Play Blues on an Irish Whistle
An Irish Whistle is an not an expensive instrument with an easily accessible blues scale, not unlike blues harp. You can use such an instrument to play the Blues, just start reading at step one below. Do make sure you completely ignore the images though because they are of a recorder, not an Irish Whistle.
Steps
- Learn your instrument. Buy a whistle; they often come with a pamphlet explaining where your fingers go and breath pressure. Get comfortable with playing notes over two octaves.
- Find your key. Irish whistles typically come in D. Often they have the key printed on a label. You're going play "cross-whistle", so the key is actually one note above the whistle key. If you have a D whistle, you'll really be playing in E-minor.
- What's your root note? Cover all the holes except for the bottom one under your right ring finger. That's home. Your tunes will always start and end there.
- The Blues Scale. You can play all of the notes on the whistle, except you never lift the index finger of your left hand; and the middle and index finger of your right hand always work together (both are lifted or placed down at the same time). So, from your home, you can go down one note or go up two notes, lifting the rest of the fingers of your right hand. In other words, for the blues scale you will not use the F#. On a D whistle you will play D, E (home), G, A, B. Those notes may be played in both octaves.
- The blue note. You get a nice bluesy feel if you bend up to the fifth note (the B). Playing with your middle and index fingers of your left hand down, roll your middle finger up slightly and the note will bend up a semi-tone.
Tips
- You can buy whistles in a variety of keys so you can play along with blues in different keys.
