Penny Whistle Tutorial PDF

http://www.nigelgatherer.com/whist.
html
The Scottish Whistle

 Place the whistle in the mouth without
biting the mouthpiece.
 Blow gently for the lower notes slightly
harder for the higher notes. (+ mark
shows where more air is needed)
 Play covering the holes with the fingertip
or the flat surface of your second finger
joint.
 The fingerings represent the first three
fingers on each hand used to cover the six
holes.
 The top 123 represent the left hand (cover
the 3 holes nearest the mouthpiece)
 The bottom 123 represent the right hand
(3 holes nearest the end of the instrument)
 0 represents an uncovered hole.
Page 1
http://www.nigelgatherer.com/whist.html
Whistle Tutorial – Lesson 1.1

Musical Alphabet
 The notes in the musical alphabet are: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G
 The lowest note on your whistle is low D.
 Your whistles musical alphabet is: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A, B
Staff
Key Signature
 Tells the musician the first note of the scale
 Tells the musician what notes are sharp (#), flat (b), or natural (no symbol)
 Key signatures your music will use include…
 D
 G
Page 2
Time Signature
 The top number in the time signatures tells us how many beat there are per measure
 The bottom number in the time signature tells us what note sets the beat’s value
 Time signatures your music will use include…
4 beats per measure and the quarter notes gets the beat
3 beats per measure and the quarter note gets the beat
2 beats per measure and the quarter note gets the beat
6 beats per measure and the eighth note gets the beat
12 beats per measure and the eighth note gets the beat
Page 3
Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 1.2

Holding the Whistle
Place the tip of the mouthpiece in your lips. If you
can, just use your lips and avoid biting the
mouthpiece.
Grip the whistle with your left hand and cover the
top three holes with the pads of your first three
fingers. Your thumb will probably be behind your
index finger or your middle finger.
Now cover the remaining holes with the first three
fingers of your right hand. Again, your thumb will
probably be behind your index finger or your middle
finger. Try to have a firm but relaxed grip.
Page 4

Making a Noise
Say "tapsalteerie" and feel where your tongue goes when you say the tee sound. Now say too or tuh,
and then say it without making the sound in your mouth. Say it onto the palm of your hand and feel
how there's a sudden blast of air produced after the "t". This is what we need to do before each
note, and it's called tonguing. Later on we'll learn that the best way to play is a mixture of tonguing
and not tonguing, but for now, every note will be tongued. THE TONGUE STARTS THE NOTE.
Our First Notes

Start again with your left hand covering the top three holes. Blow a steady stream of air through the
whistle, firm but not too strong. You will soon learn the right strength to blow. This note is
called G.
Now play three G notes. Saying tuh-tuh-tuh will help you make the right shapes with your tongue.
Next, take your ring finger off the third hole down so
that you are covering the top two holes of the
whistle.
Again, blow a steady note. This note is called A.
Play three A notes in a row, remembering to say tuh-
tuh-tuh.
Practice going from two fingers down (the A note) to
three fingers down (the G note). Go and back and
forth between the notes
Finally take another finger off so that you are now
just covering the top hole. Blow the note; this note is
called B.
Blow three B notes in a row. Practice for a while
going from B to A, from A to G and back again.
You have just played your first three notes - well
done!
Page 5

Our First Tune
Time to change from noodling around with our three notes to making a tune out of them. This is a
fairly well known tune called Au Clair de la Lune, also known as Silver Moonlight. Note that at the end
of the line of music or the line of notes there are a couple of dots. This is a symbol in music which
means "play the section again", so when you reach the end of the line, go back and repeat it once.
Au Clair de la Lune 1-4.mid
Page 6

Two More Notes
Now we are going to learn the notes E and D.
Start off in the first position, the top three holes covered by the
index finger, middle finger and ring finger of your left hand (if you
remember, this forms the G note).
Now cover the fourth and fifth holes down with the index and
middle fingers of your right hand, and blow the note. This is the E
note.
Once you have played a few E notes, put the ring finger of your right
hand down so that all the holes are now covered. This is the D note,
and in fact this is the first slightly difficult note to play. Chances are
you will be able to play it no problem, but some people find it
difficult to play the low D to begin with. Do not despair: it gets easier
with experience.
We should now be able to play five notes, and know their names as
well: D, E, G, A, and B. There are quite a few tunes we can play with
these notes, including Old MacDonald below. Remember, when you
see double dots in the music, it means repeat that section once again.
Old MacDonald
1-5.mid
Page 7
Tutorial - Lesson 1.6

Recap: you now know five different notes on the whistle,
and it is important that you know the names of these notes,
so your first homework will be remembering these note
names: D, E, G, A, and B.
With these five notes, we are now going to learn a nice Irish
polka called Egan's Polka (also called Peg Ryan's). It is a
simple tune with lots of repetitions.
My opinion is that the way to learn an instrument is to play,
play, and play. Learn many tunes and by doing this, you are
going to start playing the penny whistle.
The method I use is to teach tunes by ear - after all, that is
how you first learned music as a young child, so you know
you can do it. However, this is not possible on this on-line
tutorial, so I plan to add sound files in the future (I have
started adding MIDI files). In the meantime, I can supply a
cassette tape with all the tunes and exercises on it (email me
for details).
Egan's Polka
egan1.mid
Page 8

More Notes
LAST WEEK WE LEARNED THE FIRST five notes on the whistle, and you should now know
the names of these notes (D, E, G, A, and B) and you should be able to play them with confidence.
If you cannot, take a step back and practice until you can. Memorize the names of the notes so that
you can find them without thinking too much.
Now we are going to learn more notes and expand our tune repertoire.
The High D
The next note we need to learn is called the high D. One of the
notes we learned last week was D. Well, high D is the same note
but an octave higher. An octave consists of eight notes, and is the
standard doh-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-doh scale. The last doh is an "octave"
higher than the first doh, and the high D is an octave higher than
D.
The way that you play the high D is quite simple: it is the same
fingering as D, but you blow a little harder to raise it by an octave.
The difference in the amount of breath you need to change from
one octave to another is very subtle, and only experience can teach
you that subtle difference.
Last week we learned Egan's Polka. Below it is given again, but this
time there is an extra note, the high D (look at the second note on
the third line, for example). So, we're going to add that extra note
to the way we play Egan's Polka.
Also, notice that in the tune below the high D is shown with a dot above it; this is to distinguish it
from the low D.
It should be noted that there is an alternative method for sounding the high D, and that is to have all
your fingers down except the top one: leave the top hole uncovered (see diagram above). I do not
use this method, but many whistlers do. You will have to choose one way and stick to it.
Page 9
Egan's Polka (2)

egan2.mid
Page 10

Over the Sea to Skye (The Skye Boat Song)
Sir Harold Boulton wrote the words of this popular Scottish song in 1884. The first half of the tune
is said to be an old sea shanty. The Duke of Cumberland at Culloden defeated Charles Edward
Stewart, the Young Pretender, or Bonnie Prince Charlie, in 1746. Aided by Flora MacDonald,
Charles escaped to the island of Skye. The song commemorates his flight.
Remember that the double dots mean repeat that section, so the tune is played in the order AABA.
The Skye Boat Song

skyeb.mid
Page 11

The Upper Octave
We have now learned the high D, which is obtained by using the same fingering as low D, and
blowing a bit harder. In fact, all the notes higher than high D are obtained by the same method:
simply blowing harder. These notes are known as the upper octave. Now try sounding other notes
in the upper octave: start off with D then blow high D; then E and high E, and so on (note: the high
B is quite difficult at first, and can often sound grating).
In all the music examples that I give from now on, any note name in the upper octave will be
marked with a small dot above it. This should help distinguish between the lower and upper octaves.
Note that with the high B, the lowest hole is also covered. This is to steady the whistle and make it
more secure in your hands. This fingering is also useful for the low B.
Page 12

Towards the Full Scale
We now have a number of notes on the whistle, and you should be able to play any of them when I
ask you. I believe that the way to learn an instrument is by playing, playing and playing it, so before
we move onto more notes, we'll increase our repertoire by learn another tune. Amazing Grace is a
tune which most people should at least recognize, which helps.
This week we are going to learn two new notes, which will mean that we can complete a normal
scale.
Amazing Grace
Page 13

A New Note: F Sharp (F#)
The F sharp is our next note. The good news is that it is nice and easy.
Simply cover the top four holes and blow gently. To get the high F
sharp, simply use the same fingering and blow a little harder. Try the
exercises below, doing each bar four times.
Page 14

Another New Note: C Sharp (C#)
C sharp is possibly the most difficult note to grapple with so far, but it is
absolutely necessary for playing tunes on the penny whistle. On the face of it, it
doesn't seem that difficult as you have to uncover all the holes. However, the
problem lies in holding the whistle, because if you are not covering any holes, what
is keeping up the whistle? The trick is to use the ring finger on your right hand to
cover the lowest hole; your lips (not your teeth!) hold the mouthpiece! And
together this steadies the instrument in your hands.
With this new note, we can now play a scale in D. This is the same as the doh-re-mi-
fa-soh-lah-ti-doh sequence most of us learnt in school. In this instance, the doh is the
lowest note on the whistle, D. Re is E, mi is F, and so on up till the high doh, which
is the high D.
Play through the exercises below slowly at first, then try to speed up. After that, have a look at the
tune Wha Wadna Fecht for Chairlie, which uses our two new notes F# and C#.
Page 15

Wha Wadna Fecht for Chairlie?
whaw.mid
This is a popular tune in Scotland. Elsewhere it is known in Ireland as Din Tarrant's No.5 and in
England as The March Past.
Page 16

Scales and Patterns
PART OF LEARNING TRADITIONAL music is learning to recognize patterns. This will come
through experience and should not be worried about too much. To start you off, the exercise below
explores stepping; that is, jumping two notes at a time. Play the first four bars first, and then try the
last two.
Scales are an excellent way of getting to know the whistle, and it's just that sort of exercise which
will make the difference between managing to play all the notes, cover all the right holes, and falling
down so often. Keep Trying!
Exercise 1
Page 17

The Barnyards o' Delgaty
THIS IS a Scottish bothy ballad, a type of song popular amongst farm workers, especially in the
North East of Scotland (Aberdeenshire etc). The songs usually portrayed life on the farm or
celebrated characters and exploits of the bothy chiels (lads or workers).
The Barnyards o' Delgaty

barny.mid
Page 18

Phrases
Most of the music we are looking at is simple dance music, and it can be broken down in to phrases,
or distinct parts of the melody. At its simplest, both the A part and the B part will consist of four
parts, the first and third parts being identical. The second part will probably be similar to the first,
but with a variation, while the final part will tie everything up.
In a sense, it can be viewed as a short conversation. The first phrase will be a question such as
"Where does that bus go?" The second phrase may be a clarifying question: "You mean the red
bus?" The third phrase, "Yes, where does that bus go?" The final phrase is a definite answer, and
could be the end of the conversation: "That bus goes to Princes Street!"
Page 19

Scales and Scale Patterns
I have already told you how important I think scales are to learning your way around your
instrument. However, I am also aware that it can seem a little boring when you are itching to learn
new tunes. Scales do not have to be just running up and down the scale, however. Start with the
straight scale in D (Ex.2), and then go up the scale playing each note four times (Ex.3):
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercises like these are valuable, especially for the learner, because once a scale is learned, you can
concentrate on your techniques. After a while, however, they do get rather uninteresting.
If we were to analyze the notes in Ex. 3, we would see groups of four notes together, each note of
the scale being sounded four times, then the next four and so on. We could actually still climb the
scale but in a more musical way. What would we get if we kept the first and fourth note of each
group of four?
In Ex.4a we're still going up the G scale, but instead of hitting each note four times, we're playing
the first note of the scale, going up one note, then another, and then going back the to the first note.
We have created a consistent scale pattern, and the pattern moves up the scale and makes doing
scales a little more palatable.
Page 20
If you are feeling brave, try the same pattern descending the scale (Ex.4b).
Exercise 4
Page 21

Reels
IT'S GENERALLY ACKNOWLEDGED that the reel is a
Scottish invention; the first record of a reel being danced
here was in 1591. From Scotland they spread and became
very popular in Ireland. Indeed, many Irish reels are in fact
Scottish in origin. Such Irish staples such as Paddy Ryan's
Dream , The Flogging Reel, The Youngest Daughter, The Ewe Reel,
The Boyne Hunt, Dogs Among the Bushes, Bonnie Kate, The
Mason's Apron, The Money Musk, The Flax In Bloom, Miss
McLeod's, Green Groves of Erin, Lord Gordon's Reel, The Wind
That Shakes the Barley, Rakish Paddy, The Tarbolton, are just a
few that are Scots imports.
So what makes a reel? It's all in the rhythm. The reel rhythm is 4/4; that is, four quarter notes in
every bar. When you listen to a reel your feet tap four times to every bar (or if it's played very fast
two). The rhythm can be counted out ONE-two-three-four, ONE-two-three-four, and so on.
Usually a reel is made up of a mixture of quarter notes and eighth notes:
Tail Toddle
Page 22
Chorus: 2. When I'm deid I'm out o' date;

Tail todle, tail todle; When I'm seik I'm fu' o' trouble;
Tammie gart my tail todle; When I'm weel I step about,
At my ae wi' diddle doddle, An' Tammie gars my tail todle.
Tammie gart my tail todle.
(Chorus)
1. Our gudewife held o'er to Fife,
For tae buy a coal-riddle; 3. Jenny Jack she gae a plack,
Lang or she came back again, Helen Wallace gae a boddle;
Tammie gart my tail todle. Quo' the bride, its o'er little
For tae mend a broken doddle.
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
Although Niel Gow, when he published this tune in 1780, supposed it to be Welsh, it was known in
Scotland long before then, and if it has ever been Welsh, it is now totally absorbed into the Scottish
tradition. The tune is closely related to Gillie Callum, and tunes also known as The Sword Dance
because of its popularity for that event.
Page 23

Rhythm
Reels are in 4/4 time. That means that there are four beats in every bar, and that the length of the
beat is a quarter note. In the exercise below, the top line consists of half notes (a whole note would
take up the whole bar, half notes take up half the bar). Start counting out a 4/4 beat:
ONE - TWO - THREE - FOUR, ONE - TWO - THREE - FOUR, and so on. Each half note will
take up two counts. Play that for a while.
On the second line, all the notes are quarter notes, so there will be four in a bar, and they will each
take up one count.
The third line has a mixture of quarter notes and eighth notes, so the count would be
ONE - TWO - and - THREE - FOUR - and, ONE - TWO - and - THREE - FOUR - and.
Finally, the fourth line has all eighth notes, and the count would be
ONE - and - TWO - and - THREE - and - FOUR – and for every bar.
Exercise 1:
Page 24

Short Coated Mary
I do not know much about this tune, but I think it was originally a bagpipe reel, and that somewhere
there is another two parts. Our aim with this and Tail Toddle is to start slowly and get faster when
you start to know the tunes.
Short Coated Mary
Page 25

The G Scale
BEFORE WE MOVE onto the G scale, we need to make sure that we are completely conversant
with the D scale. You should know all the names of the notes on the D scale, and be able to play a
normal scale, up and down from low D to high D. Do exercise 1, which explores the D scale from
low D right up to high B. First play by tonguing every note, then try it without tonguing.
Exercise 1
Page 26

A New Note: C natural
THE TIN WHISTLE is a versatile instrument in that with the D whistle
you can actually play in quite a few keys, not just one. In order to be able to
play in some keys, however, you have to alter a couple of the notes.
Let us look at the key of G major: there is one note different between G
major and D major, namely the 4th note (fa) of the G scale, the C natural. (C
natural is just plain C, and we will recognize it because it has no sharp - # -
after it.)
One way to achieve that note is by
half-covering the top hole of the
whistle (see diagram 1 on the right).
Unfortunately, it's pretty difficult to
use this method while playing fast,
so you have to get into the habit of
using an alternative fingering, by
covering the second and third holes,
but leaving the top hole open
(diagram 2, and see illustration).
This is not easy to begin with, but
with practice, it will soon become
easier. This is a big hurdle in beginning to play whistle, but it
is necessary.
Let us apply this new note to some exercises:
Exercise 2
Play each part of exercise 2 over four times. Play it until you can play it through smoothly without
making any mistakes. You need to get used to forming the C natural.
Page 27
Exercise 3
Exercise 3 is similar to exercise 1 in that we're exploring virtually the full extent of the whistle from
its lowest note (the D) to one of its highest (the high B). There are higher notes on the whistle, but
you almost never come across them in Scottish or Irish music. Get to know your way around the
whistle. Be able to play this exercise with confidence. First play by tonguing every note, then try it
without tonguing.
Page 28

The Rakes of Mallow
Although seemingly an Irish tune (Mallow is a town in County Cork), this tune has long been
popular in England (where it has been called The Rakes of Marlowe) and Scotland, first published here
in the 1780s. A rake was a fashionable youth who led a somewhat dissolute life, so this tune maybe
celebrates such young men from the town of Mallow (or Marlowe?), much as other tunes celebrate
The Merry Lads of Ayr, The Lads o' Dunse or The Lasses o' Fochabers.
There was an old Irish song called Sandy Lent a Man His Mule. There was also a later Scottish song,
Sandy He Belangs Tae the Mill that was written to this tune to explain a point of Scottish law.
There are a few runs of notes in this tune. When I talk about a run, I mean a string of notes that rise
or fall one note at a time. If notes go up two at a time, it is called steps, and music is largely made
up of runs and steps. You should be familiar enough with scales to know how to play runs.
It is vital to know how to play the C natural note in order to play The Rakes of Mallow. If you are
finding it difficult to play parts of this tune, step back a bit and put some more practice into C
natural.
Page 29
The Rakes of Mallow

rakem.mid
Page 30

Triplets
In traditional Scottish and Irish music, you often come across triplets, either written into the tune
itself, or used as decoration. A triplet is a group of three notes, all of the same length, and they are
usually joined with a bar, a curved line and have a figure "3" underneath or above. Look at the lines
in exercise 4 below and tap out a 4/4 rhythm with your feet. Count the beats in your head or out
loud at the same time. Tap your foot only on the beats that are underlined. The easiest way to sound
a triplet in which all the notes are the same, is by saying tuh-kuh-tuh with your tongue or saying
choc-o-late.
Exercise 4
When triplets are used as decorations, it is often a case of substituting, say, a quarter note with a
triplet. In the second example (ex.5), the first line uses some quarter notes. The second line uses
triplets where the quarter notes were, used purely for decoration and to give the tune a bit of
excitement.
Exercise 5
Page 31

Practice Routines & Review
NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO look back at everything you've done since starting to learn the
whistle and assess how you're getting on and what areas need more practice. Use the previous
lessons as a guide to make sure you are comfortable with all the techniques.
Practice Routines
WE ARE NOW AT THE STAGE where we have a small repertoire of tunes, but it is important to
keep that repertoire "alive". If you stop playing tunes, they are more likely to be forgotten and drop
away. This is why I recommend keeping lists of the tunes in your repertoire, and introducing an
element of discipline into your practice routines.
My method is to have three lists, which are constantly changing. The first list is made up of your "A"
tunes - that is, tunes you can play well without too many mistakes. Next list is your "B" tunes - tunes
that you have started learning but need a bit of work before you can play them without problems.
Your next list is your "C" tunes - tunes that you would like to learn or have just started learning.
OK. Say you have allocated a certain time for practice - say four sessions a week. However long you
have allocated, divide that time into four. Start with your basic scales, arpeggios, loosening-up
exercises and so on. You could look through the exercises in the previous lessons.
Next, look at your "C" list and start on a tune - just the beginning - be gentle on yourself!
Next, look at the "B" list and start going over one or two of the tunes there. Finally, play tunes from
your "A" list. Mark where you stop on the list, so that next session you can start where you left off.
As you practice the "B" list, there will be tunes that are promoted to the "A" list, and similarly "C"
tunes will eventually become "B" tunes. This is how your repertoire will expand.
Page 32

Johnny McIljohn
This is a great Irish reel composed by Johnny McIljohn about whom I know almost nothing.
Except, that he wrote another tune called Johnny McIljohn's No.2! Look out for the repetitions, for
example, the four notes in the second half of the first bar. These four notes are repeated twice again
in the A part, and twice in the B part.
Johnny McIljohn's No. 1

Squiggles underneath a couple of the notes indicate that you put some decoration on jony1.mid
the note - more about that later on!
Page 33

The Strathspey
STRATHSPEY is a term used to describe a certain type of Scottish reel that employs a dotted
rhythm and a distinctive "snap"; that is, a short note followed by a longer one. It is named after the
area of Scotland called Strathspey, or the Spey Valley.
The first Strathspeys in print appear to be from James Oswald's Caledonian Pocket Companion
series published in the mid eighteenth century. How or why this peculiarly Scottish music form
started is rather vague, but it caught on very quickly and became the most popular dance tune
alongside the reel.
The most difficult part of playing Strathspeys is playing the snaps in the right place. There appears to
be no set pattern for this, it rather being left to the spirit or the composer's whim, but in many tunes,
it feels right to snap in some places and not in others. There is also a form of tune called the slow
Strathspey that uses the same rhythms as its dance counterpart, but is played much slower, and is
intended to be listened to rather than danced to. The celebrated Scots fiddler James Scott Skinner
called his ones "solo Strathspeys". A good example of this is Mrs. Scott Skinner.
Page 34

Comin' Thro' the Rye
THE TUNE CONTAINS THE snap, which characterizes almost all Strathspeys. Look at the third
and fourth notes; the rhythm indications (the half-bar at the top of the stem and the dot) have been
reversed, leading to a short D note (all fingers down) followed quickly by a longer A note (two
fingers down).
The tune is well known largely because Robert Burns wrote lyrics to it (see below), but in fact, there
have been several versions of the song, some of them quite bawdy and not widely known. There was
a suggestion that by "Rye" is meant a streamlet of that name in Ayrshire, but that is not likely,
particularly as Burns inscribed the following on a pane of glass in Mauchline:
Gin a body kiss a body comin' through the grain.
Need a body grudge a body what's a body's ain?
The tune is one of a family of tunes that are similar, the earliest of these being The Duke of Buccleugh's
Tune, published in 1690. Others in the family are I've Been Courting At a Lass, Hey, How, Johnnie Lad, I
Fee'd a lad at Michaelmas, and so on. As well as Comin' Thro' the Rye, another offshoot is the tune used
for Auld Lang Syne.
Comin' Thro' the Rye

ctrye.mid
Page 35

Irregular Rhythms
LOOK AT THE NOTATION in Comin' Thro'
the Rye, and Burning of the Piper's Hut. Notice that
almost half the notes have dots after them. If, a
note has a dot after it, it increases its length by
half.
If, the first of two-quarter notes is replaced by a
dotted quarter note, the length of the second
note must be decreased to compensate
(see fig. 1).
The same goes for any note. If an eighth note is

dotted, the next note has to be halved to
compensate.
In fig. 2 the eighth note becomes a sixteenth
note - you can tell it's half the length because it
has two tails instead of one.
This is the rhythm of most hornpipes and odd
examples of other types of tune.
One characteristic of Scottish music is called the snap, when a short note is followed by a longer
note, such as in Strathspeys. What is happening during the snap is that it is the second of two notes
that is dotted, and the first note is halved to compensate. For fun, try playing a well-known tune, but
"Scotticize" it by putting snaps in here and there.
Here is an exercise in irregular rhythms - try to hear the dotted notes longer, and the following notes
shorter to compensate.
Page 36
Exercise 1
ex81.mid
Page 37

The Burning of the Piper's Hut
The English general Cumberland received the sobriquet 'Butcher' after the defeat
of the Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden in 1746. This was due
to the savagery of his reprisals and cruelty toward prisoners of the engagement. In
the aftermath of the uprising a series of laws were passed which aimed to
suppress the Highland culture and break forever the power of the ancient clans.
This was done to prevent any such rebellion from happening again. Thus,
highland dress and the wearing of clan tartan was prohibited on pain of death,
arms were banned, and, attesting to the power of traditional music to evoke
emotion, pipers were outlawed.
In fact, reports Williamson, the kilt continued to be prohibited until 1782, forcing the Highlanders
to wear pants. Any clergyman who did not pray in church expressly for George of Hanover could be
transported for life, and those who attended such services were liable to fine and imprisonment.
This was in force until 1792. The Burning of the Piper's Hut probably refers to these times.
The Burning of the Piper's Hut

burnp.mid
Page 38

Airs
THE SCOTS AND IRISH love a slow air. You could say it appealed to the wistful, mourning
elements in the Celtic soul if you wish, but it is merely a human response to a beautiful tune. Slow
airs can be laments (which in Scots music are legion: check out Niel Gow's Lament for James
Moray, Lament for Rev. Archie Beaton, Rory Dall's Sister's Lament, etc), tributes to patrons or
fellow musicians (Lady Ann Hope's Favourite, Mr Marshall's Compliments to Niel Gow, Scott
Skinner's Compliments to Dr MacDonald, etc), song airs (Jock O• Hazeldean, Auld Robin Gray,
Oh! Are You Sleeping, Maggie, etc) or simply a lovely tune played for listening to rather than
dancing.
One feature of an air is that it is slow, and the notes are longer. This makes it ideal for the whistle,
and there are many recorded examples of beautiful slow airs played on the whistle. Slow airs are
ideal for some articulation techniques, such as vibrato and slurring. However, remember, get to
know the tune first.
The two tunes we are looking at this week are nice and simple. Although Farewell to Fuinary is in
6/8 time, the best way to think about it is like a waltz, and maintain that rhythm all the way through.
Bonnie Galloway has the same 3/4 timing, but watch for the reversal of the long-shorter rhythm
every so often.
Farewell to Fuinary
farewf.mid
Page 39

Airs
Bonnie Galloway
bongal.mid
Page 40

Irish Reels
This is quite a tricky tune, but there are ways to make it easier. During the whole of the first bar and
half of the next, keep the first and second fingers of your right hand fixed on the fourth and fifth
holes on the whistle. This reduces the amount of finger lifting you have to do. Do the same for the
first bar in the B part so that your C sharp, normally played
Normal C# Alternate C#
O O
O O
O O
O X
O X
X O
This makes playing the next note - the high E - much easier.
When I play Drowsy Maggie, I do not play the last note of bar three in the A part (low E). This gives
me time to prepare to play the fourth bar, and a chance to have a breath if necessary. Try it: you may
find it an easier way to play the tune.
Drowsy Maggie
drowsy.mid
Page 41

Irish Reels
I have taken this tune from a Boys of the Lough album, Welcoming Paddy Home. This and Johnnie
McIljohn's No.1 originally come from Tommy Maguire of Leitrim. His father, John Maguire, also
known as Johnny McIljohn, lilted the tune regularly.
Johnnie McIljohn's No.2

jony2.mid
Page 42

Irish Jigs
This should be an easy tune to learn because there is a lot of repetition throughout the whole tune.
The Scattery Island Slide

scat.mid
Page 43

Irish Jigs
I learnt this great tune from Drew Mitchell of the band Da Hooley. It is a simple tune, but very nice.
Look again for the repetitions.
The Donegal Lass
Page 44

Irish Polkas
Irish polkas are attractive because they are usually simple tunes with a nice melody. They are in 2/4
timing, the same as many Scottish bagpipe marches. In fact, many pipe marches have been imported
to Ireland and turned into polkas. One example is The Barren Rocks of Aden.
Ryan's Polka is a popular Irish tune and is heard at sessions all over the
world. On the whistle, it is often tricky to switch between octaves,
especially if there a lot of C shaps in the tune.
With Ryan's, - rather as we did with Drowsy Maggie - the trick is to leave
certain fingers down. In the first bar, you can leave all your right-hand
fingers on the lower three holes without it affecting the notes, so that the
B and C sharp notes are played like this:
Ryan's Polka
ryan.mid
Page 45

Irish Polkas
This is actually the air to a popular Irish song:
I'll Tell Me Ma
mema.mid
Page 46

Irish Airs
Si Beag Si Mhor
sbeag.mid
Page 47

Irish Airs
Eibhlin
eibhl.mid
Page 48

Decoration
It's always better to play a tune simply and clearly, no frills, than to fill it with decorations which
detract from the basic tune. Decorations can add to the sound of a tune, but you should only be
thinking of decorations when you know a tune so well that you can concentrate on embellishing it.
Start off slowly - don't over sweeten the cake.
Now we are going to look at some decorations that can be used on the whistle, and then apply them
to a tune (we will use the tune we learned last time, Si Beag Si Mhor).
Sliding
Here we are talking about the sliding of one note into another. On the whistle, this is done simply by
starting with the note below and sliding your finger off the hole to give a smooth transition to the
note above. Start on the high E note (five fingers down) and slide your middle finger smoothly off
the hole so that you end up by playing the F note.
The Cut
This very simple decoration involves adding another note before the proper note you are about to
play. Although this becomes a matter of feeling and instinct, you can start by learning a system. The
D, E, F, and G notes will be preceded by the A note; the A and B notes will be preceded by the C
note. The C note is not cut.
ex14-1.mid
You do not have to remove your entire finger to make this decoration; just twitching your finger off
the A notes will produce the desired effect.
Page 49
Decoration 2
The Casadh
The casadh (Irish words meaning, I believe, turn) is similar to the cut, but this time you start and end
with the proper note. Again, the C note does not use a casadh.
ex14-2.mid
As in the cut, you do not have to remove all your fingers to make this decoration; just twitching your
finger off the A note will produce the desired effect.
The Trill
The trill is simple enough: you alternate the principle note with the note above. In standard notation
trills are indicate by the letters "tr" above a note. I have read that it is not used much by whistlers
because the roll is used in preference (more about rolls later), but it can be effective in slow airs, for
example.
ex14-3.mid
Page 50

Decoration
Now let us try some of these decorative techniques to an actual tune - we will take the tune we
learned last time, Si Beag Si Mhor. I have arranged the tune with lots of decoration as an example. If
you tried to reproduce exactly what I have done at this stage, you might find yourself tripping over.
Use this example as an introduction to some of the decorative techniques. On the next page is a
detailed breakdown of what is happening in the tune.
Si Beag Si Mhor
sbeag2.mid
Page 51

Decoration
This is a detailed breakdown of what is happening in the example tune - Si Beag, Si Mhor - on the
previous page.
A PART
 Bar 1: The first note is F, but we are going to slide up to it.
 The lead-in notes are D and E; play another E, but slide your finger off to get to the F. We are
also going to trill a bit before the second F. Just lift the index finger of your right hand and
replace it as quickly as you can.
 Bar 2 We are going to use a casadh before the middle note, the E. Quickly lift and replace the
finger over the A hole (the ring finger on your left hand).
 Bar 3: Near the end of the longish B, introduce a quick C note before going back to B and
down to A.
 Bar 5: Use a cut before the B note.
 Bar 6: Slide up to the E note by tonguing the D and sliding your finger off. Before playing the
second D, use a casadh.
 Bars 7 & 12: Slides.
 Bar 16: Use a cut to break up the long D note.
B PART
Bar 1: Same decoration as the A part.
Bars 3 & 10: Slides.
Bar 13: Emphasize the slide for a final flourish.
Bar 14: Use a casadh after the longish E note. Alternatively, a nice effect would be to use a trill:
Page 52

Breathing
WHEN PLAYING ANY WIND INSTRUMENT it is necessary to breathe in to replenish your air,
and because you are blowing into the whistle you need to breathe more often than normal.
However, it is important that the tune does not sound as if it is stopping and starting, so you have to
acquire the skill of breathing while maintaining the flow of the music.
In classical music for wind instruments, you sometimes get indications of where to breathe, or the
music is composed to allow for this. In Scottish and Irish music, however, this is not done because it
is mostly written for fiddle. You have to figure out where to breathe yourself, although it does
become more natural with experience.
The rule about breathing is simple: you have either to shorten a note, or miss a note out completely.
In practical terms, you would only shorten a note, which has enough length in the first place, so look
for quarter notes or longer. Similarly, you do not want to miss out a long note, as that will probably
affect the tune too much. So shorten quarter notes, miss out eighth notes.
No Shortening / As Written
This is how a phrase is written, with no indications of breathing space: ex15-1.mid
Shortening the note

This is how you would play it, shortening the note: ex15-2.mid
Page 53
As Written
ex15-3.mid
Missing Out Technique

ex15-4.mid
Page 54

Breathing
Let us now try playing a tune with built-in breathing spots. Johnny McIljohn's #2 is a simple Irish reel,
and I have indicated places to take a breath. There is a long note and then a "rest" at the end of each
line - you can shorten the long note a little, or you might find that the rest - where you do not play
any note - is long enough for a breather.
Johnny McIljohn's #2
jony2.mid
Page 55

Breathing
Here is another tune with built-in breathing spots. Teribus is played every year at Hawick's Common
Riding. According to Gordon Mooney, it is the gathering tune of Hawick. "The title is supposed by
some to be an ancient Celtic war cry, while others believe that it represents the sound of the bagpipe
and drum." Whatever, it is a fine tune.
Teribus
ter.mid
Page 56

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The Scottish Whistle

Whistle Tutorial – Lesson 1.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 1.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 1.3

Our First Notes

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 1.4

Au Clair de la Lune 1-4.mid

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 1.5

Tutorial - Lesson 1.6

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 2.1

Egan's Polka (2)

Tutorial - Lesson 2.2

The Skye Boat Song

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 2.3

Tutorial - Lesson 3.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 3.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 3.3

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 3.4

Tutorial - Lesson 4.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 4.2

The Barnyards o' Delgaty

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 4.3

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 4.4

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 5.1

Chorus: 2. When I'm deid I'm out o' date;

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 5.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 5.3

Short Coated Mary

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 6.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 6.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 6.3

The Rakes of Mallow

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 6.4

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 7.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 7.2

Johnny McIljohn's No. 1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 8.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 8.2

Comin' Thro' the Rye

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 8.3

The same goes for any note. If an eighth note is

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 8.4

The Burning of the Piper's Hut

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 9.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 9.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 10.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 10.2

Johnnie McIljohn's No.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 11.1

The Scattery Island Slide

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 11.2

The Donegal Lass

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 12.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 12.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 13.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 13.2

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 14.1

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 14.3

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 14.4

Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 15.1

Shortening the note

Missing Out Technique