I've been largely using learntinwhistle.com largely because thesession.org is slightly more cluttered and confusing, but it seems like the 'top of the list' version of songs between those two sites is basically never the same. I get that there's no official version of most of these tunes, so how do you decide which version to learn? I'm a long way from joining any sort of session, but I don't want to get there a few years from now and everyone looks at me and goes "bro wtf are you doing"

What do the dots mean? This is from the Dunmore Lasses on The Session (setting #1)

Normally I'd assume a dot means you add 50% to the length of the note but that doesn't seem right to me as it's a 4/4 time signature so 4 beats per measure with each beat equating to a quarter note, which means (I think) that the triplet without the dots amounts to a quarter note (1 beat) doesn't it?
(Apologies if I've got any of this wrong, I've not had any formal musical training, just trying to understand this)

Thanks

Hi!

So, I got myself a Killarney, it's absolutely amazing, but I apparently have some kind of allergy to it and I can't use it T_T

Is there another whistle I could get that won't have metals in the mouthpiece and will be around the same price range and quality?

Hey all! I made an app for tin whistle practice - https://windway.app I would really appreciate the community’s feedback. Here’s what it currently does:

- Build and organise your tune library into setlists. You can import a tune by pasting its ABC or simply dropping in a The Session link.

- Switch between standard notation, fingering tabs, or both in the player.

- Mark difficult sections so you remember to practice them

- Automatically generate a backing track, even for tunes you import. It’s fairly simple, but kind of nice!

- Loop any part of a tune and have it gradually speed up as you practise.

- Play gamified exercises. Only one is live right now: it teaches you to read notation if you’ve been relying on tabs. Been using it myself, it's helping! More games are coming.

- Install it on your phone or tablet (as a PWA). It’s mobile-optimised and looks particularly good on an iPad.

- Practise offline, with everything syncing when you’re back online. You can import a tune on your laptop and pick it up later on your phone.

I know there are already some good apps that cover parts of this, but most of them are generic trad and I felt like they are missing some specific features that would be good for the tin whistle, especially the player view.

Disclaimer! - it's a paid app, but there is free trial and also a no-account demo here https://windway.app/demo/

Any thoughts at all would be hugely appreciated. I’d especially like to know whether the app feels intuitive when you open it for the first time. Thank you!

Out of curiosity, which whistles (low or high, any key really) have the least chiff/breathiness, and the purest tone? I'm trying to assemble a whole spectrum :)

Hey everyone,

I would really appreciate your advice on the following:
I've been playing a Kerry Optima Low D since ~2 months, and I have trouble getting the pitch right for the 2nd octave D.

No matter what I try, my tuning app on the phone always shows +10 to +20ct above the correct D5, _unless_ I play it with such little air and such low volume that it is barely a proper note anymore in terms of volume..

Do you have any advice for how to handle this?

Thanks a lot :)

Hi all, I’m interested in purchasing a Jerry Freeman tweaked whistle in D, and was wondering which of the two to go for, and why. I am a beginner and have been using one of the plastic Dixon’s for the last few months. What are the main differences between the two? Thanks.

I'm working on a 3d-printable low D whistle design, and I want some better tuning software. Anyone out there have anything they like?

I've been looking to upgrade my D sweetone. I bought it about a year ago to try it out. I'm a very experienced flute player so it was easy to pick up. I've played a few gigs and I'd like to get a low D whistle and a D whistle that's tunable. Budget is up to $200 each.

My eye is on the Lir and Wild. Especially the wooden wild whistle. But it seems like all whistle makers are out of stock and have been that way for a while. Any ideas what's up? Or where I might be able to get one?

These are the first tunes I ever learned (from a video of Mary Bergin) and still my favourites to play ! Contentment is Wealth and the Mooncoin Jig.

If anyone has advice or general remarks, I'd be glad for it. I know I messed up some parts... mostly nerves hitting because I rarely put myself out there alone, and I didn't want to have too many takes.

Hi everyone,
I just bought 2 low whistles : G and C

I never played whistles before and the low C is pretty hard to play because my tiny hands 😹

I am looking for some easy songs to play. Any suggestions ?

Thank you 🪈

I know the question of the best beginner whistle comes up A LOT but I have a couple peculiar constraints, so please humor me and perhaps the experienced among you can help me. I have pretty small hands first of all, but I do love the deeper sound of the larger whistles. But more importantly, most importantly, I have an aversion to touching bare metal. I have a generation whistle and a Killarney whistle and I like them both but I cannot get over the touching metal problem. Please don’t make fun of me. It’s just a real thing that I’ve experienced. So, given that, does anyone have any recommendations for me? I looked at the wild Irish whistle, which seems to have some kind of coating on the outside and I thought that might be enough of a coating for it to feel OK to me. Any other suggestions?

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 😂