The D scale

The first thing to rule out is a clogged mouthpiece. Run some hot (but not too hot!) water through it and even some mild detergent if you have a plastic/metal whistle.

Assuming that the instrument itself is fine, you've just run into the most difficult part of beginning the tin whistle. Each whistle has its own tolerances when it comes to air pressure -- too little or two much and the notes can crack. What I would suggest is to practice each note independently and experiment with the amount of air necessary to get each one to sound properly and cleanly, and in each octave. Practice jumping from the bottom D to the middle D, from the bottom E to the middle E, and so on.

This is a common problem and that might be a good idea for a tutorial so I'll see about working that up one of these days.

All the best,
Sean

Hello Sean and all friends in here

My name is Elena and I am from Greece.I've always love and respect Irish culture and Celtic music and of course the sound of the traditional instruments.I'm so grateful that people like you provide infos,lessons and all stuff regarding tin whistle, because as you can imagine there is no tutor here.So I am a real beginner since I bought my whistle only two days ago.The first thing that I noticed though is that from the very first time that I hold the whistle I place my right hand on top which is wrong according to some videos I saw. So I assume this is not all wrong because there are left-handed guitarists and pianist so what? What is your opinion about this?

Thank you for all

Elena

Hi Elena, welcome! Playing right-over-left is not wrong and it's not even technically left-handed. I started playing that way myself but then switched when I began learning the bagpipes and flute since it's more difficult to come across those instruments in left-handed versions. There's no harm playing with your right hand on top, just keep in mind that the beginning tutorials will be reversed in your case.

All the best,
Sean

When I realized Instructors placed their right hand under the left I decided to make the shift which was not too difficult. Yes. It was confusing for a while, but I've gotten over it. The shift helps because most of my learning comes from watching what the Instructors do with their left and right hand fingers! I can't wait until all this becomes "automatic" and I can play my notes without trying to (think) figure out which fingers cover which holes!

Is it possible to play the lower B on a D tuned whistle? I saw a tab for Rocky road to Dublin and the lowest note was -B.