Bought a whistle, now what do I do?

Lou Farant · Post by **Lou Farant** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 3:29 pm

OK, this week I bought a D whistle and am teaching myself. I can read music having laboured and sweated through years of clarinet courses in my teens. I never need to play anything with keys or a reed again, but that's another story.

I do have a couple of questions for the powers that be here:

(a) Where to I go from here? Any good books out there for people teaching themselves? Any good starter/easy tunes on the web that won't put me to sleep?

(b) I am totally intrigued by abc notation. Any good advice on this?

Ok, maybe just one more now that I've gotten going:

(c) how do I keep my black Lab from barking when I play?

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 3:43 pm

a) get a tutorial book and CD by Bill Ochs from any of the websites Dale lists on the Chiff links. I use the Whistle Shop mostly but I believe there are others.

b) do a search for the abc notation home page

c) the dog's not Irish then, I take it? Of course not, he's from Labrador, right, I remember you saying that. Get rid of him and get an Irish wolfhound. Or get your dog canine earplugs. OK, I'm kidding, there is no such thing. Basicly there's nothing you can do to stop the barking. You're probably hitting the canine mating wavelength on the higher notes. I'd bark, too, if I were a dog listening to a whistle.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: blackhawk on 2003-01-24 16:45 ]</font>

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 3:46 pm

(a) Where to I go from here? Any good books out there for people teaching themselves? Any good starter/easy tunes on the web that won't put me to sleep?

(b) I am totally intrigued by abc notation. Any good advice on this?

(c) how do I keep my black Lab from barking when I play?

All of these topics have had many many posts written on them, check them out via the search function. That said, though, to provide my own $.02 to your questions:

The best book out there (I think) to learn whisle from is Bill Och's Tinwhistle Tutor. This is the one that ships with Clarke whistles in sets with a CD, but it is also available separately. I recommend buying the set though--having the CD is a big help, and having an extra whistle won't hurt ya any!

There are many many good collections of tunes online. Most of them are listed on the Ceolas web site,

http://ceolas.org/ceolas.html

As for ABC notation, see

http://www.lesession.vcisp.net/abc/abc_notation.htm

Finally, on the question about the black lab, all I can say is that a black lab is a beautiful, faithful dog, a wonderful companion. Don't let him near your whistle: he might eat it.

Best,

--James
http://www.flutesite.com

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 3:47 pm

Bill Ochs' web site is here:

http://www.pennywhistle.com/

There are some fairly easy tunes at the web site too with both musical notation and sound.

I can't help with the dog thing.

Steve

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 3:50 pm

Put the dog in the back yard, then play on the other side of the house. Or, get rid of the dog. Or, get rid of the whistle (personally, I'd ditch the dog first).

tkelly · Post by **tkelly** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 3:53 pm

If the dog is like my cats, then lower notes are better. My cats give me dirty looks for anything above high A.

Also better, a quiet whistle. Pets like Hoovers. When I first got my Water Whistle, one cat left the room whenever I took it out. She sleeps through Hoovers and everything below high B on my Burke.

And welcome!

Tery

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 4:07 pm

Lou F., Forget the dog. Get a Space-Cat!

He doesn't bark, but he shoots gamma rays out of his eyes when he is displeased which, thank God, has never happened due to my whistling.

<IMG SRC="http://images.snapfish.com/336667432323 ... 4863ot1lsi">

Welcome to the world of whistling and congratulations on your first of many whistles! As for learning about whistles and whistling you are in the right place. Have fun!

-Paul

**edited to fix link

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: paul on 2003-01-24 17:11 ]</font>

AnnaDMartinez · Post by **AnnaDMartinez** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 4:35 pm

Just blow that sucker!

gitchel · Post by **gitchel** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 4:36 pm

There is always one way to fix everything: get more whistles. I'm sure there is a key that your puppy will appreciate - or at least tolerate.

I have more trouble with the HUMANS than my cats. I generally have to start with the low E and work up several keys in order not to be pummeled when I play the high F

The cats appear to be deaf. Though I suppose they may not have started out that way

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 4:41 pm

You've got great answers on 1 and 2...I'll tackle 3.

Start by teaching him the command 'Down' if he doesn't already know it, and work towards what is called a 'long down', which is minutes of laying in one place. Once he's go that down cold (all puns intentional, I assure you), start on the command 'Quiet'. Put him at a 'down' and as soon as he's down, add the word firmly 'Quiet.'

Pick up a whistle and play a few notes...stay low. If he doesn't bark, and doesn't break the 'down', release and praise him. Do this a few times, a little longer each time. Run a scale. If he doesn't bark and doesn't break the down, you're doing great. If he does break, stop whistling, return to the down-quiet, and back off a little on the whistle. Patience. Please note that its relatively uncommon for a dog to bark when he's lying down which is the whole reason that he NEEDS to be good at the down.

Once you can do this for a few minutes without him complaining you move on to the real lesson (sorry the above is just a warm up, not the real thing). Don't 'down' him. Just whistle. If he barks, the command is a little different: Quiet. Down. Quiet. And back to the practice you were doing above.

Here you're transferring the tolerance for what you're doing from 'Down' to 'Quiet'. When you've got this all accomplished, you should be able to separate the 'Quiet' entirely, and use it under all circumstances.

Best of luck and welcome to the world of whistling. And realize that YOU have it easy...its a lot harder to train a bird to tolerate the whistle.

Oh...failing all the above, give him a chewy treat...something that takes time to eat... and then whistle. One suggestion for this treat is a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. It'll give you a bit more time to practice.

Lou Farant · Post by **Lou Farant** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 5:23 pm

Yeah! I like the Kong thing. Why didn't I think of that? It's my weapon of choice when I vacuum.

Many of you were quite right in that the lower register doesn't seem to be quite as aggravating to Ritz the Wonder Dog. I'm sure over time he'll get used to it.

I did have a Stormey the Wonder Cat to match the black lab but after many years of living with us, Stormey went over yonder last summer. No tears: he was a 16 year old cat I took in from a shelter some 14 years ago. He did use allllll of his nine lives.

A whistlin' I will go tomorrow morning as I wait for appointments and such in the car. Right now I'm sticking to some old tunes I know by ear. Some sound not bad. Some are like nails coming down a blackboard. But I'll get used to it, too, I guess.

Many thanks for the warm welcome here.

spittin_in_the_wind · Post by **spittin_in_the_wind** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 5:49 pm

Welcome!

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how fast whistling will come to you, having played the clarinet. I picked it up about a month ago, and am enjoying it immensely (the whistle, not the clarinet!)--I'm a reformed sax player, and I think a clarinetist would have even more success

One thing I've found is that I tend to bite too hard. Try using the lips more than the embouchere,and opening up the throat, and not using the teeth at all (as in the upper teeth not touching the whistle). And use less air, in general....these things have helped me some.

Robin

Leluka · Post by **Leluka** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 7:41 pm

So what happens when your dogs tear through KONGS and all KONG related products....

hank123 · Post by **hank123** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 8:53 pm

For me own $.02, I would recommend L.E. McCullough's 121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes. If you played Clarinet you already know how to read music and don't need any starter stuff. The book comes with 4 CD's which are awesome enough to listen to, but when combined with the sheet music, you are just in whistle heaven as you can play along and learn ridiculous #'s of songs. I know so many now me brain is full and I'll be playing one and get mixed up and play a second sentence from another song and just get all screwy and funktified when I play alone and I must say it's gotta be the best doggone $45 I've spent in awhile.

DerryMan · Post by **DerryMan** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 11:51 pm

Hi Lou,

welcome to the whistling fraternity. Check out my other posts re ABC format goldmines as I'm getting repetitive. I don't read music but I gather from other posters that sheet music does not give you the feel for the music. The link I list elsewhere is the motherload.
I also have a black lab, called Buddy. He's a hunting dog even though the only thing he hunts in my house is grub - cheese toasties prefered. The breed in Ireland (or Europe) is a tad different than in the US. Hunting dogs don't bark much which is good 'cause it saves ye jumping out yer skin too often in shock. Dogs have a great ear for melodious sound. My Buddy likes to sit around while I try to play a few tunes. If I sound a tad rough he will wimper. You gotta pet and play with him in the process 'cause he reads your playing as a call to assembly of the pack leader (you). Mature wild dogs don't bark, or play much, but pet dogs never grow up. Use a bit of dog phycology (you're lead dog) and he'll soon learn to keep relatively quiet. But you will always have an unbiased listener that cannot help but say to you, "Why are you trying to strangle that unseen cat when there's the makings in the kitchen?"