Harmonica & Tin Whistle

JosDel

Hi,

This is my 1st time to post in this section, Just want to ask a question to you expierience musicials, many years ago I played a lot of ballads on my diatonic harmonica, a lot of dublinners and that.

I learned to play by ear after a lot of practice.

I now want to learn how to play all these ballads on a D Thin Whistle.

Question is, will all my playing expierience on the harmonica help or are they 2 completely instruments.

I am just practicing the scales and fingering on the whistle at the moment.

Thanks
Joe

Mrs OBumble

Knowing how to learn tunes by ear will help.

Forget the scales, start picking out tunes. (Mary Had a Little Lamb starts on B .. and hint, you need a c natural which you get with fingers 2 and 3 down)

JosDel

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Knowing how to learn tunes by ear will help.

Forget the scales, start picking out tunes. (Mary Had a Little Lamb starts on B .. and hint, you need a c natural which you get with fingers 2 and 3 down)

Thanks for your reply.

But you say forget the scales, When I was playing harmonica I practiced scales a lot and I think this is what really helped me play by ear, because instantly I was was aware of where the notes and the sounds were on the harmonica, I was hoping to used the same method learning the whistle.

Blade

Of course you have to at least know the two Major scales of your D whistle, that is D and G. In G Major your C's are natural so they can be done as described by Mrs OBumble or by half holing with the top finger. But as said I wouldn't get too bogged down practicing scales, learn them of course but don't waste too much time on them.

Already knowing how to play by ear will help a lot, but fingering can be tricky on a whistle, not so much for playing along with a song, but the tunes will get tricky,

galwaybabe

The main thing that you will have to your advantage is that you will be experienced in blowing into an instrument to get a sound. Practise getting a good clear solid sound on the whistle. Simply picking a note and playing it without wavering the air will help you considerably. I agree with Mrs OBumble and Blade, you don't need to necessarily spend a load of time on scales. In fairness with a whistle, playing the scales of D and G are simply a case of going up and down the 'tube' with the exception of C natural in the key of G which can be done in several different ways, some of which have been suggested already. Practice getting a clear sound on the upper octave notes and don't be afraid of the higher ones. If you can get them to sound sweet, you're well on your way.
There are plenty of whistle tutorials on youtube etc, some very good, some dubious. Have a look at Fr. Ryan G. Dun's stuff. He's a great teacher. Here's a link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Xf1Ume0zA
Have fun!

JosDel

Thanks Galwaybabe!

Will take on board your advice, I'll watch the YT videos later!!