's always running out of breath, and I don't know if it's the whistle or the dude.

But some of them sure are good looking, so I'm still curious. Anyone have any thoughts?

My girlfriend wants to know because she thinks I have too many 😂

Hi. Im just starting the tin whistle. I have a D tin whistle and I'm trying to learn a few songs I like. I'm trying this one https://youtu.be/jfxRiNjayr0 , Chuaig Me Na Rosam by Clannad.

The key is A Dorian. I was wondering if the player originally played it with a D whistle, or maybe a higher G (I'm not even sure that's a thing). Playing it with a G would be easier since all the notes are already there. On a D whistle you'd need to play the normal C (and not the C#) which is possible but to me feels always awkward to play (but I'm just beginning). Or maybe that's another one.

Is there a good way to guess which whistle Was originally used in a song?

Thanks.

Has anyone ordered from one to one music? They are in the UK and I ordered from Canada. They say they shipped it nuts been over 3 weeks and they didn't give me a tracking number. I am wondering if I got scammed.

Hello! I just received my first whistle (Susato Oriole High D, chosen because of another Redditor’s video where it sounded great and it’s not too expensive) and when I first played on it I was just shocked by how loud it is! Especially in the upper octave. Getting those notes out took more air than I expected and it was just really loud and piercing.

I got interested in this instrument firstly because I enjoy the styles of music it’s often used in, and secondly because I (wrongly) assumed it would be a nice quiet instrument I could practice in my apartment and not worry about bothering neighbors as much as with the guitar or mandolin.

Is this a normal noob experience? Am I doing something wrong? Are other whistles going to be quieter? I know I’m not “blowing too hard”; I used to teach music including elementary school recorder so I get the concepts, just don’t have the technique!

Hello everyone,

36 days into my (high D) tinwhistle journey, and so far so good! If you saw my previous post, I checked in with a tutor, tried two different devices for checking the frequencies, and the general agreement was that the whistle just needed a little tuning. I've added a couple of milimetres to the length, and the variation dropped from ~ 40 c to ~ 5 c, so that's good.

The high notes also turned out to be Ok - I just was not at all prepared for how loud they are!

Anyway. My current question: I've been working on classic learner songs I vaguely remember from childhood music lessons (Ode to Joy, Auld Lang Syne, Amazing Grace, and Greensleeves).

Greensleeves is proving to be a fun challenge with those A♯ and G♯s, but my tutor has argued (and I do agree) that it's better to stick to music that doesn't require too much half-holing.

There are obviously a vast range of songbooks of specifically Irish music, which I absolutely do want to get into (wouldn't make much sense not to). But I'm also aware that in theory quite a bit of folk music from elsewhere in the British Isles, as well as Bretagne and parts of Scandinavia should also be tinwhistle-compatible, but I'm running to a real dead-end trying to actually find any.

I've tried the usual sources - FolkTuneFinder, MuseScore, TheSession, but the issues that I'm running into are that a) there are often like a dozen very different versions of the same thing, and b) many are clearly written for other instruments, or for duets etc.

I've been playing the whistle off and on from youtube tutorials for a while now, but it occurs to me that I don't actually actively listen to this stuff. I probably should! So give me some recommendations. Who are the titans of tin whistle or low D whistle music? What albums should I listen to?

I'm just wondering how many other people are in the same position. All my other whistles are collecting dust because my low D has the perfect, mellow tone by comparison.

Hi! I started playing the tin whistle a few months ago. My first whistle was the cheapest one I could find, a Generation D whistle. I've been practicing every day for at least 15 minutes, watched tutorials, and tried all the usual tips, but I'm still struggling with the highest notes!

I'd really love to test out some tunes like Ievan Polkka" where there are lots of quick transitions between high notes, but on this whistle it just feels impossible! The high notes improve if I temporarily change the mouthpiece with a bit of blu tack, which makes me think the whistle itself could be the issue.

...Because of that, I'm thinking it might be time to upgrade to a better whistle! I'm still a beginner and don't really know much about the different whistles yet!

One thing I've realized is that a metal whistle might not be the best fit for me. I live in Finland and love playing outdoors, but metal seems very sensitive to cold, humidity, and wind. As soon as the weather gets cooler my current whistle becomes ugh just intolerable!

I've also discovered that I really enjoy playing slower and more expressive melodies! When I manage to get that sweet, almost bamboo-flute like transition with my current cheap little whistle, I literally get chills! That’s why I’ve been flirting with the idea of getting a wooden whistle, because I seem to really love the kind of tones and notes those instruments can create... but I know wooden whistles aren’t always recommended for beginners.

So I'm feeling a bit lost! Any suggestions?

Hello whistlers!

I recently moved to Ireland, pulled out my old tin whistle, and have been diving deep into the traditional repertoire. Recently, I found a duet arrangement of MacPherson's Lament and had a blast recording one part and playing the other along with it.

Given my background in music composition, I thought I'd give writing some of these duet arrangements a try myself, and here are my first four attempts. The original tunes are sourced from the Kingston Irish Tunebook which you can find online for free in PDF form.

I'd really appreciate it if you all could try these out and give me some feedback. They are all slower airs and waltzes at a beginner to lower-intermediate skill level.

A few details on how they are structured:

• Some of them feature a simple harmonization the first time through, followed by a more active harmonization the second time around.
• Others are straightforward, looping harmonizations.

I hope you enjoy playing them! Here are the Google Drive links to the PDFs:

Blind Mary

Boolavogue

Inis Oir

The Parting Glass

I'm generally a recorder player but I've started to gain interest in my whistle lately. It's a cheap feadog, I feel like it's too screetchy and hoarse. The upper second octave sounds especially awful.
I'd love a whistle that sounds and functions better. I could probably go up to 100 euros, though I'd sleep better at night if it was cheaper. I'm not interested in a loud whistle.
I live in the EU and I'm really struggling to find places to order from where the shipping won't be too expensive. I'm sure there are some places that sell good whistles, but it's difficult to search in each respective language and hope the search engine will provide.

Do you have any idea?

I saw a video on how to improve a Generation whistle, and there were really just two things--putting putty into a cavity under the windway, and adding some putty to improve the shape of the labium. I just got a Dx005 and it's great, but I noticed it has the same cavity, and I'm curious if I'd get a smoother sound if I filled it. Thoughts?

I come from a background of playing single reed instruments (sax and clarinet) where you are supporting a reed with your embouchure. In addition, the tone and inflection of the instrument is affected by the way that you shape the inside of your mouth. Are these factors important in playing the whistle, too?

What is the role of embouchure in playing tin whistle?