Pop And Country Songs For The Tin Whistle
Here's some Pop songs for the tin whistle. Almost any song you ever heard of can be played on a whistle. Some people assume that only the old folk and traditional songs are fit to be played on the whistle. How wrong they are. Some of my favorite pieces that I play are pop songs.
When I say that almost any song could be played on the whistle it doesn't mean it will sound good, it will only sound good if it has a nice melody with a wide variety of notes. Recently I worked out a U2 song called With Or Without You which I initially thought would be quiet difficult but as it turned out it's as easy to play as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but to me It doesn't sound great when playing it, it's a little boring to play. But it was a request and the person it was for was very happy to get the notes. Different Folks Different Strokes I suppose ?. All the songs here can also be played on the recorder or flute. The recorder is pretty much the same as the whistle except it has a low C note. I didn't use the low C in any of these tunes so the lowest not on your recorder will be the low D.
The music letter notes section [ see link above ] has the following songs included, Sylvia's Mother by Dr. Hook. A World Of Our Own by The Seekers. Me And You And A Dog Named Boo.Substitute by The Who. 500 Miles By The Proclaimers. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles and Amy Winehouse. Blanket On The Ground by Billie Jo Spears. I Fought The Law by The Clash. There's A Kind Of Hush by The Carpenters and a lot more. I'll be adding to this list in time.
Some of the more modern pop songs are also not great to play as they use the same notes over and over such as playing a D note six time then an F note six times and so on. Personally I prefer the older ones like Annie's Song, Country Roads or A Rainy Night In Soho simply because of the variety of notes used which will make the tune more interesting to play. What I have tried to create in this section is a wide mixture of ''Non Folk Songs'' to suit all tastes. I admit that most are the older variety that were hits when I was a teenager. But I also included some from the present day including One Thing from One Direction which has proved to be very popular and was a surprise to me as I didn't think anybody would even try playing a One Direction on the whistle.
Of all the pop songs on the site the most popular one is My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion and the reason for it's popularity is only because a whistle was used in the recording. Now if only other pop singers would include the tin whistle while recording their songs then our little 9 holed instrument would be even more popular.
I get a lot of requests looking for me to work out a particular song and when I have a listen to it I find that a lot of the more modern songs go too high and are not suited to the whistle. The photo below will give you an idea of what notes and how far up the scale you can really go on the whistle. You can generally only go as far as the high B and even that's pushing it to the limit.
Of all the pop songs on the site the most popular one is My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion and the reason for it's popularity is only because a whistle was used in the recording. Now if only other pop singers would include the tin whistle while recording their songs then our little 9 holed instrument would be even more popular.
I get a lot of requests looking for me to work out a particular song and when I have a listen to it I find that a lot of the more modern songs go too high and are not suited to the whistle. The photo below will give you an idea of what notes and how far up the scale you can really go on the whistle. You can generally only go as far as the high B and even that's pushing it to the limit.
It remains a mystery to me why so many websites that are out there that think the only songs that can be played on a recorder are Children's song like Twinkle Twinkle or Bah Bah Black Sheep. The recorder is more advanced than the tin whistle because it has that extra low C note which whistle players would dearly love to have. And because it has that extra note is the reason who so many schools teach children the recorder rather than the whistle. There are over 300 tunes and songs on this site that are worked out for the whistle but can also be played on the recorder, even the traditional tunes.
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€20 includes postage and packing
Here's just one of the reviews the book got.
Martin, I had your book on my table this afternoon. Very fast post. The book is great, it will keep me busy for quite sometime. Very good selection of songs, and the spiral bound with heaver glossy paper is big plus. The font you used is very easy on the eyes also. You also give some background about the song, that makes it very interesting. This book was a lot of work. Like I said this will keep me busy for a while. Thanks again. Alan F. |
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This is my tin whistle storage box
The tin whistle storage box I made from plywood. It keeps my whistles in place and in view. Having one of these boxes stops you from putting your whistle in a drawer and out of view. I believe having your tin whistles in view makes you play them more often, and the more you play the better you'll become.
