Tin Whistle Foundations
Instrument
Tin Whistle
Sections
13
Videos
0
Congratulations on deciding to learn the Tin Whistle! It's a great instrument and with patience and consistent practice, will bring you and your listeners much joy!
This is my introductory course for the Tin Whistle and is perfect for anyone just starting out or for those that have been playing a while but want to brush up on some foundational concepts.
Topics Covered
- Tin Whistle Diagrams
- Grip, Posture & Tone
- Covering the Holes
- D & G Major Scales
- Tongue Articulation
- Breathing
- 4 Simple Tunes
- 4 irish Traditional Tunes
Resources:
- Fingering Chart
- How to Read Music
- The Amazing Slow-Downer Music Slow-Down Software
Section 1: The Basics
Practicing any discipline takes lots of patience! Be patient with yourself especially in Section 1 where you might want to jump ahead to "Trad Tunes". In the first section, for purposes of example and ease of learning, I use simple tunes such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb", "London Bridge", etc… This is done on purpose. Since you are already familiar with these melodies, less time is spent on learning the tunes themselves thus allowing you to focus more attention on the concepts & techniques I'll be trying to communicate.
I have provided both video footage and written notation of all examples, exercises and tunes. While being able to read music is a good skill to have, it is not necessary for the traditional Irish musician. I strongly encourage you to learn the examples by ear (through the video examples) as Irish traditional music is best learned this way. You will find as you progress that written notation falls very short of communicating Irish traditional music's finer and more defining points.
Section 2: Trad Tunes
Again, congratulations on making it this far. I bet you're ready to dive into the tunes! Before you dive in, let's first talk about breathing…