Tin Whistle Tutorials/Books

Tikva · Post by **Tikva** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:27 pm

Hello everyone!

Now that my first whistle is on its way - a Dixon Trad - I'm of course looking for some instruction books.

I have already found a great number of online tutorials, but seeing that a computer is not always available, I wish to purchase a book, too.

Maybe you could recommend some to me?

As it is I know how to read notes already, but I'm a complete beginner at tin whistles.

Of course I'd be happy about another few online tutorials, too.

Thank you for your help,
Tikva

MoonMind · Post by **MoonMind** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:39 pm

I'm a beginner myself (already suffering from WhOAd, heavily...), but I've found those two sites/pages pretty helpful:

http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/tutorial/basics.html (that's the first of a number of tutorial pages)
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/ (very thorough)

And of course, there's a load of useful information here on the boards and on the Chiff & Fipple site...

I hear good things about the tutorial that comes with a Clarke original (the whistle's worth owning, too...).

M.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:04 pm

For the beginner, my favorite tutor is Bill Ochs' "The Clarke Tinwhistle". It starts right from scratch, assuming that you know nothing about reading music. If you follow the book lesson by lesson, listening to the CD examples, you'll learn how to read music on the treble clef, play simple tunes and very gradually progress up through fully ornamented reels, jigs, hornpipes, American fiddle tunes etc.
LE McCullough's tutor is really good too, and eventually you'll want both, although I think a rank beginner will find the Ochs set a bit easier

Gecko · Post by **Gecko** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:54 pm

I second brewerpaul, Bill Ochs' book was very very useful for me as a beginner, I would recommend it to anyone just starting tin whistle. Grey Larson's The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle is also very good and pretty in-depth for when you get more advanced.

deisman · Post by **deisman** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:49 pm

my advice would be don't waste too much (if any) time in books. Listen a lot to CDs, or youtube videos of great irish players / groups... and when you find a song you want to learn then learn it & move on to the next one.

You can find tons of great tunes on youtube, and you can play along with them. I use the sheetmusic at www.thesession.org as reference or ABC but once I have it under my fingers the best practice is playing along with real musicians. Irish music is all about having tunes memorized so you don't play them from a sheet of paper. Check out www.whistlethis.com, BrotherSteve's pages, and RDuns youtube videos & lessons. Also M. Eskin's tradlessons.com and tradschool (youtube) are some resources that have been helpful to me. There are many others out there - those are just off top of my head. Google will take you a long way. So - I guess what I'm saying is work on tunes & the rest will take care of itself, & when you're ready get a teacher. Maybe someone from your local session teaches.

Best,

Deisman

synergy · Post by **synergy** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:25 pm

deisman wrote:my advice would be don't waste too much (if any) time in books. Listen a lot to CDs, or youtube videos of great irish players / groups... and when you find a song you want to learn then learn it & move on to the next one.

You can find tons of great tunes on youtube, and you can play along with them. I use the sheetmusic at www.thesession.org as reference or ABC but once I have it under my fingers the best practice is playing along with real musicians. Irish music is all about having tunes memorized so you don't play them from a sheet of paper. Check out www.whistlethis.com, BrotherSteve's pages, and RDuns youtube videos & lessons. Also M. Eskin's tradlessons.com and tradschool (youtube) are some resources that have been helpful to me. There are many others out there - those are just off top of my head. Google will take you a long way. So - I guess what I'm saying is work on tunes & the rest will take care of itself, & when you're ready get a teacher. Maybe someone from your local session teaches.

Best,

Deisman

I disagree about not using a book to begin with. A newbie needs to know the fundamentals before trying to learn just by ear. Sure there will come a time where it is going to be beneficial to learn from watching others and to play with others, but one needs to learn how to walk before they can run.

I agree with the others that Bill Och's / Clarke book is a great place to start. Clare Mckenna also has a nice tutor that will compliment the Bill Och's method as well. Really nice pieces in there.

jkrazy52 · Post by **jkrazy52** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:47 pm

Tikva, IIRC (if I recall correctly), you said you played clarinet. One of the best books I bought was Mel Bay's Ireland's Best Tin Whistle Tunes - 110 tunes, with the accompanying CDs. This book is not a tutorial and does assume you already read music. Listen to the CDs for the music while following along in the book. The tunes start out easy and build a little bit on technique as it goes. The CDs are not the fully ornamented tunes you'd hear in a session -- more the bare bones of the music, which is a good starting point.

Tikva · Post by **Tikva** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:24 am

jkrazy52 wrote: Tikva, IIRC (if I recall correctly), you said you played clarinet

.

That's correct - I did this so long that you could wake me late at night and I'd have no problem to read a bunch of notes even backwards if necessary.

I'm looking for a good tutorial because I'm more interested in the techniques and music theories that make tin whistles sound so, ...ahem... Irish (for want of a better word).

I have already played a recorder and a clarinet so there is absolutely no problem in getting the notes to sound right. Just give me a proper fingering chart and I'll learn it in no time. (Don't go posting links for such, I've already got plenty of them.)

The book I'm looking for contains a whole lot of information about how to make the different ornamentations right whether tonguing is necessary and when, ... I should have told you earlier, but I just realised I'm not looking for your standard beginner's textbook.

MoonMind · Post by **MoonMind** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:34 am

Ochs' book is the one that comes with the Clarke original beginner's set... I didn't recall the name, but I've checked:

http://www.clarke-tin-whistle.com/teaching.html

The regulars are bound to know that already, but since I wasn't sure, I reckon most beginners won't. The book and the CD are also available without the whistle. I only wish I could find a place where they sell it (the book without the whistle - I already own the instrument) around here (I pay almost as much for shipping as for the actual item...).

Tikva:
I think you'll like Brother Steve's pages... just a hunch. He really doesn't stop at the basics, his tutorial is very much about playing and sounding "Irish" (again, for want of a better word - although "genuine" might almost fit the bill...).

M.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:42 am

Tikva · Post by **Tikva** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:31 am

MoonMind wrote:I only wish I could find a place where they sell it (the book without the whistle - I already own the instrument) around here (I pay almost as much for shipping as for the actual item...).

Yeah. I know what you're on about. My whistle is going to be here (hopefully) by the end of next week. Unfortunately Ochs book is not available in Germany unless you order it in the U.S. or GB. Looking at the postage and duty fees it's going to cost about twice its price.

MoonMind · Post by **MoonMind** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:53 am

Tikva:
I think the set (as a whole) should be available at a reasonable price in Germany (it is here in Switzerland!), and since you don't own a Clarke original, you'll be quite well off with one - especially since they're also available in C, so you're even able to complement your Dixon Trad (though if you buy the set in C, the tunes on the CD won't sound right).

But from what I read, you won't need Ochs' book as much as some of the others mentioned. Thanks to the links on Peter Laban's website, I've found OssianUSA (I don't link there since it's strictly commercial and I haven't fully read up on how to handle such links on this board - but it's easy to find). They sell and ship at very reasonable prices. Some of the famed books I didn't think were still available seem to in stock, too, and the descriptions are helpful. You'll be able to get more or less everything you want or need (books and music).

Just as an afterthought: I think the conditions at TWZ (Tin Whistle Zentrum - again, no link for the reasons stated above, but it's easy to locate) are really good, at any rate if you're in Germany. P&P's a bit high for me, that's why I've ordered from Dixon directly the second time, but I think they're really doing a very nice job down there... (or up there? anyway, north of me).

M.

Welshman · Post by **Welshman** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:08 am

I'm not overly enthused by beginner books on the whistle, on the basis that most of them are grossly overpriced and repeat what is available for free on the web. My suggestion would be to use the web as your primary source .. along with a good whistler in your locality if you can find one.

This isn't suggest that you shouldn't buy any - but don't go overboard. Soon you'll find it has become obsolete and you will then have to spend more money getting other material .. or even more whistles

Have a good look at the Ryan Duns pages and also another site woth looking at is Tradlessons. The beauty of Whistlethis' site is that you can upload some of your own playing and gain valuable feedback from experienced players - very useful if you are a loner.

free-feet · Post by **free-feet** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:50 am

If you're looking for in depth analyses on whistles and technique then get Grey Larsan's book "Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle". Personally i found it a little on the heavy side, both physically and mentally, but if you're looking for the full on analyses stuff then this is it.

As a beginner i started with Clare McKenna's book, which i really enjoyed. It really lays all the basics down well and introduces some really nice tunes to explore each individual technique along the way. The first half of the book is all about technique, with said tunes to explore them, while the second half of the book is about 100 tunes to learn after you've gone through the techniques section. Comes with 2 CD's and i personally feel it was excellent value. Think it cost about £16 from Hobgoblin.

Tikva · Post by **Tikva** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:15 pm

I got my first whistle last week and played it whenever possible. Yeah, I admit to it, I'm addicted to its sound.

Kudos to jkrazy52 for making up my mind. - You know what I mean.

Many an online tutor was tested, but they did not go as far as I hoped.
I definately don't need the basics. Give me a fingering chart and I'll whistle away.

Having played the clarinet, second octave has been figured out within seconds; only the high "A" gives an occasional squeak. More attentive playing usually solves this problem. Fingering has been matched to notes.

Requirements for a book have been redefined:
Detailed explanations on ornamentation are of paramount importance. Notes for some nice traditional tunes would be interesting, too.
I'm definately not looking for a Beginner's Tutorial, that's for sure.

Suggestions, anyone?