This is quite a tricky tune, but there are ways to make it easier.
During the whole of the first bar and half of the next, keep the first
and second fingers of your right hand fixed on the fourth and fifth
holes on the whistle. This reduces the amount of finger-lifting you have to do. Do the same for the first bar in the B part so that your
C sharp,
normally played:
is played here:
O O O O O X
O O O X X O
This makes playing the next note - the high E - much easier.
When I play Drowsy Maggie, I don't play the last note of
bar three in the A part (low E). This gives me time to prepare to play
the fourth bar, and a chance to have a breath if necessary. Try it:
you may find it an easier way to play the tune.
Drowsy Maggie
Johnnie McIljohn's No.2
I have taken this tune from a Boys of the Lough Album, Welcoming
Paddy Home. This and Johnnie McIljohn's No.1 originally come from Tommy Maguire of Leitrim, whose father John Maguire - also known as Johnny McIljohn - lilted the tune regularly.
