Learn to Play Christmas Carols on the Pennywhistle
A Pennywhistle for Christmas
One Christmas, a number of years ago, I opened a present from my brother and found a pennywhistle. Hoping to put a little space between the rest of the family and my practicing, I went down cellar next to the warm furnace. I wondered if I could play Christmas carols on the whistle. To my surprise, I found it was possible to play quite a few.
Would you like to play the pennywhistle (also called the tin whistle) this Christmas? Here you can download instructions to help you get started, as well as fourteen Christmas songs with each note's fingering presented as a picture.
If you don't have a pennywhistle or tin whistle, there are quite a few choices. One nice one for beginners is called the Sweetone. Another one is called the Meg. Look for one in the key of D. Whistles can be found in music stores and online.
I hope you have a good time learning these songs. Music adds a lot to life, and a few minutes exploring a new instrument can sometimes lead to unexpected joy!
Note: the downloads listed below are pdf files. Although they will show up on the screen, they were originally designed to be printed out. (You may download all of the files in one zipped folder... or you may download individual files.)
All of the Files in One Folder
Pennywhistle Instructions - Read This First
Pennywhistle Fingering - Notes on Staff
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing - (page 1)
Christmas Carols - A Performance Idea
Imagine for a moment that you were playing the whistle on Christmas Eve... maybe in a church service... maybe for friends gathered in a home... maybe by the fireplace... maybe on a street corner. And what if you had with you a small sound system, so you could play carols with other instruments playing along?
The pennywhistle can sound beautiful all by itself (especially with a little reverb), but in combination with other sounds... well, the possibilities were worth exploring.
So I created these arrangements so you can perform with them. I played the demo versions on a whistle, but a violin, or another solo instrument may work as well.
For each arrangement you’ll find certain resources available - sometimes a score, or picture diagrams, demonstration mp3’s, and performance tracks (in both mp3 and a CD-quality AIFF audio file formats.)
You have permission to perform these works royalty-free. You may record your performances, make copies, even sell the copies. But please don’t sell these background tracks, scores, or diagrams. They are meant to be shared.
The First Noel
Whistle The First Noel - Score
Whistle The First Noel - Picture Diagrams
Whistle The First Noel - Demonstration mp3
Whistle The First Noel - Background Track mp3
Whistle The First Noel - Background Track aiff
Away in a Manger
Away in a Manger has more than one tune, and I’ve always liked this one by William J. Kirkpatrick.
Whistle Away in a Manger - Score
Whistle Away in a Manger - Picture Diagrams
Whistle Away in a Manger - Demonstration mp3
Whistle Away in a Manger - Background Track mp3
Whistle Away in a Manger - Background Track aiff
Silent Night
Silent Night, the beloved Christmas carol, played in an unusual way, in some places hinting at the tune rather than playing it directly. This arrangement was written to accompany a dance idea called “Silent Night On Candleberry Square,” which was shared at a coffeehouse one evening in December, 2011. If you would like to see the interpretive dance, you’ll find it here: mugglinworks.com/SilentNight
You can also use this background track to play Silent Night in the usual way, without the articulations and embellishments. The arrangement plays the verse twice and then repeats the last line at the end.
Silent Night On Candleberry Square - Demonstration mp3
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