Some Basics

This workshop will give a little information on theory but not a comprehensive amount. Hopefully it won't get too confusing! I don't want, in this workshop, to get bogged down in theory. The music here can be learnt through the sound clips so the written notes are not essential. It's a good idea to learn any whistle or folk music by ear and use any written notes as a reference if needed.

Below is a chart for whistle fingering and then some basic scales. Scales and arpeggios can seem a bit of a grind but they do help with technique, giving the fingers a good basic grounding. They are important to learn as all tunes are based on some sort of scale, so it goes without saying that if you can play scales and arpeggios then tunes come more easily. A suggestion before playing tunes is 5 mins of scales and arpeggios, with as many variations as possible i.e. tonguing, rhythm, speed....whatever can make the scale more interesting. When looking at, or listening to a tune get to understand it's structure, for instance is it major/minor/modal? has it got large leaps or does it seem to go up and down a scale? By doing these things (either aurally, visually or both ways) the musical part of the brain begins to get into gear and will obviously help with playing and interpreting tunes.

The fingers should be kept as near to the holes as is comfortable. The reason for this is the nearer they are the less they have to travel and in reels they need to be quick. You might find when you try to play fast the fingers will flap around so if you play slowly the fingers will get used to being close to the holes. Keep as relaxed as possible and have fun... even when it doesn't go right!

For help on keeping a consistent tempo a metronome is a handy tool to begin with. Most traditional musicians tap their feet with the rhythm, I think it gives the both ends of the body a chance to get involved in the music. Foot tapping is not common in classical music, probably because there is a conductor keeping a beat. 

A site with more info on scales etc click here.

Keep the fingers as near to the holes and as relaxed as possible. Put the whistle between the lips, not right in the mouth where there could be a tendency to bite the mouthpiece. Some people do this for added support but it should be avoided. The hands should do the supporting and the mouth should do the blowing.

Practice on getting a good note. Start on G. When that note is clear go to the next note down; F#, go to the next note; E, and then onto D. Make each note the same length i.e.. count 4 beats per note. Repeat that with the upper notes (C#,B, A, G).

To tongue these notes articulate ... tu-tu-tu, and for a longer note ... tooo-tooo-tooo. Go to the articulation page for more ways to tongue.

Practice scale of D, the scale of D being ...D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#,D...start with all fingers down and work your way upwards lifting one finger off at a time. The last note D is the upper D which is fingered by lifting the first finger of the left hand whilst leaving the rest of the fingers down and over blowing slightly: or in other words leave hole 1 open and the rest closed. In the example below there are 4 beats in the bar(4/4 time) take it slowly making all the notes the same length.

For this scale tongue.. tooo tooo tooo etc. Breathe at the beginning of each bar or after the second bar. Go all the way up and then down again as in the clip, make the notes as smooth as possible and get to the top before taking a breath.

The Scale of D Major

Practice

Firstly, to warm up, practice just getting a note. For instance the (G) and see how loud and how soft it can be played. Then play 2 notes, say G and A. Try an arpeggio E,G,B, E the last being the upper octave E, to make the arpeggio of E minor. Play around with the notes concentrating on the tone.

Secondly, practice a scale. Within that scale you can practice a whole range of techniques i.e. tonguing (single, double, triple), breathing and punctuation, harmonics, (loud (forte) soft (piano)) tempo, (fast, slow) and with different rhythm’s.

There are many excellent whistle and flute players out there and it is a good idea to listen to as many as possible.

Scale of D and Arpeggio

Here is the basic scale of D with an arpeggio at the end. The count is four slow beats and there are two quavers (eighth notes) to the beat. It can be taken slower by counting each note as a beat. The sign is a breath mark, try and make it to there before taking air. I have gone through it twice, on the second time only tonguing the first note of each four (legato). It's a bit more difficult to keep smooth but should be practiced this way as well. See articulation for legato.

A useful tool is a metronome

Scale of D and Arpeggio

G Scale

This is the scale of G major notice there is only one sharp; the only note that is different from the D scale is C, in this scale it is C natural. This note is played by keeping fingers 2 and 3 of the left hand covering the holes. There are other fingerings for this note which are (2,3 LH 4,6 RH) or cover half the first hole (1LH)

Keep a steady beat and make the steps between notes as smooth as possible. Firstly tongue each note then play the whole scale just tonguing the first note of each bar.

Here it is played with 2 and 3 (oxx ooo) left hand down, then on the second time half holing C natural on the way up the scale. There is a difference in sound as the half holing produces more of a sliding sound. Some people only use this fingering but I prefer to make use of all the different fingerings depending on the context of the tune, for example for a slow air the half holing could give the tune a little more mournfulness. It shouldn't be overdone though otherwise seasickness could set in! Scale playing can be boring so try and make it tuneful with a bit of swing also practice different articulations etc...even scales can be fun!

(A tip) If you are using the 2 and 3 LH on the Cnat, for a little added support the 6 RH (oxx oox) could stay down on the descending passage after the D note in bars 3 and 6.

Scale of G major with arpeggio

Intervals

All tunes are a series of musical intervals. In western music, major thirds are very common. They are easy enough to do and they can make scale practice more interesting.

Other intervals should be learn't such as 4ths 5ths etc and a few minutes practicing scales and intervals will always pay off.

In this clip first time around every note is tongued then the first two are slurred the next two tongued and so on, then the whole thing is legato (without tonguing).

There are plenty of ways to play these, for instance lengthen the first note and shorten the second as for a hornpipe or put in a few triplets. Triplets being 3 notes of the same value played in the time of two notes of that value (hope that makes sense? if not you will have to look it up.)

Don't just stay within the first octave go up as far as possible (you might have to go up to the hills for this)

Scale of D major in thirds

OR

This is part of a reel with plenty of thirds. These gaps can be filled in with triplets but shouldn't be overdone. Forinstance in bar three, second beat  (F# between E and G) and possibly a couple of descending triplets one in bar six, second beat (G between A and F#,) and the next bar (forgotten to put a bar line in) the first beat,  the same notes as previous triplet. Those are just possibilities and for practice purposes put in as many as you want.

D whistle Cup of Tea

There are two ways of showing the triplet, firstly, three quavers in the time of two, secondly two semi-quavers followed by a quaver (16th and 8th notes) They sound virtually  the same played quickly, On this clip you can hear the difference

Here is a well known tune which uses the key of G.

I have included the first part of this tune to show that any key friendly tune is playable on the whistle and whistle music doesn't have to be exclusively Celtic or folk orientated.

C whistle Minuet

Modal Scales

These are common in Irish music. A much used modal scale is the Dorian Scale which has a minor feel about it and is good for the whistle as it incorporates all the notes of the D scale but starts and ends on the E note.

Here it is with an arpeggio on the end.

D whistle Dorian scale

A good example of a tune using the Dorian scale is A Fig For A Kiss  

The Pentatonic Scale

This is a widely used scale. Quote from the Oxford Companion to Music

As it's name implies, it gives only five notes to the octave, and in the most common form of the scale these follow the scheme that happens to be represented by the black keys of the piano, beginning on F sharp (or by the white keys beginning with C and omitting F and B). This scale is almost a tune in itself, and any order of the notes has beauty. Such scales, by comparison with the seven-note scales, are often called 'Gapped Scales' as though a mouth had had a tooth or two knocked out here and there; but they are just as complete as other scales.

Here is a series of notes on the pentatonic scale starting on D.

D whistle Pentatonic scale

Use the pentatonic scale to practice improvisation...like it says, any progression of these notes can sound like a tune!

Here is the first part of a jig using Pentatonic notes. There is a deviation at the end where the tune skips through C# but that is only a grace note. A second part could be written.... for anyone so inclined!

D whistle Pentatonic Jig

Blues Scale

Here is another scale which is quite good for improvising, although most whistle music is in the usual major type keys (without much half-holing, or cross fingering). The Bb/A# is useful to master. The F natural is another common half-holed note, that is (xxx.hoo) the h being the half holed note

Because it isn't very clear...(in the whistle fingering diagram) the middle whistle is half-holed on the A note, and to get the slide effect that is the fingering to be used.

The tune below is an example of the sort of sound that can be made with this Bb note. There is a change of time signature for one bar to 3/4 time. The changing of the time signature within a tune is quite common especially in classical music and jazz.

F whistle Improvisation on blues scale

For more modal scales visit Paul Slater's Mandolin site.

Another commonly used scale in whistle music is the A scale. This scale has a bright sound and can be used to end a set of tunes on an happy note. There is of course the difficult G# which can be challenging so it does need to be mastered. There are three ways of getting the note as seen in the diagram, different whistles will have different responses to the fingerings so you have to find what works for you. The half-holing method I find impossible to use on fast passages so I use mostly (xxo xxo) or not so effective for my whistle (xxo xoo) the pitch varies a little but in fast passages that doesn't matter too much.

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