tin whistle, the irish instrument

As some of you may know, I play tin whistle. A lovely irish flute instrument. Since about one and a half year - and I love it. I'm writing this post because, after posting a few video's of some tin whistle songs of instagram, people started to wonder what kind of instrument it is and if they could also start to play it.

The answer is yes, definitely yes. Tin whistle is probably one of the easiest instruments in the world, and you can even play it if you can't read sheet music. 

Before telling you about the possibilities of tin whistle, I will tell you a bit about the little instrument first. 

The tin whistle is a six holed woodwind instrument. Don't confuse them with recorders - tin whistles are cheaper, more lightweighed and easier to play. They are very cheap - you can already get a good quality one for about 10 euro's. The most common key used for tin whistles is the key of D, but they are available in many more keys. You can play (irish) folk music, but also classical songs with tin whistle. In fact, the well known Titanic and Lord of the Rings soundtracks are full of tin whistle music. 

The reason why you can play tin whistle without reading sheet music, is because there are many "tin whistle tabs" to find on the internet. In fact, there are quite some people who can play by ear as well. Which is basically: listening to a song several times and playing along with the tin whistle without reading sheet music. 

It is useful though, to be able to read sheet music. But if you really can't seem to learn it, there is always the possibility of playing without reading sheet music. 

I can read sheet music but I mostly play by ear if I'm honest. 

I personally own a Clarke whistle in D and a clarke whistle in C which you can purchase here. These were the first whistles I ever owned. If I am honest: I would not recommend buying these as your first whistle as they require a lot of air. The clarke sweetone is more suitable for a beginner. 

I also own a low D Tony Dixon (a low whistle is one octave lower than a normal tin whistle. they have a very low mellow dreamy sound).

My Bb Generation whistle is probably one of my favorite and cheapest whistles. 

Most people like to play traditional irish songs on their whistle, but personally I prefer playing classical or slower (celtic) songs on them. 

At the moment I love to play Adrian von Ziegler's music, e.g. Moonsong 

Another song I play often and learned to play by this tin whistle tab tutorial is Valley of the Wolves.

Would you ever try to play tin whistle?

Have a lovely day

Sasja