Chiff and Fipple Forums

Sigh.

My 16 year old started learning the pennywhistle last fall & can totally play by ear and plays very very well. I, on the other hand, am so frustrated that I could cry. I think that I have PENNYWHISTLE DYSLEXIA. I just don't know what it is - lack of sleep, old age, 4 rowdy boys or what, but I don't know if I will ever be able to play.

So, I am giving it one more try and searching your posts here to see if there is any hope for me. I've gone to Youtube and bookmarked RyanDun's videos - those seem like they might help me. Thanks for any & all help!

Terri

Hi Terri!

I don't have any advice as a fellow newb, but I can say hello!

I know that feeling when someone else just seems to do it so easily and you can't get it no matter how hard you try. It is actually the precise reason I'm going to learn the whistle. No one else in my family plays a wind instrument, so I won't have anyone to compare myself to but myself.

Here's to our success!

KatieBell wrote:Hi Terri!

I don't have any advice as a fellow newb, but I can say hello!

I know that feeling when someone else just seems to do it so easily and you can't get it no matter how hard you try. It is actually the precise reason I'm going to learn the whistle. No one else in my family plays a wind instrument, so I won't have anyone to compare myself to but myself.

Here's to our success!

Heeeey Katie,

I saw your post when you signed up & I could relate to what you were saying.
Every song that I try to figure out, my son hears and just starts playing. I don't know ANY full songs because I just can't hold it all in my head. I am hoping that somehow it can someday bypass my head and just go from my ears to my fingers.

Thanks for the welcome!

Terri

What I've found works for my little to keep tunes in her head is:
1) Play it by ear. Learn by notes if necessary, but play from memory.
2) Learn and play only a little more at a time. We usually do just a couple measures more, and only add them when she has the last part memorized.
3) Listen to the song over and over and over and over and over and over every single day. I kid you not, I was dreaming in twinkle twinkle little star it was so ingrained. But it worked. She could immediately identify if the wrong note was played. It was really annoying when all she knew was the "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" part and she had to play that one line over and over and over and over. For fun, I would say we were going to play a new song: the ABCs or Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. That didn't fool her, but saying we were going to play Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsmann threw her.

Maybe you should tell your son that you're really feeling a little down in the dumps and make an agreement that he will not play the song you are going to choose just to help you out since he's already so far superior anyway. Then you can choose a song that will be all yours.

Welcome, Terri. Try learning some tunes that you already know. They don't have to be Irish - "Happy Birthday," the Beatles, whatever you have already stuck in your head. You'll learn them quicker on the whistle because you already know them.

Welcome!

Probably the best thing you can do is to spend some serious time listening to some recordings (use the Chiff and Fipple search feature above and enter 'recommended listening') of good players, and visit the tutorials you find listed in the other 'noobie' posts.

Getting your ear to recognize what is happening in the music is really the most important part of learning this music.

hi Terri, welcome. dont be discouraged about your dyslexia. keep on practicing and it will all come to you. have you tried a tutor book?

Hi Terri, welcome to C&F!

Yes, those pesky youngsters can make us older folk look a bit slow when it comes to learning a musical instrument.

All I can say is just keep sticking to it - after a while, you find your progress leaps to a new level - that can be very satisfying.

A tutor book and CD is often very helpful.

well if you give up i would be more than happy to take those evil whistles from you and save you from a life of WHISTLEMANIA

I have no musical ear. I have big slow fingers. I have never played any musical intruments. It was like that this winter.

A few monthes have passed, and now I'm meeting mornings with happy tunes on my whistle in the local park :)

Just try it! It's easy, and only thing you'll need is time and a bit of persistance :)

Hang in there, Terri. I got my first whistle in March, 2001 (age 48 ) ... and sounded so crappy when I played it, I put it back in the box and hid it for 6 months! Perseverance is the solution ... but play fun songs and don't think of it as "practice". Try any song that is familiar -- be it "Amazing Grace", "Old MacDonald" or "Nights in White Satin". Tutorials are good, but the book I played out of more than any other at first was Mel Bay's "Ireland's Best Tin Whistle Tunes", volume 1 with the 2 CDs. I'd listen to the CDs for enjoyment, then tackle the tunes. The book is in sections from easy to more complex. Don't worry about using standard music notation (or not) to get started learning music. Find the way that works best for you ... and enjoy! The wide world of whistling is a great place to explore.

Welcome to C & F!

Judy

Too much competition and comparison going on there.

Why not ditch the whistle and learn to accompany him with some other instrument? You could try one of these. I've seen them in person, they sound nice and look great.

http://www.strumstick.com/

Or you could play guitar or bodhran, too.