Files hosted by http://www.whistletunes.org and materials created by http://www.TradSchool.com the e-booklet contains whistle tab and standard notation the demo tracks are audio mp3. To top it of these tunes have tutorial videos done by TradSchool on YouTube too
But why why why, if you are going to do a project at all, select the same old tunes that are included in just about every (e-)tutor that has come out in the past two decades or so?
Arenāt they able to come up with an original, attractive and different selection of material??
Why why bother complaing when itās so obviously aimed at those who are new to whistle
Because if the job is worth doing, it is worth doing it well. If you really have nothing to offer those new to the whistle that isnāt already contained in other available tutors why bother?
The selection of tunes started appearing in tutors during the late seventies. Why? Because they were the popular tunes of the day, the ones new players would be familiar with from recordings etc. Why would you endlessly want to re-hash that. Itās not difficult to come up with a completely different and fresh selection of tunes, tunes maybe that havenāt been done to death over and over again.
Or do you think those new to the whistle donāt deserve something that doesnāt go up the same old beaten path with a selection of tunes that is downright lazy? Why not offer something fresh and different, a tutor that is attractive and showing a bit of imagination and knowledge of the broader repertoire? Why not use the opportunity to introduce new players to a slice of repertoire they cannot already find everywhere else?
I think the tune selection fits itās purpose as a tried and testing learning aid as a beginner I will be happy to have them under my belt. Look at Ochs Clarke whistle book it hasnāt been re-hashed and is still going strong but will cost a learner Ā£16 this is free. As for lazy hereās a challenge lets see the new list of traditional tunes that will meet the criteria needed to teach new whistlers. Youāve been around the block a few times it shouldnāt be that much of a challenge, are you up for it? where I come form itās called putting your money where your mouth is
The only reason I can come up with is that if a newbie were to go to their local session after learning some of those tunes, they would be able to play at least ONE of the songs there with the group. I can tell you from experience that learning different, somewhat obscure, albeit wonderful tunes does not help me in playing at my local session if no one knows it but me, and I donāt know any of the songs being played, thus I donāt get the joy of playing with a group. And being on the more newish side of playing music, I am also not good at picking up an unfamiliar tune as itās being played, and I will guess many other new players will have the same issue. That takes time, and Iām sure a measure of talent, as well as lots of practice and exposure.
I donāt think we should go into a discussion whether or not it is helpful for anyone only playing few tunes to go out to a session, let alone a session that centers around the selection of tunes on offer. So Iāll leave it there for now.
Thanksā¦just downloaded tunes and music to my ipad in about 3minutes.
Thanks again for the info. Any time some one makes an effort like this Iām thankful. Even if they are the same old tunes.
Heck, Iāve been at the whistle for over 8 years now, and am always adding new tunes, and looking over this list, well, there was one I didnāt know and another I knew by a different title, and several more I had plum forgotten about. Itās a nice resource, no matter how many times these may have been printed before, and if this is the resource a new player stumbles on and it gets him/her going, then I think itās more than worthwhile.
Hi all,
Thanks for the feedback on the tunes; I put together that selection back in 2010.
In reply to a couple of the comments above:
The idea of this selection was to give beginners a few standards under their belt. The tunes are all well-known and I realise they have been well covered before. Iād view my list as a starting point, and just one point of reference among many, rather than the be-all-and-end-all list for beginners.
I took the top 20 tunes at irishtune.info as a starting point (http://www.irishtune.info/session/tunes.php - I believe the list may have changed since) although I could have just as easily picked 20 other tunes just as well-known.
I believe itās important, in the beginning, to have a core standard repertoire - some may agree, & some wonāt. For those interested in tunes a little less common, there are plenty more tunes on whistle & flute on my site - Iāve recently been exploring The Trip to Sligo, an excellent tune book compiled by Bernard Flaherty, as well as Lesl Harkerās excellent Rafferty tune collections: http://www.tradschool.com/en/tunes/
I think those tunes are a great starting point that will give beginners some common ground and confidence.
They may feel like cliches to you, too, after some years of repetition, but there will always be life in them.
I am not sure traditional music has āstandardsā but as far as these tunes go, as I said above they began to become ābeginnerāsā tunes during the 1970s because they were the popular tunes of the day. They appeared on popular recordings at the time and the assumption was people would know them for that reason. For the same reason most tutors include childrensā songs, on the assumption they would have been learned in National School.
From my point of view thereās no necessity to go over the same ground again, but I made that point above so wonāt do it again. Letās say these tunes have a high visibility, high enough for anyone to take them on on their own, I think itās a teacherās job to present fresh, challenging material, show different aspects of the repertoire. And, I may add, present the tunes with life in them.
The tunes donāt feel like cliches, they feel hackneyed and they have been done to death by generations of inexperienced and mediocre players who have plodded through them. If you want to join a session, I bet few would be jumping with joy and welcome you with open arms if you bring the same old stuff with you again.
Life, itās up to the player to put life into the tunes, with another thread as a starting point and a miserable misty afternoon on my hands I briefly took on Drowsy Maggie a few days ago, not a tune I would have actively played much for decades, and found myself going through through a nice set of variations, corners of the tune I hadnāt visited before. But thatās not going to happen in the hands of a learner is it?
I think itās great that people are coming up with free ways to teach people something. The videos by Ryan Duns, for example, have been a great supplement to my Bill Ochs book. This would be another good thing to have in case someone wants to start playing trad on the whistle. Although, with it being summer now and having the windows open, it probably wonāt be my neighbors.
And now, itās time for this inexperienced and mediocre player to back out of the thread before I become just another bitchy musician.
why not?
well well ā¦ give them something for free and they will complain ā¦ (old greek philosophy )
i guess, because those are good tunes to start with
i guess those are tunes people like to learn
i guess, if āeverybodyā choosed this ones, there must be a reason
i guess, no i know, for a beginner, it makes no difference if those tunes WHERE chooses for another free lesson long ago, because they beginn NOW
i dont know, why you complain, obviously you are not a beginner
and i would like to knowā¦ where can i fiond all those other free tutorials you emntioned? i always like to get a link to something like this
so thanks jleo
ā¦
about that site; damn, this is some work downloading it allā¦ a link for download all would have been nice
ā¦what did the old greeks already said?
For a beginner, I think learning widely-known tunes makes tremendous sense. Itās a no-brainer.
For a beginner, a tune is a heavy investment of time + effort. If the tune is well known, their effort has the best chance of payoff - being able to join in with others.
I canāt imagine a reason not to learn widely known, time-tested tunes.
For a beginner, I think learning widely-known tunes makes tremendous sense. Itās a no-brainer.
Fair enough, but out of hundreds, thousands of widely known tunes, the question still remains: why the twenty most done to death ones?
And thatās the whole point, there are an awful lot of widely known good tunes to pick from. No extra effort required, just a bit of imagination. Itās pretty much a win-win situation it will broaden the overall learning experience by introducing beginners to a new range of tunes and beginners will probably feel a bit more welcome in social situations when they, for a change, donāt start Drowsy Maggie or the Butterfly.
it shouldnāt be that much of a challenge, are you up for it? where I come form itās called putting your money where your mouth is 
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