To play a tin whistle well you must use good form. To start, hold
the whistle so that your thumbs are on the bottom, and your fingers are covering
the holes. Your left index finger should cover the top hole, and your right
ring finger should cover the bottom hole (if you are left-handed, you can
reverse these directions). Your other fingers should cover the respective
holes in between. From here on in this manual, I will refer to your fingers
from the top down according to their corresponding holes (i.e. "first finger",
"second finger", etc.) Do not arch your fingers much; you should cover the
holes with the pad of the finger, not the tip. If necessary, let your fingers
extend over the holes so that the holes are under the middle joints of your
longer fingers. Keep your fingers relaxed; too much tension will slow your
playing and make it difficult for you to learn to cover the holes easily.
Now, raise the whistle to your lips. No special way of gripping the mouthpiece
is required; some players hold the whistle between their teeth, and some
use only the lips, so find a method which is comfortable, and stick with
it (if using your teeth, over time you will wear indentations into the
mouthpiece. This can be an advantage in that it helps you grip the mouthpiece,
but you may need a new whistle a year or two down the road). Keep your back
straight, your shoulders and stomach relaxed, and blow very gently. You
should hear a low, steady tone. If you are doing everything correctly, this
will be a low D. More likely, however, you will hear a wavering, squeaky
sound. This means one of two things: either you are not covering the holes
well enough, or you are not blowing with the right pressure (or both). To
sum up the elements of good form:
If you are not getting the sound you want, then either:
EXERCISE 1: Low D
After reviewing the above instructions, practice simply blowing a low D.
Continue until you can make a steady note at will. Remember not to squeeze
the whistle tightly between your fingers; use a minimum of force, and try
to keep your fingers fairly straight, but not tense. Your pinky fingers
should be up and out of the way. Don't let them curl up underneath. At
this stage, you may find it hard to space your fingers properly to cover
the holes, but this will quickly get easier with practice. Also, keeping
your stomach relaxed should help you control the amount of breath pressure
you are applying.
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