Tag Archives: Tin Whistle Tunes

Tin Whistle Tunes – free audio, sheet music and tablatures of tunes and songs for tin whistle, pennywhistle & Irish flute, beginners and advanced

Irish Tunes for Easter – with Tin Whistle Notes

Irish Tunes for Easter

Irish Tunes for Easter – with Tin Whistle Notes: 6 Easter-themed traditional Irish tunes with sheet music and whistle tabs. I play each tune slowly, and also at moderate speed with ornamentation. Scroll to the end of the page for the free pdf sheet music download.

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The Maid of Mount Kisco – Tin Whistle lesson

maids of mount kisco irish tune from new york

Learn the Maid of Mount Kisko, a reel associated with the great Irish fiddler Paddy Killoran. Tin whistle lesson with video, sheet music and audio recording

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Brenda Stubbert’s (reel)

A reel composed by Jerry Holland, played here on tin whistle, with sheet music & tin whistle tabs

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Micho’s Ashplant (tin whistle)

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Micho Russell’s setting of The Ashplant reel, played by Stephen Ducke on tin whistle

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Thanksgiving Tunes for Tin Whistle

thanksgiving tunes for tin whistle - irish music

6 Irish tunes you can play at Thanksgiving, for tin whistle, with audio recordings, sheet music & whistle tabs (fingering charts). Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the free pdf sheet music booklet.

It is a New England Autumn in 1621. The beautiful gold and crimson leaves
contribute to the festive atmosphere that blankets Plimoth village. The smell of
roasting Turkeys adds to the ambience. The little village’s fifty English settlers
are preparing a harvest festival in celebration of having survived the previous
year’s great hardships and brought in their first crops in the New World.

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Low Whistle Christmas Songs – Tabs & Sheet Music (with Video)

easy christmas songs for low whistle

Some easy Christmas songs that go well on the low whistle. The low whistle is the bass version of the tin whistle, and plays an octave lower in low D. I play each tune twice, once with ornamentation and once more slowly and plainly. These tunes can of course also be played on tin whistle.

As usual, you can download the sheet music pdf booklet at the bottom of the page. If you have any questions,  message me in the comments!

These tunes are all quite simple on the low whistle, with no notes above high F and melodies that are linear enough to make breath control easily manageable (no octave jumps, for example) The challenge of the low whistle is the grip, and ensuring that all the holes are adequately covered, particularly for the lower notes  E and D. Any leakage of air in the fingers can result in these notes refusing to sound at all.

Tip: if you’re having trouble with holes leaking, try a descending scale from B, one note at a time, to try and isolate which finger is causing problems!

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5 Irish Tunes for Halloween – Tin Whistle Tabs & Audio

irish Tunes for Halloween

Tin whistle tabs, sheet music & audio for 5 Irish tunes for Halloween, some spooky and some not so spooky! I play each tune at moderate speed with ornamentation. Scroll to the bottom of the page for download links, including free tin whistle sheet music pdf file. The music is played on a Dixon Trad whistle.

The pagan Hallowe’en at the end of summer was a time of grief for the decline of the sun’s glory, as well as a harvest festival of thanksgiving to him for having ripened the grain and fruit

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5 Irish Gaelic Songs for Tin Whistle

irish Gaelic Songs for Tin Whistle

5 easy Irish tin whistle songs for beginners, with sheet music, whistle tabs & audio (sheet music pdf download link at the bottom of the page). I play each tune with and without ornamentation, on a D tin whistle – I use a Tony Dixon trad whistle on these recordings. The songs in this article can be found in the book Tin Whistle for Beginners Volume 1.
These 5 songs are all in the Irish language – I’ve used the word “Gaelic” here to differentiate from Irish folk songs in English, but in general the Irish language is simply referred to as “Irish” – or “Gaeilge”, in Irish.


1: An Cailín Rua – The Red-Haired Girl
An old love song from the poet to the beautiful red-haired girl who takes all he has and leaves him for another. He takes her from Derry to Athlone, plying her with drink all the way. He says he prefers her “to any cow or heifer”; this fails to impress her and she runs off with a shop-boy. Such are the ways of love.

Chuaigh sí siar agus bróga breac’ uirthi,
Ribíní glasuaithne teannta ar a gruaig,
D’éalaigh sí uaimse le buachaill an tsiopa,
Is a Rí nár dheas í, mo chailín rua.


She went west wearing striped shoes,
Her hair tied up with the greenest ribbons,
She left me for a shop-boy,
God, wasn’t she lovely, my red-haired girl.

2: Óró mo Bháidín – Oh, My Little Boat
A song written by Padraig Pearse, an ode to his little boat or currach

Óró mo bháidín
Ag snámh ar a’gcuan
Óró mo bháidín
Faighimis na máidí
Agus téimis chun siuil
Óró mo bháidín
Óró mo churaichín ó
Óró mo bháidín


Oh my little boat
As she glides in the bay
Oh my little boat
Let’s get the sticks
And we’ll row on
Oh my little boat
Oh my little curragh
Oh my little boat

3: Cailín na Gruaige Doinne – The Brown-Haired Girl
Another love song, about a poor wanderer who falls for a lovely brown haired girl. her mother is having none of it, though, and now he’s “defeated, weak and senseless”.

Ar bhantaibh an tSróil sea d’fhagas mo stór,
‘S a maithrín ag gleo gan dabht léi.
‘D taobh grá ‘ thabhairt dom shórt sa d’fhánaí gan treoir,
Gan cairne buí óir i gcabhair dom.


On the plains of Sroil I left my love
And her mother, no doubt, was arguing with her
About the love she gave my kind, an aimless wanderer,
With no stack of gold to succour me.

4: Ar Éirinn ní neosfainn cé hí – For Ireland I’d Not Tell Her Name
An eighteenth-century love song; the poet is in love with a girl but won’t tell her name as presumably her friends and family would disapprove.

Le haonghean dá méin is dá cló,
Dá briathra is dá beol tanaí binn,
Do léimeas faoi dhéin dul ’na comhair
’S ar Éirinn ní neosfainn cé hí.


With her lovely bearing and shape,
Her sweet words and thin lips,
I hastened to be in her presence
But for all of Ireland I’d not tell her name.

5: Buachaill ón Éirne – Boy from the Erne
This is a tongue in cheek song in which the young cowherd claims immense riches, the opposite of his station in life.

Buachaill ón Éirne mé
‘s bhréagfainn féin cailín deas óg.
Ní iarrfainn bó spré léithe
tá mé féin saibhir go leor.
‘S liom Corcaigh ‘a mhéid é,
dhá thaobh a’ ghleanna ‘s Tír Eoghain.
‘S mura n-athraí mé béasaí
‘s mé n’ t-oidhr’ ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo.


I’m a boy from the Erne
and I could charm a nice young girl.
I would not ask for her wealth
as I am rich enough myself.
I own Cork, as big as it is,
two sides of the glen, and Tyrone.
And not to repeat myself,
I’m the heir of County Mayo.

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Book + FREE AUDIO DOWNLOAD. 90 children’s songs from the Whistle for Kids collection

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Book with free audio download - 90 well-loved Irish and Scottish songs, chosen for beginners.

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400 classic Irish session tunes

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