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I love my Carbony whistles. I don’t envy your choice. Great vinformative video as usual.

I come from the ocarina and vibrato there is done controlling your breath, so I really find it harder now to not do vocal vibrato on the whistle than to do it. Shame on me I guess!

Much more distinction between models than might be imagined. Excellent, thank you.

Nice! I made that suggestion really late, and I'm glad you were able to pull it off. That sounds great, and it is sure a fun tune to play.

What about the use of a metronome for someone who doesn’t read music ?

Hi Scott. Thanks for the video. Since I’ve been playing low d whistle for less than a month, I don’t have much knowledge about the different type of sounds. When I picked my whistle, I watched a few videos over and over again and decided following what you and others had said before: “pick the one that gives you the sound you want”. That is why I ended with a Howard Low D Whistle, which sounds beautiful, it’s very easy to play and very good looking (black silk). Another advantage i have found is since you play it fairly often, I can understand the sound I should expect when practicing. Keep doing the good job. Cheers from “Down Under”.

Hi Scott. What a fantastic review.! Thank you. I bought a Carbony Session last year from Big Whistle UK. Yea.! Really loud. Clear and great in Sessions. Very, very pleased with it.! So easy to play, but had difficulty at first in getting use to this whistle having no back pressure, compared to the whistles ive previously played. There is no effort in getting what I want out it, if you know what I mean Scott. But this will come. But I do love this Session whistle. I also have the Highland whistle, and the High D Drone whistle I bought from a festival somevyears back. Well worth the money.! I lve em.!

WHEW, that MK Pro thumbrest is expensive! How well does it hold? I am finding a thumbrest could really help, but have yet to come up with any DIY Macgyvering way to make one or objects to use. Is a proprietary one the only reasonable way?

I really value being introduced to traditional Irish tunes. It's hard to predict when a tune will resonate deeply with me, but the more chances for this to happen, the better! Also I like the idea of exploring whistles keyed between low D and high D. I picked up a Wild Irish A whistle recently, on a whim, and it's become a favorite of mine--it brings together some of the mellow tone of a low whistle with the responsiveness and easier breath requirement of the high D. Just a couple of random thoughts. Thanks!

I saw a nice quote the other day online regarding developing the ability to play a tune very quickly and the need to practice slowly and build a muscle memory foundation. The quote "Slow = smooth. Smooth = fast.

It's a great feeling with two of the phrases finally stitch together.

Happy new year 🎉

I know a lot of people shy away from sheet music I think that's a great shame as being able to read sheet music really opens you up to a fast amount of tunes out there. And it's really not harder than learning tabs. It just looks scary. Maybe introduce folks to reading sheet music. I'm pondering myself as to how that could be done with this computer teck.

To the audience I'd like to see more thumbs up. It means Scott's videos will be pushed more by the algorithm. Also he puts a lot of effort into this and I'm always disappointed to not see more likes. Also leaving comments helps maybe just a little heart to show appreciation. 😉 to Scott add a little overlay reminding folks to click like I think youtube actually makes that easy. I think your videos are adorable and so enthusiastic.

What's the brightest sounding low whistles, both cheap a expensive?

That was the loveliest version of that tune I have ever heard of tin whistle, I used to think it was slightly boring. Now I’m gonna try it again. And I wish for you a happy new year also🎉

In my so far very modest time with the whistle, I've found that there's more nuance to breath than just air pressure. I've found that things like blowing from the lungs vs. blowing from the diaphragm, and how focused my air stream is all have an effect on tone, air efficiency and condensation. The subtleties still escape me though, and I would greatly value your insight on the subject. Otherwise, I'll happily say that all of your videos so far have been tremendously useful, so I'm happy to follow along!

I really like the focus on the Low D. It is a different instrument from the High D. I liken it to playing alto saxophone and baritone saxophone. While the fingering is the same, they aren't interchangeable. For your tunes list, I'd love to see "The Eighth of January" on or about January 8th, 2026.

I’d like more of the same please. Reviews of low and high Ds. I’m interested in the new whistle from the McNeela Thornton collaboration. More traditional tunes and context of where the whistle fits in jam sessions.

Happy New Year, and thanks for all the inspiration and support you have provided in 2024!

This is so useful!!! I am noticing I can play the low D notes much more easily after working to reach them on my high D for a month or two. I notice getting more winded with the low D. Playing a song does take more energy

I’d love to learn songs like this, I want to feel like I’m from the shire

Happy New Year from New Zealand! A million thanks for rekindling my love for the Low D whistle and for my skill improvemnet during 2024. I've still along way to go but look forward to your continued tutorage during 2025!

And a very happy new year to you and your family too.

The song is still sung to this day in the Irish language - the English version given here is not very representative of the original irish words!

Happy New Year to you And your family. Here’s to a great 2025!

Glè bhreatha!!!! Happy New year to you!!!!! Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!!! More challenges than normal.....You are blessed to have family. I am learning Gaelic, Welsh and the whistle!!!! Wish we could have a ceilidh!!! My Carbonny leading tone high D is in the mail....

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Great tips in your videos. Thank you.

I’ve been learning tin and low whistles for about a month and a half and I have found videos the most useful tool, because I can actually see and listen what the speaker is teaching. I also use a tuner to pick how the real note sounds on my whistles. I don’t think that any book will put me where I’m sitting right now. Hope this helps.

Regarding the cleaning, I have two questions: 1). Is there any risk of touching the blade of a Howard low D whistle with the little brush ? 2). Do you rinse it after, to avoid the soap to start building up inside the mouth piece ? Thanks for the tips…

Having issues with my flute going up and down. Different mechanics, but still difficult.

One of the reasons I bought a good quality low whistle was to avoid blaming the whistle for poor sound quality. I am currently working on the 2nd octave and I’m happy you did this video which I think will help me a lot. Thanks and have very successful year 2025.

The middle point was the most relevant for this lesson. Each whistle requires different breath pressures. I can't tell you how long it took me to understand this point, but once it took root my tone and breath control became immediately easier.

So it is really just practice, practice, practice but not like a zombie but with awareness of what your actually doing.

Great topics in this video. But I was surprised to find that one of them was about to raise its head. I recently received a low F whistle. But due to travel plans I couldn't spend much time playing it. But when I finally took it up in a focused manner, I noticed I had a persistent hole coverage issue. Wouldn't you know it, it is too large for finger tips alone, and too small for full on piper's grip. So I'm back to the fundamentals with this whistle. Thanks for treating this most fundamental skill. I apparently took it for granted. Thanks for the reminder.

The music he makes is amazing. He’s quite a talented player.

I got the Mel Bays complete Irish tin Whistle book secondhand a while ago and I finally decided to start reading it after Christmas. I haven’t gotten very far so I’ll have to let you know better after I’ve had a chance to read more. You can go to their website and download some of the music that is in the book, but only some of it is downloadable and personally I have a hard time learning a tune when all I do is see it on paper. But I also struggle with learning a tune if I can’t see it on paper, I like both ways of learning a tune, seeing it and hearing it. Also, some of the discussion was about the difference between different kinds of jigs, and this person‘s opinion varies quite a bit from what else I’ve heard in other places, for instance, it says a hop jig and a slip jig are the same thing, but that was not my understanding. Also, there are exercises later on that talk about ornaments, which I have not delve into yet I think I am finally starting to get the gist of a lot of the ornament so I’m not sure how helpful that will be for me, but I have seen something similar in another book that I loaned to a friend a while back where you can see the ornaments written , I don’t think it’s the best way for me to learn about ornaments, but it was also a little bit helpful. I will let you know more as I go

Happy (belated) Boxing Day! Great question, Scott, and I wish I had a good answer. When I became interested in learning the low whistle about 1 year ago, I looked for a book and bought the Low Whistle Book by Hannigan and Ledsam. I find it quite helpful as a reference, but maybe not as a beginner tutorial. It begins by introducing all the notes, including half-holes, maybe a bit much for a complete beginner! It has a great history section, though, and lots of tunes in staff notation. The discography pages are fantastic and have led me to some wonderful whistle recordings. The book includes a helpful CD of some of the early lessons/tunes. I'd also say the style of playing is pipes-ish, as I believe Hannigan plays the Uillean pipes.

Very good tutorial!

You make practicing scales seem more interesting than playing tunes. What a wonderful teacher. Thank You

I am giving myself the gift of playing the whistles. I already have and I’ve dug out a book. I bought myself a long time ago called Mel Bays ‘s complete Irish Tin whistle book and I’m gonna read it as my gift to myself and try to play some of the tunes in here,

Thanks for introducing this wonderful tune. Not necessarily related to playing it on the whistle, I'm inspired to share the version from the Christmas Celtic Sojourn events organized by the late great Brian O'Donovan for WGBH: ruclips.net/video/2uYomzsXFBc/видео.htmlsi=qACHjMwiyBj527y2 Happy New Year!

This is a fascinating question. I have not been able to learn musical practices, whether singing or playing instruments, from books. For me personally, it's an ineffective way of learning. I think of the oft-cited and widely attributed saying: "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." However, I recognize that each of us learns differently, and I'm looking forward to reading the suggestions and seeing your upcoming book reviews. I know this will be helpful to many. Thank you, Scott, and happy Boxing Day.

I recommend The Tin Whistle Book by Tom Maguire, published by Hal Leonard. Another is Matt Dean’s Beginner Tin Whistle. Matt also has mp3s of the tunes in the book. He uses letters rather than tab. Another is How To Play The Penny Whistle by Gina Landor and Phil Cleaver, published by Hal Leonard .

Happy holidays and merry Xmas!!!!

I scored a Syn high d and a beautiful whistle stand.

Nollaig Shona duit! 🎄

Is there a beginner book you can reccomend?

Happy holidays and merry Christmas.