Tuesday 3 March 2015

Tin Whistle Series: Tin Whistle Tunes for School Masses

For the second post in this ‘Teaching Tin Whistle’ series, I am focusing on tunes suitable for school masses.
A few members of my choir play tin whistle at various points during our school masses. I find it makes the mass more personal and child centred, and they really enjoy being given this responsibility.

(Note: The tin whistle notes for these tunes are Dropbox files that can be downloaded, edited and printed.)
  1. As I Kneel Before You: My choir usually sing this song during Communion. The air to this hymn can be found here. You can download the tin whistle notes from here.
  2. Inis Oírr: This is a nice instrumental for playing during the Offertory Procession, during a First Penance ceremony or during the reception of Communion. You can find the air here and the tin whistle notes here.
  3. Blind Mary: This is another instrumental suitable for the Offertory Procession, a First Penance ceremony or Communion. This is the air and here are the notes.
  4. Bí, A Íosa, Im Chroí-Se: Another instrumental suitable for a mass is Bí, A Íosa, Im Chroí-Se. These are the tin whistle notes.
  5. Here I Am Lord: I like to use this Alive-O song as a Responsorial Psalm in the mass. Various soloists sing the verses, while the choir sing the chorus. Here are the tin whistle notes.
  6. We Sing a Song to Brigid: This tune can be sung by a choir at a St Brigid's Day mass. Here are the notes.
I hope you find these ideas and resources useful. If you are looking for some tips as to how to teach tin whistle to beginners, check out the first post in my tin whistle series: Teaching Tin Whistle to Beginners. Until next week!