Hello

[I'm With Stupid]

Hmm, there doesn't appear to be anywhere obvious to say hello, so I guess I'll do it here. I'm a complete beginner to music in general (never got past playing the Rugrats and Terminator theme tunes on the piano), and I wanted something that was portable and cheap, rather than spending hundreds on an instrument and giving up. So anyway, I've just ordered myself one of the Dixon whistles (high D in nickel), so I should be getting started whenever it appears. In the meantime, I guess I'll just read a bit and watch some more Youtube videos. This performance by Pat Tierney was what convinced me to give it a shot more than anything else. I just hope I can get past the terrible squeaky phase for now. And if this goes well, I have my sights on a Chinese flute.

[Whistler Bard]

Be very welcome to the Chiff & Fipple! I hope you have fun around here, you'll see that there are lots of people around here that are keen to help you with your way on the Whistle World.

It was a great choice of an instrument, let me tell you!

Feel free to roam around...crazyness and knowledge are all around!

Cheers!

[chris_coreline]

Dixon whistles (high D in nickel),

good choice, a stalwart axe for the beginner to the professionsal.

[SteveShaw]

I'm a complete beginner to music in general (never got past playing the Rugrats and Terminator theme tunes on the piano), and I wanted something that was portable and cheap, rather than spending hundreds on an instrument and giving up. So anyway, I've just ordered myself one of the Dixon whistles (high D in nickel), so I should be getting started whenever it appears.

Phew, thank goodness you chose a musical instrument and not a bodhran. I can recommend harmonicas as cheap and portable, by the way!

Have fun with yer Dixons - I certainly enjoyed a good few tunes with the man in days of yore!

[mutepointe]

I just had a 4 year old play me the first 7 notes to the Terminator today. He'll do all the spicy dialog to the movies given 1/2 a chance too.

[I'm With Stupid]

Thanks for the welcome everyone. My whistle came yesterday, and I'm just learning my chords atm. It doesn't let me play the low D as loudly as the other notes though. If I blow harder, it just turns into a high D. Is that normal? At least I think it's a high D.

Never mind. I've just realised I can do a whole other scale by blowing harder. I don't think any dogs in the neighbourhood will thank me though.

[Blazer]

I'm sure you are doing great. Keep at it and don't get discouraged if you have a bad day and seem to be without progress. Most of your squeaking comes form a hole that is not well covered, or simply the wrong air speed for the note you are attempting. Be sure to cover the holes with the soft, fleshy part of your finger, not the tips. In the beginning, you need to blow slow (think quiet) for the low notes and blow gradually faster (think louder) as you progress up the two octave range of your whistle. You will gradually learn the correct amount of air pressure for the entire range and it will become easier to quickly move between high and low notes. Just learn the simple D scale and gradually increase the speed. And LEARN some simple tunes right away, regardless of how simple they are. Have fun making music!

[hoopy mike]

Thanks for the welcome everyone. My whistle came yesterday, and I'm just learning my chords atm. It doesn't let me play the low D as loudly as the other notes though. If I blow harder, it just turns into a high D. Is that normal? At least I think it's a high D.

Never mind. I've just realised I can do a whole other scale by blowing harder. I don't think any dogs in the neighbourhood will thank me though.

Hi

Welcome!

Sounds like you may be blowing a wee bit too hard. Start gently and just concentrate on getting a good tone out of the notes G-B (left hand). Do check that you're covering all the holes too. There's lots of resources online - do a search for "Brother Steve" and you'll find some helpful videos.

[Whistler Bard]

That's a problem everyone has in the beginning, just follow the tips people are giving you around here and enjoy!

The Whistle is a wonderful instrument, and you'll surely have fun with it! In my blog you can see how I started, some months ago, then stopped and am now back to it!

And as someone said, learn simple tunes, it gets much more exciting from now on!

Cheers!

[I'm With Stupid]

Thanks everyone. I've learned three tunes so far. Mary Had a Little Lamb, Good King Wenceslas and Happy Birthday. Obviously the situations where I can play these tunes is a bit limited, but they're just ones I've managed to teach myself by playing around with it. Happy Birthday's still a bit rough because I keep forgetting to stop blowing for the bit where you have to change all of your fingers over. But the other two seem pretty good, and I'm getting a bit more speed. I've also learned the fingering for Jingle Bells, but I haven't really practiced that one too much. But I think I'll go for something a bit less, well Christmassy.

[Bothrops]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations for your whistle acquisition

In the very beginning everyone tend to have problems with squeaks or breathing control, but believe me, that goes away pretty fast!
If you practice everyday (as it should be!), in a few weeks you'll be able to play some nice jigs or reels

Let me recommend you a few easy and nice tunes to start with: "The Foggy Dew", "Star Of The County Down", "Down By The Sally Gardens", "Inisheer".
You can look for the sheet music or MIDI in TheSession.org

It also helps to read every and each thread on this forum


Good luck!!
Martin

[Adrian]

Have you found Mark's 'Whistle & Squeak' website yet? Lots of easy whistle tunes with tabs.

http://www.whistleandsqueak.com/

[riverman]

Bravo! The thing I like about whistle (besides the gorgeous sound) is the fast learning curve. I also have a whistle with a weak low D, and when I play it a lot, I find it works fine because I learn to play it just below the threshold before it trips into high D. I wouldn't play in second and third octave instead--most people appreciate the quieter range!

[mutepointe]

How's it going now?