This time around, I’ll cover the surprising technical aspects of the pennywhistle, and in an upcoming article, I’ll explain those experiential aspects of learning to play that have been (mostly pleasant) surprises.

If you’re an experienced whistler this will all be “old hat”, but if — like me — you’re just starting out, or you’re contemplating picking up the pennywhistle (a choice I’d highly recommend - it’s a whole lot of fun), perhaps you can avoid some of the problems described below, or find a better understanding as to why your whistle does what it does.