Category: Jam Session
So, I'm finally learning to play the penny whistle, after having had one since I was 16. It's going well so far, except I'm not sure how to do fingerings for the second octave. If any of you can tell me what those are, or just give a beginner some tips, that'd be awesome!!!
Wow, I have never heard of a penny whistle. Maybe I've been under a rock or something.
I play whistle. it's all in the breath. you need to overbreath to get the high notes. you should be able to play two notes without moving your fingers at all. HTH
Ryan Ryan Ryan, you've never heard of a penny whistle? You probably have heard the sound but you didn't know it was called it. Dana, I've tried it but I'm not sure how well that works. Sadly, I have a roommate it may be hard to practice lol.
Ok here's the deal with penny whistles.
So people say you blow harder, but that's not it. To get the second and third octave, you give it a lot more air at the beginning of the note, more push, if you will. Then you can continue holding the note at the same volume of air.
I've heard Generations whistles are the best. I have a Clarke and it's kind of breathy.
i have a generation nickel whistle in D, and it works really nicely. i am a flautist too, and i find that more often than not, it is the breath that controls the octive. sometimes though it is a slight difference in fingering but that's only with a couple notes. if you have trouble playing up higher, try tonguing those notes, and it sort of adds some force so the notes come out not so wheezy.