The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle

Rating:
Summary: It does deserve 5 stars but...
Review: ...it probably isn't the book to start out with. That's not to say it doesn't have alot to teach because it does. There are lots of exercises and runs and they are on the 2 cds as well. I think you may want to have played a few months before getting this book. There's another book put out just after this one that seems the better one to start with. That is the Tin Whistle Toolbox book. This book here though, the Essential Guide..., has over 30 songs at the end, also on one of the cds, and these are great to learn and play. Some are played on the Irish Flute, which is an octave lower than the tin whistle and not easy to play. What is a little easier is the low whistle which is essentially an Irish flute with a whistle attachment so it's not hard to produce a tone but it is more difficult to play than the regular whistle. It's kind of funny because some of the tunes as I mentioned are played in this octave lower form and so are some of the exercises, and just at random. This is ok though if you have a hankering to play the Irish Flute or Low Whistle because you can get a feel for how they'll sound on these. Since they are an octave lower they are also easily relatable to the regular whistle. There are a couple of good chapters in the book on the Irish Flute specifically related to technique. There's hardly a mention of the Low Whistle so if you're thinking of getting into that check out another book just on the Low Whistle. There is one I see on Amazon if you type in Low Whistle. It also has a cd. Getting back to the Tinwhistle Toolbox book. It's supposed to have more exercises suited for beginners and although it has parts of tunes, for an extra $15.00 you can buy a third book with all 18 tunes complete that are only excerpted in the Toolbox book. Yikes! There's a Teach Yourself Pennywhistle set with a book cd and video if you search in VHS on the Amazon site that's really good if you're just starting out and the Tinwhistle Tunebook by L.E. McCullough has 4 cds and over 100 tunes that are great for learning and for experienced players as well. This is a better bang for your buck than The Essential Guide. That said The Essential Guide is quite a book and if they lower the price or you get it thru a second party seller for less you may well want to get it.

Rating:
Summary: A "must-have" for dedicated musicians and performers
Review: The Essential Guide To Irish Flute And Tin Whistle by master musician Grey Larsen is a combination history and instruction book which is enhanced with the inclusion of a set of two audio CDS intended to aid the reader in mastering both basics and advanced techniques to playing the Irish Flute, Tin Whistle/Pennywhistle, Boehm-System Flute, and/or Piccolo. Black-and-white photographs; meticulously detailed instructions concerning everything from rhythms to finger placement; a fascinating and informative body of history and tradition concerning the Irish Flute; a veritable wealth of musical transcripts; as well as the music playing of masters recorded and released from 1925 to 2001 on the CDS, mark The Essential Guide To Irish Flute And Tin Whistle as a "must-have" for dedicated musicians and performers determined to make the most of their talent with these tradition and folk music instruments.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, and not just for fluters
Review: The first few chapters, in which Larsen covers the basics of Irish traditional music, are required reading for anyone wanting to participate in this musical culture, especially if not born into it. The rest of the book is a must have for fluters and whistlers, and will also prove extremely helpful to Uilleann pipers. There hasn't been as thorough an examination of how Irish music works, from any perspective. He introduces a new, clear way of notating tunes that will become the standard. As technical and scholarly as the content is, Larsen is never dry or academic. The two CDs are an added bonus.

Rating:
Summary: The Complete and Essential Tin Whistle books
Review: They are both very good books but not really aimed at a complete beginner. These are more for someone who is trying to build a better foundation to their basic playing. Especially if you are trying to undestand ornamentation. These books have very good clear explanations and plenty of exercises to practise them.

If you buy the Essential Guide then you do not really need to buy the Essential Toolbox as most of it is contained in the Essential Guide.