We now have a number of notes on the whistle, and you should be able to play any of them when I ask you. I believe that the way to learn an instrument is by playing, playing and playing it, so before we move onto more notes, we'll increase our repertoire by learn another tune. Amazing Grace is a tune which most people should at least recognise, which helps.

Amazing Grace

A New Note (F#)

The F sharp is our next note. The good news is that it's nice and easy. Simply cover the top four holes and blow gently. To get the high F sharp, simply use the same fingering and blow a little harder. Try the exercises below, doing each bar four times.

Another New Note: C Sharp (C#)

C sharp is possibly the most difficult note to grapple with so far, but it's absolutely necessary for playing tunes on the penny whistle. On the face of it it doesn't seem that difficult as you have to uncover all the holes. But the problem lies in holding the whistle, because if you're not covering any holes, what's keeping up the whistle? The trick is to use the ring finger on your right hand to cover the lowest hole; the mouthpiece is held by your lips (not your teeth!) and together this steadies the instrument in your hands.

With this new note we can now play a scale in D. This is exactly the same as the do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do sequence most of us learnt in school. In this instance, the doh is the lowest note on the whistle, D. Re is E, mi is F, and so on up till the high do,which is the high D.

Play through the exercises below slowly at first, then try to speed up.

Now have a look at the tune Wha Wadna Fecht for Chairlie, which uses our two new notes F# and C#. This is a popular tune in Scotland. Elsewhere it's known in Ireland as Din Tarrant's No.5 and in England as The March Past.

Wha Wadna Fecht for Chairlie?

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