The Low Whistle Book [Paperback]

Steafan Hannigan & David Ledsam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2001

A low whistle is a tinwhistle or pennywhistle with a six-finger note below B-flat. Focusing on the low D whistle but applicable to all low whistles, this book and CD set offers everything one needs to know about how to play the low whistle, including ornamentation, history, and fantastic tunes. This book can be used by people that have never played the whistle before. The tutor section covers the basics and moves on to explain Irish decorations in detail. Even if you already play the standard-size tin whistle, you will find many parts of this book useful in terms of technique. The tunes section contains many unusual pieces which have been researched and collected from many sources. These highlight the characteristic sound of the low whistle and range in difficulty from easy to show off! The enclosed CD contains 79 tracks, covering approximately the first half of the book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 114 pages
• Publisher: Sin'E Publications (April 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0952530511
• ISBN-13: 978-0952530510
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book with just a little CD glitch, July 13, 2011

By 

Tekisui "tekisui" (Parasamgate, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Low Whistle Book (Paperback)

The skill, presentation, and style of this book are really outstanding. I have most of the whistle books as a teacher is hard to come by where I am. This is the best of the bunch. I started the low whistle because I volunteer at the VA hospital and play Japanese flute music or slow airs in the hospice and organ transplant wings. The vets appreciate the live music so it's important to me to give them as good an effort as possible.

Pedagogically the explanations are clear and the many examples on the CD are great reinforcements. The authors take the music seriously but not themselves. There is plenty of practical advice. As a musician for over 40 years I appreciate the readability and the density of the information by using a variety of players for examples.

The only glitch as mentioned in other reviews is that the CD does not contain all the tracks that are called out in the book. This was a bit disappointing as this happened when tunes were being played and I looked forward to expanding my repertoire.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The CD is limited but why? The book is very good., March 16, 2010

By 

Silicon Valley Tom - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Low Whistle Book (Paperback)

I received my order in record time. It is a fine book on the low D Irish Whistle. However, I thought that you would like to know that the CD has a few problems:

1. Track 69 music example is on track 70
2. Music examples are incriminated by one from this point on and stop at 80, which is really 79.
3. The music examples that should be on tracks 80 through the last example (118) do not exist, as is referenced in the book. Why have a reference number when there is nothing to listen to?

Yes, the info about the CD says it goes to track 79. However, the book goes to example 118. As I indicated above example 80 on the CD is really 79 in the book.

I do like the book and it is a solid way to learn the low whistle. Well done except for the CD. If you want to learn the low whistle this is a good starting point. If there was no question about the CD I would have given the book five stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book for fans of the Low Whistle, March 30, 2010

By 

J. Supplee "risen angel" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Low Whistle Book (Paperback)

The low whistle has been around for about 30 years. This book instructs about how to play this wonderful instrument and comes with a helpful CD with examples of ornaments and some of the tunes from the book. I only wish that the CD went past starter tunes and included more of the intermediate ones and the "players" tunes. I have used some Homespun materials about the pennywhistle, but generally like this book more.