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learning tin-whistle

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  • Quote Guest

Re: Sally Maclennane

Post by Guest Fri Jan 31, 2014 12:55 pm

Seimawn wrote:Does anyone know how to play Sally Maclennane on tin whistle?
I´ve googled and search youtube etc for tabs but havent found anything useful..
I found these: http://www.martindardis.com/id389.html
But those cant be right ..

Please help me!

Regards

Hello Seimawn - i'm not sure if you'll find notation online - i also tried martin dardis, who generally is really good, but couldn't manage to play his version on my D whistle - the notes went too low and as the first note was a high D, taking it up an octave would be a strain. I've learned most of my songs by ear, you could try that - only trouble is, the version of sally Maclennane i've learned isn't in the same key as the Pogues - ah well. A lot of the songs i've learned are like that cause i just remembered the tune and worked it out by memory, mostly Dubliners songs. If only i'd thought to actually play the songs over the original song...but if i did that i'd probably still be stuck on the black velvet band. :wink:
I also have a question, as i wonder if i'm doing it right sometimes - is it vital to learn the songs in the exact key that the original artist plays in? I don't read music, so this holds me back but really i just want to play well and enjoy myself - am i doing it wrong? Should i really learn the 'official' key, or is it unimportant if the tune is recognisable? Any advice would be much appreciated - only been playing again for about 10 months (had one as a kid, but then learned recorder at primary school and put the whistle down to avoid confusion with fingering etc). Thanks :)
[quote="Seimawn"]Does anyone know how to play Sally Maclennane on tin whistle?
I´ve googled and search youtube etc for tabs but havent found anything useful..
I found these: http://www.martindardis.com/id389.html
But those cant be right ..

Please help me!

Regards[/quote]
Hello Seimawn - i'm not sure if you'll find notation online - i also tried martin dardis, who generally is really good, but couldn't manage to play his version on my D whistle - the notes went too low and as the first note was a high D, taking it up an octave would be a strain. I've learned most of my songs by ear, you could try that - only trouble is, the version of sally Maclennane i've learned isn't in the same key as the Pogues - ah well. A lot of the songs i've learned are like that cause i just remembered the tune and worked it out by memory, mostly Dubliners songs. If only i'd thought to actually play the songs over the original song...but if i did that i'd probably still be stuck on the black velvet band. :wink:
I also have a question, as i wonder if i'm doing it right sometimes - is it vital to learn the songs in the exact key that the original artist plays in? I don't read music, so this holds me back but really i just want to play well and enjoy myself - am i doing it wrong? Should i really learn the 'official' key, or is it unimportant if the tune is recognisable? Any advice would be much appreciated - only been playing again for about 10 months (had one as a kid, but then learned recorder at primary school and put the whistle down to avoid confusion with fingering etc). Thanks :)
  • Quote Seimawn

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by Seimawn Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:40 am

Tring to figure out the coords to Sally Maclennane... This is what I`ve come up with so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-CrpE9aes
Tring to figure out the coords to Sally Maclennane... This is what I`ve come up with so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-CrpE9aes
  • Quote Guest

Re: Sally Maclennane

Post by Guest Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:18 am

Seimawn wrote:Does anyone know how to play Sally Maclennane on tin whistle?
I´ve googled and search youtube etc for tabs but havent found anything useful..
I found these: http://www.martindardis.com/id389.html
But those cant be right ..

Please help me!

Regards


Patented?
[quote="Seimawn"]Does anyone know how to play Sally Maclennane on tin whistle?
I´ve googled and search youtube etc for tabs but havent found anything useful..
I found these: http://www.martindardis.com/id389.html
But those cant be right ..

Please help me!

Regards[/quote]

Patented?
  • Quote Seimawn

Sally Maclennane

Post by Seimawn Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:18 pm

Does anyone know how to play Sally Maclennane on tin whistle?
I´ve googled and search youtube etc for tabs but havent found anything useful..
I found these: http://www.martindardis.com/id389.html
But those cant be right ..

Please help me!

Regards
Does anyone know how to play Sally Maclennane on tin whistle?
I´ve googled and search youtube etc for tabs but havent found anything useful..
I found these: http://www.martindardis.com/id389.html
But those cant be right ..

Please help me!

Regards
  • Quote Heliopoetica

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by Heliopoetica Fri Sep 24, 2010 10:35 am

This will be my first post here on Medusa, so: Hello!

I got my new Clarke whistles yesterday and have started to work out the slow Pogues tunes, to begin with. This is what I've found out for Lullaby of London:

x2
XXXXXXXXX XX000XX00XX XXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX XXXX0000XXX XXXXXX
00XXXXXXX 00XX0000XXX XXXXXX
0000XXXXX 00XXXXXXXXX 0XXXXX
00000XX0X 00XXXXXXXXX 00XX0X
00000000X 00XXXXXXXXX 00000X

What do you think? :-)

/ Matti
This will be my first post here on Medusa, so: Hello!

I got my new Clarke whistles yesterday and have started to work out the slow Pogues tunes, to begin with. This is what I've found out for Lullaby of London:

x2
XXXXXXXXX XX000XX00XX XXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX XXXX0000XXX XXXXXX
00XXXXXXX 00XX0000XXX XXXXXX
0000XXXXX 00XXXXXXXXX 0XXXXX
00000XX0X 00XXXXXXXXX 00XX0X
00000000X 00XXXXXXXXX 00000X

What do you think? :-)

/ Matti
  • Quote Mr Azmo

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by Mr Azmo Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:34 am

Hey everybody. New member, etc.

My girlfriend plays the classical recorder, and she is fed up with the stigma attached to it. It's understandable, here in Australia we are tormented with squeaky recorder-playing preschoolers butchering 'Merrily We Roll Along' in 3 part unharmony. She plays AMAZING things tho, there is a lot of great baroque music for the recorder and she can play an Irish ballad that will melt your heart. As well as experimental stuff that involves tapping the recorder on the desk as part of the score, or imitating birdsong. Great recorder players ARE out there, they just hide behind a piano or violin as people are less likely to take the piss. There are many types of recorders too, some more like whistles and some that are more like a didgeridoo in tone. 'Ruby Tuesday' is about the only pop song I can think of that rocks the recorder tho...

I'm learning some whistle, I got sick of just playing stringed and key instruments plus I like the idea of being able to carry your instrument in your pocket. Getting the high notes without squealing is troubling me actually...all the dogs in my neighbourhood must cringe in agony everytime I start a-whistlin'. Pogues got me into it, of course!
Hey everybody. New member, etc.

My girlfriend plays the classical recorder, and she is fed up with the stigma attached to it. It's understandable, here in Australia we are tormented with squeaky recorder-playing preschoolers butchering 'Merrily We Roll Along' in 3 part unharmony. She plays AMAZING things tho, there is a lot of great baroque music for the recorder and she can play an Irish ballad that will melt your heart. As well as experimental stuff that involves tapping the recorder on the desk as part of the score, or imitating birdsong. Great recorder players ARE out there, they just hide behind a piano or violin as people are less likely to take the piss. There are many types of recorders too, some more like whistles and some that are more like a didgeridoo in tone. 'Ruby Tuesday' is about the only pop song I can think of that rocks the recorder tho...

I'm learning some whistle, I got sick of just playing stringed and key instruments plus I like the idea of being able to carry your instrument in your pocket. Getting the high notes without squealing is troubling me actually...all the dogs in my neighbourhood must cringe in agony everytime I start a-whistlin'. Pogues got me into it, of course!
  • Quote Roger Whittaker

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by Roger Whittaker Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:23 am

Spider,hi ! have you ever used or ever considered using a small amp or pickup ?I saw Micheal McGodrick playing with one on THE TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS week,it made the whistle stand out among the other instruments.Sometimes i think us whistle players get a raw deal and by the way that is my real name,i live in Antwerp where the Famous Roger Whittaker has a cult following,i bet he could not sing Durham Town[sic]in Flemish though...... :)
Spider,hi ! have you ever used or ever considered using a small amp or pickup ?I saw Micheal McGodrick playing with one on THE TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS week,it made the whistle stand out among the other instruments.Sometimes i think us whistle players get a raw deal and by the way that is my real name,i live in Antwerp where the Famous Roger Whittaker has a cult following,i bet he could not sing Durham Town[sic]in Flemish though...... :)
  • Quote welshwhistler

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by welshwhistler Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:32 pm

Thanks both for your advice.
I bought a new whistle from the local music shop just to see if it was it or me. Turns out it was 80/20 against me. But since buying it I seem to have been able to achieve a lot more of the notes and am building my confidence. Am particularly pleased with how the Galway Races is coming on after I nearly threw the whistle through the window the first few times (that was 100% me and not the whistle's fault).
Have set myself a target of perfecting 10 songs by the end of November and will buy a C whistle if I achieve it.
Have figured out some rudimentary versions of a few Pogues songs, such as Turkish Song of the Damned, Thousands Are Sailing and Repeal of the Licensing Laws. Am sure Spider would be horrified by my attempts at the moment but I'm only starting out and I'm sure I'll refine them over time!
Have got tickets to see the band in Birmingham in December. Really looking forward to it. My first Pogues gig. Really hope they play Sunnyside of the Street, its my ambition to learn that bad boy :-)
Thanks again for all the advice. I'll be sure to check out the youtube tutorials.
All the best
Liam
Thanks both for your advice.
I bought a new whistle from the local music shop just to see if it was it or me. Turns out it was 80/20 against me. But since buying it I seem to have been able to achieve a lot more of the notes and am building my confidence. Am particularly pleased with how the Galway Races is coming on after I nearly threw the whistle through the window the first few times (that was 100% me and not the whistle's fault).
Have set myself a target of perfecting 10 songs by the end of November and will buy a C whistle if I achieve it.
Have figured out some rudimentary versions of a few Pogues songs, such as Turkish Song of the Damned, Thousands Are Sailing and Repeal of the Licensing Laws. Am sure Spider would be horrified by my attempts at the moment but I'm only starting out and I'm sure I'll refine them over time!
Have got tickets to see the band in Birmingham in December. Really looking forward to it. My first Pogues gig. Really hope they play Sunnyside of the Street, its my ambition to learn that bad boy :-)
Thanks again for all the advice. I'll be sure to check out the youtube tutorials.
All the best
Liam
  • Quote Pyro8

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by Pyro8 Tue Sep 01, 2009 8:19 pm

welshwhistler wrote:I've been trying to learn the whistle on and off for the past two or three years. I can't be 100% sure but I know I started before meeting my wife. I started by buying one of those Waltons book and whistle sets. It's a C whistle I understand (since that's what's written on it and I trust the manufacturer to be honest with me on this point).
Admittedly, I've not put enough time into my practicing. This is a mixture of not having a lot of time free to practice, especially with the baby and everything but it's mainly down to being stuck in a rut. My major problem is that I struggle with the high notes. I can get F in the higher octive but anything above that is too shreaky. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I bought a new whistle, turns out it's not a manufacturing fault, it's me.
Being unable to progress past this point, I'm stuck repeating Wild Rover over and over again and that upsets the wife and she throws things at me. So I elect not to use as much of my limited free time to practising as I'd like.
Is there anyone who can give me pointers? I've tried varying how hard I blow but it still seems to be those higher notes that are the problems.
Thanks also to the Streams of Whiskey tabber. Is there anyone who has tabbed Turkish Song of the Damned? That said I should probably stop being lazy and do it myself! Haha!
Thanks everyone!


Pointers...umm 0x00000000
Ok, not too funny :-)
You can check Ryan Duns' tutorials on youtube (he plays some tunes, and he has tutorial videos as well), it should guide you through basics. Anyway, for traditional music, I think it can hardly be ever stressed out enough, how listening is important - if you listen to Paddy Moloney, for example, he's a daemon on the pipes, the whistle and the box - that's because he's got the music in his head. And if you know what you want to play, it gets much easier.
[quote="welshwhistler"]I've been trying to learn the whistle on and off for the past two or three years. I can't be 100% sure but I know I started before meeting my wife. I started by buying one of those Waltons book and whistle sets. It's a C whistle I understand (since that's what's written on it and I trust the manufacturer to be honest with me on this point).
Admittedly, I've not put enough time into my practicing. This is a mixture of not having a lot of time free to practice, especially with the baby and everything but it's mainly down to being stuck in a rut. My major problem is that I struggle with the high notes. I can get F in the higher octive but anything above that is too shreaky. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I bought a new whistle, turns out it's not a manufacturing fault, it's me.
Being unable to progress past this point, I'm stuck repeating Wild Rover over and over again and that upsets the wife and she throws things at me. So I elect not to use as much of my limited free time to practising as I'd like.
Is there anyone who can give me pointers? I've tried varying how hard I blow but it still seems to be those higher notes that are the problems.
Thanks also to the Streams of Whiskey tabber. Is there anyone who has tabbed Turkish Song of the Damned? That said I should probably stop being lazy and do it myself! Haha!
Thanks everyone![/quote]

Pointers...umm 0x00000000
Ok, not too funny :-)
You can check Ryan Duns' tutorials on youtube (he plays some tunes, and he has tutorial videos as well), it should guide you through basics. Anyway, for traditional music, I think it can hardly be ever stressed out enough, how listening is important - if you listen to Paddy Moloney, for example, he's a daemon on the pipes, the whistle and the box - that's because he's got the music in his head. And if you know what you want to play, it gets much easier.
  • Quote Spider Stacy

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by Spider Stacy Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:38 pm

the tossers whistle player wrote:the whistle and the recorder are very diffrent.a thumb hole and two extra finger holes.everyone always says they playwd stuff when they were a kid,fuck them.spider and i didn't get to be great(used loosely)whistle players listing to others


Just saw this! i wholeheartedly agree. Mojo called me the tin whistling Keith Richards or something once. Which I liked. Aaron, I guess that makes you Dennis Hopper.

I should mention that I started using Overton's again after a very brief flirtation with a Belgian whistle. Overton's are the best.
[quote="the tossers whistle player"]the whistle and the recorder are very diffrent.a thumb hole and two extra finger holes.everyone always says they playwd stuff when they were a kid,fuck them.spider and i didn't get to be great(used loosely)whistle players listing to others[/quote]

Just saw this! i wholeheartedly agree. Mojo called me the tin whistling Keith Richards or something once. Which I liked. Aaron, I guess that makes you Dennis Hopper.

I should mention that I started using Overton's again after a very brief flirtation with a Belgian whistle. Overton's are the best.
  • Quote welshwhistler

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by welshwhistler Sun Aug 23, 2009 3:24 pm

I've been trying to learn the whistle on and off for the past two or three years. I can't be 100% sure but I know I started before meeting my wife. I started by buying one of those Waltons book and whistle sets. It's a C whistle I understand (since that's what's written on it and I trust the manufacturer to be honest with me on this point).
Admittedly, I've not put enough time into my practicing. This is a mixture of not having a lot of time free to practice, especially with the baby and everything but it's mainly down to being stuck in a rut. My major problem is that I struggle with the high notes. I can get F in the higher octive but anything above that is too shreaky. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I bought a new whistle, turns out it's not a manufacturing fault, it's me.
Being unable to progress past this point, I'm stuck repeating Wild Rover over and over again and that upsets the wife and she throws things at me. So I elect not to use as much of my limited free time to practising as I'd like.
Is there anyone who can give me pointers? I've tried varying how hard I blow but it still seems to be those higher notes that are the problems.
Thanks also to the Streams of Whiskey tabber. Is there anyone who has tabbed Turkish Song of the Damned? That said I should probably stop being lazy and do it myself! Haha!
Thanks everyone!
I've been trying to learn the whistle on and off for the past two or three years. I can't be 100% sure but I know I started before meeting my wife. I started by buying one of those Waltons book and whistle sets. It's a C whistle I understand (since that's what's written on it and I trust the manufacturer to be honest with me on this point).
Admittedly, I've not put enough time into my practicing. This is a mixture of not having a lot of time free to practice, especially with the baby and everything but it's mainly down to being stuck in a rut. My major problem is that I struggle with the high notes. I can get F in the higher octive but anything above that is too shreaky. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I bought a new whistle, turns out it's not a manufacturing fault, it's me.
Being unable to progress past this point, I'm stuck repeating Wild Rover over and over again and that upsets the wife and she throws things at me. So I elect not to use as much of my limited free time to practising as I'd like.
Is there anyone who can give me pointers? I've tried varying how hard I blow but it still seems to be those higher notes that are the problems.
Thanks also to the Streams of Whiskey tabber. Is there anyone who has tabbed Turkish Song of the Damned? That said I should probably stop being lazy and do it myself! Haha!
Thanks everyone!
  • Quote MontanaMonkeyBoy

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by MontanaMonkeyBoy Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:25 am

Thanks for all the wonderful links and taking the piss out of that 15yr old with the LOL-speak, I got enough to get started on the faedog D I have, though the best whistle I have ever heard is one that my grandfather gave me, looks like shite, but it sounds very good, he obviously carved it himself, and I used to sit at his feet while he played all the usual traditional songs.

Again, thanks to you all for the entertainment.

MMB
Thanks for all the wonderful links and taking the piss out of that 15yr old with the LOL-speak, I got enough to get started on the faedog D I have, though the best whistle I have ever heard is one that my grandfather gave me, looks like shite, but it sounds very good, he obviously carved it himself, and I used to sit at his feet while he played all the usual traditional songs.

Again, thanks to you all for the entertainment.

MMB
  • Quote Pyro

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by Pyro Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:15 pm

the tossers whistle player wrote:the whistle and the recorder are very diffrent.a thumb hole and two extra finger holes.everyone always says they playwd stuff when they were a kid,fuck them.spider and i didn't get to be great(used loosely)whistle players listing to others


Yeah, especially here, in Czech Republic, there´s a problem with recorder-ists - they´re so stuck up. And very many "whistle" players are playing whistle in a way recorder is played(cos they have learnt it in school and think it´s the same), which is rather ugly. And then you hear them boasting "ah, those irish songs...so easy tunes to play", yet they play it awfully badly. Bollocks to them.
[quote="the tossers whistle player"]the whistle and the recorder are very diffrent.a thumb hole and two extra finger holes.everyone always says they playwd stuff when they were a kid,fuck them.spider and i didn't get to be great(used loosely)whistle players listing to others[/quote]

Yeah, especially here, in Czech Republic, there´s a problem with recorder-ists - they´re so stuck up. And very many "whistle" players are playing whistle in a way recorder is played(cos they have learnt it in school and think it´s the same), which is rather ugly. And then you hear them boasting "ah, those irish songs...so easy tunes to play", yet they play it awfully badly. Bollocks to them.
  • Quote the tossers whistle player

Re: learning tin-whistle

Post by the tossers whistle player Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:33 pm

the whistle and the recorder are very diffrent.a thumb hole and two extra finger holes.everyone always says they playwd stuff when they were a kid,fuck them.spider and i didn't get to be great(used loosely)whistle players listing to others
the whistle and the recorder are very diffrent.a thumb hole and two extra finger holes.everyone always says they playwd stuff when they were a kid,fuck them.spider and i didn't get to be great(used loosely)whistle players listing to others
  • Quote philipchevron

Re: Re:

Post by philipchevron Mon Nov 10, 2008 1:19 pm

AndrewOG wrote:
philipchevron wrote:
AndrewOG wrote:Speaking of which, are there any serious musicians that use a recorder? Because I'm not sure that anyone here in the U.S. takes the recorder seriously.


Not that I would necessarily accept the designation "serious musician", but in one of my own teenage bands, Aisling, I experimented with using a recorder where, more usually, one might expect to hear a tin whistle. It worked but rarely. The whistle has a shrill persistence the recorder lacks.

Tony Visconti, Brooklyn-born musician (David Bowie's pre-Spiders band The Hype) and producer (Bowie, Bolan, Radiators, Thin Lizzy, Morrissey etc) made himself something of a recorder specialist in late 1960s London when he was orchestrating records for Denny Cordell's stable and others. There is even some recorder on Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World (1971).


All the Madmen, right? Never even occurred to me.
(If I'm wrong here, my defense is that I have no musical skill to speak of ).


Haven't listened to that album in quite a while, but it may well be on "All The Madman" and, perhaps, "After All". Yet, when I imagine the album in my head, the recorder plays quite an integral part in the overall sound of the record, so it may well be that it appears on uexpected tracks too, like "Width Of A Circle", say.
[quote="AndrewOG"][quote="philipchevron"][quote="AndrewOG"]
Speaking of which, are there any serious musicians that use a recorder? Because I'm not sure that anyone here in the U.S. takes the recorder seriously.[/quote]

Not that I would necessarily accept the designation "serious musician", but in one of my own teenage bands, Aisling, I experimented with using a recorder where, more usually, one might expect to hear a tin whistle. It worked but rarely. The whistle has a shrill persistence the recorder lacks.

Tony Visconti, Brooklyn-born musician (David Bowie's pre-Spiders band The Hype) and producer (Bowie, Bolan, Radiators, Thin Lizzy, Morrissey etc) made himself something of a recorder specialist in late 1960s London when he was orchestrating records for Denny Cordell's stable and others. There is even some recorder on Bowie's [i]The Man Who Sold The World[/i] (1971).[/quote]

[i]All the Madmen[/i], right? Never even occurred to me.
(If I'm wrong here, my defense is that I have no musical skill to speak of ).
[/quote]

Haven't listened to that album in quite a while, but it may well be on "All The Madman" and, perhaps, "After All". Yet, when I imagine the album in my head, the recorder plays quite an integral part in the overall sound of the record, so it may well be that it appears on uexpected tracks too, like "Width Of A Circle", say.

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