Finger Chart for tin whistle

[OC Richard]

For a beginner who doesn't yet have his ear developed to the point where he can learn tunes by playing along with recordings, it would be helpful to either learn ABC notation or staff notation, or both.

ABC notation is favoured by traditional Irish musicians, many of whom feel that ABC is superior to staff notation. The great thing about ABC is the vast corpus of tens of thousands of Irish tunes available in it, on sites such as thesession.org. And, you can simply type ABC notation on an ordinary keyboard.

I myself have always been able to read ordinary staff notation and I feel that it's the best. I have a hard time reading ABC. But the majority of traditional Irish players disagree!

About whistle keys, if you do enough playing you'll end up requiring whistles in every key. Here's what I take to a gig:



It has in it every chromatic key from Low D to high Eb. Mostly Burkes for the low keys and modified Generations for the high keys. But an MK low D, a Feadog high D, Susatos for the odd keys of F#/Gb and G#/Ab, and a Bernard Overton Low E.

[Chirs]

A thing of beauty.

[Bing]

Mostly Burkes for the low keys and modified Generations for the high keys.

From the picture its obvious that you have a preference for the aluminum Burke over the brass or composite versions. Can you explain why (for the benefit of those who might be considering one material over another)?

[Ruaraidh]

For the most part, I am in the learn by ear camp. Learning music notation is best for accurately reproducing music. But it is a bit like learning another language. I am working on the Guitar and I use tablature to get a reference point on the strings and frets. Then find your way by ear. You didn’t learn to talk by reading a book. You learned by listening and copying. Scales man! Work your scales!
I haven’t gotten too far with the tin whistle. It’s kinda painful for everyone else around here, especially the dog. Don’t worry that you don’t think you are any good. Learning to make music is for yourself and makes you appreciate others that have a gift for it. Lastly one of the mottos that I live by: “If it (learning the tin whistle) was easy anyone could do it” !
Play On!

[OC Richard]

About why I use aluminum Burkes rather than brass or composite Burkes...

I dunno... a fine uilleann piper/whistler friend, Patrick Darcy, has aluminum Burkes in every key and so does the fantastic Highland piper and whistler David Brewer who plays in Molly's Revenge. I heard them play and I liked the sound and I went out a bought several of them.

I haven't played a composite Burke but I've heard about them shattering when dropped which is off-putting.

I've been told by many people that the brass Burkes have a sweeter and/or more complex tone. Others have told me that there's not much difference. What I do know is that they're heavy.

I had a Chieftan Gold solid brass Low D whistle for a while and it weighed a ton. I could never play a whistle that heavy for long periods without a neck strap.