Customer Reviews

The Clarke Tin Whistle: Deluxe Edition (Book & CD)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want to learn to play the tin whistle, or if you've begun to play and need some direction, this set is by far the best available tin whistle tutorial on the market. Bill Ochs is a brilliant player and teacher. Buy this set, work through it, and then go to New York and take a lesson with Bill. You'll find all the information you need at his web site (look for the web address in the book).

Very clear instructions. This book is obviously designed by someone who enjoys teaching the tinwhistle. In addition to tinwhistle basics, there are clear explanations of the basics of reading music. The lessons are well structured. This book is a good guide to people who want to learn the instrument on their own. It also has a good selection of tunes. Well worth the price.

The history of the Penny Whistle was interesting. It gives such thorough instructions on playing with many good songs to play to. Just listening to the CD is enjoyalbe. I recommend this book. A person will get their money's worth with this book and CD.

Here are the contents of this book so you can see for yourself whether it is a match for your ability and interest, and whether there are enough tunes you don't already have to make purchase worth your while.

.....TUNES.....................................OTHER CONTENT.....
Au Clair de la Lune.......................ABCs of Music
Balmoral Castle...........................American Fife Tunes
Blue-Eyed Stranger, The...............A Note About Breathing
Boatman, The.............................C Natural
Bonaparte's Grand March..............Crans
Bonny, Bonny Broom, The..............Cuts
Boston March, The.......................Dotted Eighth Notes
Boy That Shaved His Father, The....Dotted Half Notes
Boys of 25, The...........................Dotted Quarter Notes
Brochan Lom...............................First Notes
Casadh An tSugain.......................Half Notes
Cat's Jig, The..............................High C# and D
Cion A' Bhuntata..........................History of the Tin Whistle
Clarke Tinwhistle Co, The...............Hornpipes
Clay of Cill Creggan, The................Ornamentation in Irish Music
Constant Billy...............................Playing With Other Instruments
Cutty's Wedding...........................Quarter Notes
Don Oiche Ud i mBeithil..................Reels
Drummond Castle..........................Reels With Rolls
Durham Rangers, The.....................Rolls
Eagle's Whistle, The......................Short Rolls
Egan's Polka.................................Sixteenth Notes
For The Sakes Of Old Decency.........Slow Airs
Fraher's Jig...................................Slurring
Gay Gordons, The..........................Strathspeys
Girl I left Behind Me, The.................Third Octave Notes
Go Tell Aunt Rhody.........................Tonguing
Governor King's March....................Transposing
Helston Furry, The.........................Whole Notes
Hey Diddle Diddle
Hot Punch
I'll Go & Enlist For A Sailor
Idbury Hill
Jim Ward's Jig
John In The Fog
Johnny Get Your Hair Cut
Johnny Mickey's Polka
Katie Bairdie
Kemp's Jig
Kilt Is My Delight
Kitty's Gone A Milking
L'il Liza Jane
Ladies' Pleasure, THe
Lads-A-Bunchum
Lewis Bridal Song, The
Little Bag Of Spuds, The
Little Fair Cannavans, The
London Bridge
Lyke Wake Dirge, The
Maggie Pickens
Mairi's Wedding
Marching The Soldier Along
Maurice Manley's Polka
Merrily We Roll Along
Mitty Matty
Morris Dances
Muckin' O' Geordies' Byre, The
Muffin Man, The
Nora Criona
Oats & Beans & Barley Grow
Old Cape Breton March
Old Grey Cat, The
On The Road To Boston
Oranges & Lemons
Over The Waterfall
Oyster Wives' Rant, The
Parting Glass, The
Pigtown
Poll Hapenny
Quaker's Wife, The
Quick Scotch
Rolling In The Barrel
Rolling In The Ryegrass
Rufty Tufty
Ryan's Slip Jig
Scarce O' Tatties
Scattery Island Slide
Sean Sa Cheo
Steamboat Hornpipe, The
Story of Whistling Billy, The
Sweet Betsy From Pike
Tarmon's Polka
That Night In Bethlehem
Tim Finnegan's Wake
Tralee Gaol
Trip To Tunbridge, The
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Twisting of The Hayrope, The
Uir-Chill A' Chreagain
Wagoner's Lad, The
Wallflowers
West Fork Gals
What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?
Will You Go To Sheriff Muir?
Wise Nora
Yankee Doodle

If you want to learn how to play the tinwhistle, then this is the book. Starts you out with the very basics and works you up to the more advanced. Bill Ochs is by far one of the best whistle players out there. Make sure you buy the book with the cd; hearing how the tunes are played will help you to learn a lot better then the book alone. This is the best instruction book I have every seen. Clear, concise and never overwelming. You will not only love to play the whistle, but love learning to play.

I really enjoyed all of the tunes in this book. It helped that I could read music to begin. The process of reading music is explained briefly and not until after you've already played a few songs, but the CD would definitely help anyone who was learning to read the notes on the staff for the first time. I don't think this would be a stumbling block or a reason not to get it- just something to be aware of. One thing I really liked was that there are short histories and backgrounds on the style of music.

I wanted to learn to play the tin whistle, and had read good reviews about this book on Amazon. I got the deluxe with the CD. It is WELL worth every penny! It has been SO long since I've read music, I had forgotten how! I'd forgotten which notes are what! This book is great, it starts out teaching you to read music as well as how to play the notes on a Clark key of D tin whistle. It's easy to practice with the CD and self pace. I'm just now up to playing the songs without the letters below the notes, so I'm not advanced, but this book makes it so easy and fun to learn. I'm not getting frustrated and saying I'll never get it, I'm just going at my own pace and going further in the book and CD when I have time. When I don't I just spend a few minutes practicing what I've already gone over and cover the letters under the notes with a strip of paper. It's a great way to learn, and just what I had hoped for, I'm learning to play the tin whistle!

I am just teaching myself how to read music and play the Tin Whistle. This is my second book purchased. I am finding this very user friendly. Even a novice like myself can learn , by listening and reading, then playing along. If I could, I would give this package 10 stars.

This excellent book begins by explaining musical notation, for the student who doesn't already read music, but that doesn't get in they way for those of us who already do. The CD follows the text step by step, including dozens of tunes, so you can actually hear the sounds that can come out of a tinwhistle in the hands of an expert. Something to aspire to!

The CD has 91 tracks, not as easy to navigate as when it was on cassette tape -- you can't just stop at #51, and resume the tape at #52 the next day. . .

If you do buy this book, when you get to the paragraph on "balance finger," note that whereas Ochs recommends R3, the ring finger of the right hand, I find that R1, the index finger of the right hand, works better for me, because the R1 hole is directly above the right thumb. When you've learned to play an eight-note scale, try playing it with R1 covered for the notes B and C#. This can simply be incorporated in the fingerings for these notes where you find the need to use it. When playing either of these two notes, you may also find times when leaving R1, R2 and R3 all covered will facilitate rapid fingering. Don't try to understand what all this means now -- just remember I mentioned it, when you get to the stage where you will want to try it. With a little practice, it will become natural to you. Good luck!

This book is excellent for a person like me who has no musical knowledge. It teaches the basics of music in a very simple and clear way, which helped me a lot as I am new to the whole western sheet music method.

And I am truely enjoying the exercises as its in a gradient from easy to tough. The author is definetly a very good teacher, if he can make things so simple for a student who is referring just his books.