The Tin Whistle!

[Twintix]

Ah yes, the tin whistle. I'm here to talk about it.

I'm sure a lot of us, or maybe even all of us, had to play the recorder At some point in elementary school. In first grade, perhaps? Do you miss the screeching, off-key notes filling the classroom, like the final part of a ritual summoning the portal to Hell?[footnote]OK, I'm exaggerating. That final part actually is hearing a school class singing Happy Birthday To You in a McDonald's restaurant in new York.[/footnote]

Well, in that case, the tin whistle is for you! It's a bit like a recorder, but with less holes and less hassle! But never fear, the screeching you remember so fondly can be perfectly replicated! Just mouth fart away and let the nostalgia wash over you!

...OK, I'm just kidding, but playing it wrong does sound an awful lot like bad recorder playing.

I may have angered one or two Irish people with this, but don't worry, it's only in jest! And it's no, nay never Two years ago, my parents traveled to Ireland and bought a tin whistle for me. It was quite fun playing with it, but it being made of, well, metal, I found that it started to sound a bit...rusty after a while. But you can chalk that up to me not caring for it properly, not the tin whistle itself.

The following year, I got to go with them and went to a music store. I bought another one that was more expensive, but also higher quality. It wasn't made of metal this time either. I think the clerk said it was wood...but since it looks like and feels like some kind of plastic, I'm not sure. They also had even more expensive ones, one of which you could even tune! When I get better at the tin whistle, I shall buy one of those...

Anyway, as I said, playing a tin whistle is very fun and also quite easy! I managed to learn to play this just by ear:

[small]Fun fact: The region I live in is known for "gånglåtar", which are played in the style of a march. This is one of the more well-known ones. And now you know.[/small]​

So, have you ever owned one? Ever played one? Ever heard of one? What do you think of them?

 

[Dizchu]

I've owned one because I wanted to expand my musical abilities (I am limited to playing guitars or various shapes and sizes). It didn't last too long (it was cheap and plastic) but it sounded decent enough. Adjusting my fingers from a fretboard to the whistle holes was really difficult for me.

But I like the instrument. A few of my favourite songs have tin whistle in them.


Sorry that the song is so long, but Moonsorrow and song brevity are not two things that have ever crossed paths.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I'm from Ireland and I learned how to play it in primary school.


I can still play a couple of jigs and reels but, more importantly, I can play Hero by Enrique Iglesias.


Oh yeah, be jealous.

 

[mrdeclandeadly]

I love the sound of the tin whistle, but have the musical ability of a wet spoon, listen to a master at work

 

[Evil Smurf]

My sister used to play one when she was in primary school, she was quite good at it but she probably doesn't recall any tunes for it.

I for one was spared having to play an instrument thankfully, I preferred not to.

This means that you can't help me cover my heart will go on stupid sexy Tizzy

 

[Zombie_Fish]

I've never played one myself - closest thing I played was the recorder - but it seems to be the instrument of choice for the homeless where I live.

I could probably get back into them over time, but there was a period where I just heard them so much when walking to places that I got sick of them.

I can play Hero by Enrique Iglesias.

Was that how you wooed Daystar?

 

[lechat]

I play violin so i have no need for such lesser instruments as this.

I'll never really understand the point of cheaping out on instruments. If you want to play something invest the extra couple of bucks into a half decent version and you will save yourself years of study and frustration.
In the case of something like this that would likely mean an aluminum or brass version that will last for ever and have an actual resale value when you want to sell.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I'm a shitty percussionist as far as any instrumental experience goes. Never had a tin whistle or a recorder. But I do have a junky cheap drum kit. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to keep crying about how expensive cymbals are due to my being jobless.