Find a teacher
It's always easiest if you have an experienced guide who can tell you what to do, listen to what happens when you try and give you targeted advice based on what they hear. So if you can - find a person to get at least a few lessons from.Where to find a teacher :
- Local music shops - check out their noticeboards
- People who already plays the whistle at your church or another local church: maybe they teach themselves, maybe they know someone else who does
- Community education / night classes - you might just find a whistle-class on their timetable (this is how I got started)
- Local Irish or Scottish societies. But be aware that teachers here will generally be focussed on using the whistle within traditional music, and may not be sympathetic to using it for religious music
- Other local music teachers: even if they don't teach whistle themselves, they might know someone who does. Or if they teach related instruments, eg the flute, they may know enough to give you some lessons about technique.
- If you're comfortable learning on-line, you might get lessons from WhistleTutor
It's important to tell your teacher what your goal is. Some music teachers assume that they are setting the goals for their students. So especially if your aims are a little different (eg to accompany "Amazing Grace" in church) - you need to be up-front about what you are aiming for. Some teachers may not be the best fit for this. But if a teacher is willing to work with your goals, they will give you excellent advice about what is possible given the instrument itself (there are some tunes that whistle simply cannot play, and some styles where they just don't really fit) - and your aptitude and willingness to work at it.
Tutor books or videos
If you can't find or afford an in-person teacher, then you may have to work from a book or on-line tool instead.I haven't found any books which teach only using hymns - most of them are about learning to play Irish or Scottish style. The best ones I've seen are
Super Easy Tin Whistle Sheet Music for Beginners
This is a beginner Tin Whistle book for adults and kids: it includes fifty songs in various styles - including some hymns, and has Big Letter Notes (printed on music-staff and whistle-tabs.
With less focus on the "Irish" and more on the music, the is is perhaps the
best tutor book for someone whose goal is playing hymns.
The Clarke Tin Whistle Handbook
This book by renowned American whistle teacher Bill Ochs, is regarded by many people as the best one for total beginners. It uses tunes from Ireland, England, Scotland and early America, and teaches skills while learning tunes.
Geraldine Cottor's Traditional Irish Tin Whistle Tutor
Like it says on the tin, this book is very focussed on traditional Irish music.But it has a solid section about how to read music, as well as detailed instructions about how to play the whistle.
The Complete Irish Tin Whistle Tutor
Written by L.E. McCullough / Labhras O Murchu is the classic "Traditional Irish Tin Whistle tutor." It includes an excellent study in reading music, although to the modern reader it may seem fussy.
The songs and styles are explained in a but direct way - and the
accompanying CD (unfortunately sold separately) really necessary if you are
a beginner.
Grey Larson Irish Flute & Tin Whistle book
A music tutor of epic proportions, this book needs to be included in any serious list of whistle tutors. The book itself has 480 pages, and comes with 196 tracks of downloadable audio. It is aimed at everyone from beginner to advanced players, and goes into great depth on both technical playing issues and the history of Irish music.
Learning by yourself
If you cannot access a teacher or on-line resource, you need to focus
on learning by yourself. Some tips for this:
If you're going to be playing with other people, play with a
metronome. You absolutely need to learn to play strictly
with the beat (though in church you are sometimes forced to vary
it to suit the situation!), and the metronome is the best starter
tool. But if your aim is just to play for your own
enjoyment or spiritual development - skip this, it's really not needed
if you.
Record yourself once a week, and every couple of months, take a listen
back to an older recording to see how you've progressed.
Work with a friend: find someone who is at a similar level to you (not necessarily with the same instrument), with similar goals - have regular sessions where you play together.
Work with a friend: find someone who is at a similar level to you (not necessarily with the same instrument), with similar goals - have regular sessions where you play together.
